South Asians & Shaping Of Britain A Sourcebook

The first anthology of primary material interdisciplinary study of the history of the South Asian presence in Britain over the period 1870-1950, it selects a wide range of official and non-official archival sources. and identifies four key areas of South Asian impact – minority rights, war, culture and reception, and representation.

This sourcebook offers alternative ways of conceiving the making of modern Britain, and intervenes in contemporary debates about Britain’s heritage by illuminating the remarkable, yet still overlooked, impact that South Asians had on shaping the nature of British culture, politics and national identity during the period 1870-1950.

It is the first anthology of primary sources devoted to the interdisciplinary study of the history of the South Asian presence in Britain over the period, and students and scholars alike will appreciate its focus on four thematic chapters around South Asian contributions towards minority rights, war, culture and reception and representation in imperial Britain and its wide range of official and non-official archival sources. The material presented testifies not only to the enormous range and vitality of South Asian engagement and impact, but also provides new ways of understanding and interpreting these contributions by enabling readers to access the period for themselves, via these documents and images. Four introductory essays frame the sources in each chapter, and the book includes a preface by Elleke Boehmer and Susheila Nasta, a detailed introduction by Ruvani Ranasinha, and an afterword by pioneering historian Rozina Visram.

This sourcebook is designed for postgraduate courses primarily in British imperial and South Asian history, but also in art history, postcolonial studies, twentieth century literature and theory, South Asian studies, cultural studies and war studies.

This invaluable sourcebook intervenes in contemporary debates about Britain’s heritage by illuminating the remarkable, yet still overlooked, impact that South Asians had on shaping the nature of British culture, politics and national identity during the period 1870-1950.

The first anthology of primary material interdisciplinary devoted to the study of the history of the South Asian presence in Britain over the period, it selects a wide range of official and non-official archival sources. It identifies four key areas of South Asian impact – minority rights, war, culture and reception, and representation. Highlighting the current relevance of South Asian engagement, it projects contemporary national concerns back into the past and offers alternative ways of conceiving of the making of modern Britain.