This project serves to address and analyze the function of allusions to Eastern traditions and cultures in the literary works of Victorian periodicals, and how this trend transfers into the Eastern-flavored fashion and music of London's Swinging Sixties counterculture. The British Empire's occupation of India and other neighboring Asian countries from 1858 to 1947, or the British Raj, greatly benefitted the oppressor and inhumanely abused the oppressed through racist ideologies, exploitative practices, violence, and overall submission of a people. 

Though they were ostensibly on the side of the oppressor, British authors writing for publications such as The Strand Magazine, The Ludgate Monthly, and The Yellow Book experienced the effects of this occupation. They cited aspects of foreign cultures in their works as a way to show their own worldliness, sophistication, and education. Once the British Raj ended in 1947, the 1960s saw a resurgence and growing interest in Eastern culture from rebellious and artistic young people. This specifically included but was not limited to Indian culture; such infusions from a very different culture of a far away land made the drab post-World War II London colorful, fun, and most importantly, "cool." 

British people undergo an intriguing change of heart in regard to India's assets and resources: from dismissal of the people and exploitative in the Victorian Era to overwhelming appreciation in the Swinging Sixties. Britain's cruel jurisdiction over East Asia in the past raises questions about cultural appropriation, anglicization, liberation (both figuratively and literally), and misuse of Indian culture in a more recent era, one that is commended for its irreplaceable and legendary contributions to the arts.