28/09/2025
'Indians at Victorian Oxford'
Our next Speaker Meeting is on Thursday, 2nd October 2025
Time: 2:00 pm
Venue: St Hugh of Lincoln Church Community Centre,
Hensington Road, Woodstock OX20 1JL
The first Indian students to attend the University of Oxford arrived in 1871, and the bridge between Oxford and India has grown stronger ever since. But why did Indian students begin to attend British universities from the middle of the 19th century?
The talk by Stephen Barker examines the close relationship between Britain and the Subcontinent, aiming to explain briefly the background in Indian politics, the views of families and the students themselves. It also looks at the Oxford Indian Institute, the growth of Balliol College and those dons at the heart of the developments.
The talk focuses on the stories of four students who attended Oxford before the First World War: the first woman to study Law at the university; a Sikh princess, a nationalist revolutionary and a Bengali poet. The talk lasts for 50 minutes and is fully illustrated.
Stephen has worked on behalf of the University of Oxford, the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, Banbury Museum and over thirty different organisations over the last twenty years.
Cost: Free for members, £3.00 charge for visitors to cover tea, coffee, and hall hire.
