South Asians and the Shaping of Britain, 1870–1950

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.