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In June 1883 a scandal broke out that rocked British India. An English woman, Alice Hume, accused her Indian servant of breaking into her house, beating her and attempting to rape her. The whole thing was a cover-up. It showed a whole new attitude of England towards her colonies. What really happened As was common in Victorian society, Alice Hume was the much younger wife of a high-ranking British lawyer. Her husband, James, had been promoted to Government Prosecutor in India. His position brought status, luxury - and absolute repression for his wife. Alice was not permitted to leave the house alone or to entertain male friends unchaperoned. Most of all, having Indian friends of either sex was frowned upon. An English woman who committed adultery with an Indian servant would have lost everything. But Alice had a passionate nature: she was described by a relative of her husband's as 'sensual', a trait thoroughly disapproved of in Victorian society. After 10 years of marriage and enforced idleness she was bored and depressed. She formed a relationship with a young sweeper: Giridhari Mehter. It lasted eight months before her husband found out.
James Hume beat his wife so badly that she was unable to move for a week. Now he was confronted with a dilemma. If it came out that he was responsible for her injuries, questions would be asked. He could not afford the scandal that would result if the truth came out. His own reputation would suffer along with Alice's if it were known that she had an affair with an Indian servant. Hume consulted some close friends, senior British lawyers in Calcutta. Their advice was to pin the blame on the servant. Giridhari Mehter was quickly arrested. He was charged with four offences: grievous bodily harm; attempt to affront a woman's modesty; breaking and entering; and attempted rape.
Everything hinged on Alice's testimony. Would she betray herself and risk losing everything she had, to protect the man she loved? Giridhari Mehter was confident that she would speak up to prevent his being unjustly convicted. He was wrong. The pressure of Victorian society, the enormous amount she had to lose, proved too much for Alice. In court, she testified that Mehter had broken into her bathroom and attacked her. Mehter proclaimed his innocence but he did not betray Alice. He was found guilty and sentenced to transportation to India's most notorious prison on the Andamans Islands. It was, effectively, a death sentence.
Alice's love affair with Giridhari Mehter was doomed from the outset. Victorian society simply could not tolerate a mixed-race relationship. The English woman, the memsahib, was the embodiment of Victorian values. She was Queen Victoria's representative in the Empire. A century earlier, things had been very different.
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