This talk explores the histories, journeys, and legacies of 'coolie' migrants as central to the making of Indian diplomacy. I argue that the Indian state framed the 'international' realm as a sanctified space to negotiate what it deemed the 'coolie stain' on its reputation, a discourse shaped by the intersections of caste and class. While examining indenture and the regulation of mobility as intrinsic to postcolonial Indian diplomacy, I also seek to foreground how these migrants themselves actively conceptualised their international status. Through three case studies spanning across geographical and temporal contexts - the interwar ‘scandal’ of quarantine at the Mandapam camp en-route to Ceylon, the curtailment of 'undesirable' postcolonial migration through a discretionary Indian passport policy, and the diplomatic anxieties over 'unskilled' and 'unsanitary' Indian migrants in postwar Britain - this talk examines the ways in which Indian diplomacy was shaped by a caste-coded paranoia over the mobility of the 'coolie'.
Add to Calendar 21-11-2023 14:00 21-11-2023 15:30 Europe/London Migration, Caste, and the Figure of the 'Coolie' in Indian Diplomatic History
This talk explores the histories, journeys, and legacies of 'coolie' migrants as central to the making of Indian diplomacy. I argue that the Indian state framed the 'international' realm as a sanctified space to negotiate what it deemed the 'coolie stain' on its reputation, a discourse shaped by the intersections of caste and class. While examining indenture and the regulation of mobility as intrinsic to postcolonial Indian diplomacy, I also seek to foreground how these migrants themselves actively conceptualised their international status. Through three case studies spanning across geographical and temporal contexts - the interwar ‘scandal’ of quarantine at the Mandapam camp en-route to Ceylon, the curtailment of 'undesirable' postcolonial migration through a discretionary Indian passport policy, and the diplomatic anxieties over 'unskilled' and 'unsanitary' Indian migrants in postwar Britain - this talk examines the ways in which Indian diplomacy was shaped by a caste-coded paranoia over the mobility of the 'coolie'.
St Antony's College, Pavilion Room, 62 Woodstock Road OX2 6JF