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SUMMARY:An African orient?  West Africans in World War Two India\, 1943-19
 47 - Dr Oliver Coates (University of Cambridge)
DTSTART:20180221T170000Z
DTEND:20180221T180000Z
UID:TALK97129@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Barbara Roe
DESCRIPTION:An African Orient? West Africans in World War Two India\, 1943
 -1947\n \nDespite a recent resurgence of interest in Africa/India relation
 s (Hawley 2008\; Burton 2015)\, we still know relatively little about the 
 history of Africans on the subcontinent during the colonial period. This i
 s particularly true of non-elite Africans\, the subject of this paper whic
 h will examine the interactions between these men and local Indian civilia
 ns. Drawing on the growing historiography of wartime India (Khan 2015\, Ra
 ghavan 2016)\, as well as research on African Americans on the subcontinen
 t (Slate 2013)\, this paper will show how Africans enjoyed wide-ranging co
 ntact with Indians. Whether they were visiting the archaeological ruins of
  Rajput and Mughal India\, exchanging tea or watches with market traders\,
  or conversing with Indian nationalists\, West Africans developed complex 
 insights into South Asian culture and society. Although they were primaril
 y based in Tamil Nadu\, Maharashtra\, and Bengal\, African travellers rang
 ed across the subcontinent\, with numerous men committing their impression
 s to paper. The resulting sources provide evidence not only of interaction
  across cultures\, but also of sophisticated discursive responses to South
  Asia. Encountering religious festivals\, and new foods\, these men also m
 astered basic Hindi and Bengali\, as well as considering how the people th
 ey met and places they discovered might be presented to those who remained
  in Africa. Ultimately\, the history of these soldiers reminds us of the h
 istorical depth of South-South encounters\, as well as the itineraries of 
 travellers moving between two of the British Empire’s largest and most p
 opulous territories\n
LOCATION:Seminar Room SG1\, Alison Richard Building\, 7 West Road\, Cambri
 dge CB3 9DT
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