Victorian View of Indians That Amused Mukharji in "A Visit to Europe"

In A Visit to Europe, Mukharji recounts his amusement at the Victorian stereotype that Indians were lazy, dull, and effeminate. He writes: "The English often used to say that Indians were lazy, dull, and effeminate. This always seemed to me a rather amusing opinion, for I found, on the contrary, that Indians were hard-working, intelligent, and manly." The passage highlights the stark gap between colonial prejudice and lived reality.