KOCHI: Shrabani Basu is back with another book, this time with a tale that shows the story of prejudice against an Indian family that was converted to Christianity while they were living in Britain. Set in 1903, The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer: Arthur Conan Doyle, George Edalji and the Case of the Foreigner in the English Village is how Arthur Conan Doyle investigated the case of a young Indian lawyer, George Edalji, who was falsely accused and imprisoned for mutilating horses.
How did you come across this story?
I had always been aware that the only case personally investigated by Arthur Conan Doyle was that of an Indian. Conan Doyle has written about the case himself. But I wanted to tell the full story. In 2015, I read that some letters written by Conan Doyle were coming up for auction in London. These were to do with the George Edalji case and were the letters from Conan Doyle to the police chief of Staffordshire, George Anson. I followed up on the letters and then researched the story through the material in different archives, consulting home office files and police records. It took five years!
What do you think made Conan Doyle take up the case?
I think he took it up because it was such an unusual request. Here was a Parsee, a son of an Indian vicar, accused of crimes that seemed unreasonable. Conan Doyle was convinced of a miscarriage of justice and he loved to stand up for the underdog.
What kind of racism did George Edalji go through?
George was 12 when the family started receiving anonymous letters, threatening to kill them and set the vicarage on fire. Racist graffiti was painted on their house and excreta was thrown in through the letterbox. It started in 1888 and went on for several years. In 1903, the racist attacks took an even more sinister turn, as anonymous letters started linking George with the mutilation and killing of animals. At the time, he was a 28-year-old practising solicitor and the allegations were damaging.
What about the story is so intriguing?
When George was found guilty, the media said he had committed the crime because of his ‘Eastern’ roots. Once Conan Doyle rose to George’s defence, the media changed their tune. Now they were fascinated that the George Edalji case was being investigated by ‘Sherlock Holmes’. They started writing that he should not be discriminated for the colour of his skin, all of which they were guilty of doing earlier.
What was your reaction when you went to the village and could find only the tombstone of Shapurji Edalji?
I knew that George was buried elsewhere. It was sad to see that none of Shapurji’s family members was buried next to him. It felt like a lonely grave for a man who had served for over 40 years as the vicar of the parish.
In both your books Victoria & Abdul and The Mystery of the Parsee lawyer, both the Indian characters face racism. Since they are set in two different periods, how different or familiar were the issues?
Abdul Karim had come from India. He was a commoner who went on to become Queen Victoria’s favourite and rose through the ranks getting land and titles. George was born in England.
There is nothing Indian about George, apart from his father and the religion of his ancestors. Abdul moved to the royal palaces, George lived in a mining village in the Midlands and worked as a solicitor in Birmingham. Yet, they both become victims of racism. Abdul faced racism from the Queen’s household and family and was eventually thrown out after her death, while George and his family faced racism in the village and from the police force.