My first book presents a new paradigm for Indian diplomatic history by recovering the histories and legacies of ‘coolie’ migrants as foundational to diplomacy. Drawing on multi-archival research and multilingual sources spanning the vast geographies of indenture and labour migration from India to Ceylon, the Caribbean, and Britain, the book argues that Indian notions of the international realm were shaped by the prolific if ‘undesirable’ journeys of labourers and remained a space of anxiety defined by a caste-coded paranoia over the mobility of the coolie. Through such a framework, the book addresses the longstanding neglect of caste in Indian diplomatic history. Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy thereby provides a bottom-up approach to diplomatic studies and international relations that centres the experiences of migrants who have for far too long been simply regarded as ‘recipients’ and ‘problems’ of diplomacy. The book is published by Hurst in the UK/EU and OUP in North America.
Kalathmika Natarajan 