Department of History

Level: 3

Semester: 1

Prerequisite: None

Course Description:

This course will examine the dispersal and settlement of the modern Indian Diaspora from the early nineteenth century up to the time of Indian independence. 

The following themes will be covered in the course:  The dispersal of Indians in the period before the colonial encounter, The social and economic conditions in nineteenth century colonial India, Indentureship and the kangani systems, The historical conditions of settlement in plantation colonies, Conflict and community formation, The attitude of colonial authority to Indian communities overseas, Indian diasporic communities and the struggle for independence in India, Resistance and accommodation, Indians and the anti-colonial movements in their various countries of settlement, Class formation, labour and political struggles, The cultural/religious question and the problems of identity, The role of women in the consolidation of communities and Indian diasporic communities and the sub-continent in the post-independence period.