“The Queen’s Daughters in India” written by Elizabeth W. Andrew & Katharine C. Bushnell in 1898 uncovers a tragic truth of the British rule in India. The book exposes British’s exploitation of Indian women who were used as sex slaves for the soldiers of the British Military.

1
The British Empire’s long list of crimes against Bharat includes slavery, racism, religious intolerance, plunder, & more. But did you know that the British systematically forced 1000s of Indian women to become sex slaves under the guise of “prostitution” for their soldiers? pic.twitter.com/kPtFaXkwOj

— Savitri Mumukshu – सावित्री मुमुक्षु (@MumukshuSavitri) September 18, 2021

The book also says that the British established “Cantonments” after they gained control of India. These “Cantonments” were special British residences where Civil laws governing India did not operate but some arbitrary laws of the British prevailed. It was mentioned that about 100 such Cantonments were established. The purpose of these “Cantonments” was to guard against any rebellion or uprising and protect the British soldiers.

Cantonment Acts of 1864 enabled prostitution in these Cantonments and also regulated them. Rights of the Indian women were openly abused and the Britishers officially created brothels and called them Chaklas on the pretext of giving economic independence to the poor Indian women. Apparently, only 12-15 Indian women served an entire regiment of 1000 British soldiers. But the Britishers justified prostitution as a necessary precaution to protect the British Army from the evils of homosexuality.

The book noted, “The Raj was convinced that without sexual contact with women, the British army would verily become “Sodom and Gomorrah”. The imposition of section 377 starting in 1860 that punished sodomy, buggery, and bestiality as offenses wasn’t sufficient — reports stated that the military men were a willing market for homosexual acts on young boys, were women not readily available. In 1894 Viceroy Elgin declared that a lack of prostitutes it would lead to more deplorable “oriental” and unnatural evils. The threat of homosexuality, not only as a vice but also as potential damage to the reputation of the empire — was cited to justify the making available of prostitutes to the armed forces.”

The Britishers at the same time issued a memorandum speaking against Sexually transmitted diseases and warned the British soldiers of infective contamination “lurking” in Indian women. Indian women were subjected to regular tests for STD just to ensure the safety of British soldiers who used prostitutes. These tests which were undertaken at the prison hospitals were considered to be like surgical rape during which every part of the body was examined for a possible infection.

However, the British soldiers were exempted from taking any tests for STDs even when these soldiers are in actual risk of spreading the disease to England because the British authorities found such tests “brutalizing and degrading” for men.

The book noted, “A memorandum issued by the British on the perils of Sexually transmitted diseases warned soldiers of the infective contamination lurking in local women also proclaimed the assumption that diseases caught in the tropics were more ravaging than those acquired in the “gentler” climates of northern Europe. It was commonplace for venereal disease contracted in the tropics to be represented as a worse and more savage entity, affecting the “refined white constitution” with greater severity.”

“The Queen’s Daughters in India” unearths shocking facts about the British Empire that often pretends to be the savior of Indian Hindu women from socially fabricated myths of Sati and Child marriage. That the British forcibly tortured Indian women and subjected them to prostitution and sexual slavery deserves much greater attention than it has received.