Tales from later Mughals

Marriage and the Indian Culture
For early European settlers in the sub-continent, their
true introduction to and adoption of the Indian culture was
through marriage with Indian women. However, this
practice was not accepted in the early phases. Initially the
Portuguese authorities sent women for their employees and
soldiers from Portugal. Perhaps the reason was to keep
them away from the local people and their culture. As the
Portuguese were extremists in their religion, they did not
want their soldiers to adopt non-Christian customs and
practices.
The East India Company also followed the same
policy but soon abandoned it as it was too expensive to
bring women from England. There-fore the Company
allowed its servants to marry Indian women and keep
mistresses. The high officials of the Company deliberately
married in the families of nobles in order to get social status
and respect in the society.
Fanny Parkes, who visited India in the 18th century,
writes in her book, wandering of a Pilgrim in search of the
Picturesque, that the Indian society accepted the marriage of
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