City, Frontier and Empire

A Spatial History of British Assam, 1826-1947

Häftad, Engelska, 2026

829 kr

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Frontiers are dynamic geographical spaces where state-building and geopolitical control continuously shape complex social imaginations. The British Empire's construction of frontiers in South Asia represents one of history's most consequential exercises in territorial control and cultural transformation. The eastern Himalayas, a natural frontier separating China from South Asia, became a site of contested ambitions enacted, imposed, and resisted both within and beyond imperialist control. This geographical region remains a critical focus for understanding the interplay of imperial forces and frontier dynamics.Set in British India's Northeastern Frontier Region, this book examines urban emergence from colonial annexation in 1826 through independence in 1947. Drawing on archival sources and colonial cartography, it traces how key towns materialized along India's northeastern frontier as instruments of imperial control. The study reveals how British perceptions of the Brahmaputra valley as a navigable corridor through the formidable Eastern Himalayas drove strategic urbanization. Through an in-depth analysis of Dibrugarh, the book illuminates frontier urbanism shaped by resource extraction, military conflict, and racialized spatial segregation—introducing the concept of ‘frontier urbanism’ to explain how peripheral towns functioned within imperial networks.Part of the Empire and Frontiers series, this book is essential for scholars and students of history, anthropology, borderland studies, cultural studies, imperial history, and the humanities. It offers critical perspectives on how colonial spatial practices continue to influence contemporary geopolitics in Asia's borderlands, making it valuable for researchers examining empire, territoriality, and the enduring legacies of colonial urbanism.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2026-09-11
Mått156 x 234 x undefined mm
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
SerieEmpire and Frontiers
Antal sidor340
FörlagTaylor & Francis Ltd
ISBN9781032877129

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Evy Mehzabeen is a human geographer and policy researcher whose work examines rivers, infrastructure, and borderlands in India. She is a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. Her research analyses policy approaches to river governance, water geographies at the interface of rivers and cities, and borderland geographies with a special focus on urbanisation in India’s northeast. She holds a PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

List of pictures. List of maps. List of tables. Preface. Acknowledgements 1. Frontier as Method: Mobility, Territory and the making of urban in Northeast India 2. Making the frontier legible: Explorations, Cartography and the Spatial preconditions of frontier urbanism 3. Urbanising the Frontier: Resources, Routes, and Colonial Towns in the Brahmaputra Valley 4. Characteristics of Frontier Urban Spaces: Services, Functions and Modes of Governance 5. Frontier Town: A Morphological Analysis of Dibrugarh 6. Conclusion. Appendices. Bibliography. Index.

'Beautifully narrated and empirically embedded colonial urban history of the Brahmaputra valley. The book explores the role of the urban in the making of the frontier, and vice-versa, especially in the colonial context of the Brahmaputra spatiality by understanding the importance of the urban processes as resource extraction and administrative functions at the regional and local level. The explicit use of the cartographic tools and data sets in the creation of the dichotomous space in the frontier has been very meticulously captured in the book. As the contemporary North East integrates into the main stream and global economy, the understanding of the urban especially, its history and origin become undeniably important. There are very limited works on the North East urban question and Evy’s book with rich historical insights and innovative methodology is certainly an important contribution in this direction. All urbanist, policy makers, people of the North East and people interested in the urban North will find the book worthy of attention. Its merit lies in its rigor, as it contributes to understanding and demystifying the colonial urban spatiality of the region. More importantly, her work tells the story of how urban centres came to be in the region – this important past of the region may also provide insights on understanding the contemporary and future urban processes in the North East. Very timely and relevant book!!'- Shrawan Kumar Acharya, Professor, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi