An Irish Indian is an Indian citizen who is fully or partially of Irish descent, who is aware of such ancestry and remains connected, to some degree, to Irish culture and also can be an Irish-born person who is of Indian origin. As per article 366(2) of the Indian Constitution, an Irish Indian can be categorized as an Anglo-Indian.[citation needed]
History
Irish people were known to have traveled to India from at least the days of the East India Company.[citation needed] While most of the early Irish came as traders, some also came as soldiers. Prominent among them were the generals Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington who later became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and his brother, Lord Charles Wellesley, both of whom were from the Protestant Anglo-Irish landowning class. During the 19th century, a number of missionaries and educationists were involved in setting-up educational, healthcare and other institutions in India.[1] Later in the 19th century, a number of philosophers and Catholic Irish nationalists travelled to India, including the theosophist Annie Besant. It is widely believed that there existed a secret alliance between the Irish and Indian independence movements. Some Indian intellectuals like Jawaharlal Nehru and V. V. Giri were likely inspired by Irish nationalists when they studied in the United Kingdom. Indian Immigrants who have emigrated to Ireland in the recent years might have had their children born and raised here.
Culture
One of the cultural activities that Indians of Irish descent (who are aware of their Irish ancestry) participate in is Saint Patrick's Day.[citation needed]
Immigration to India