Description
Book SynopsisFrom Policemen to Revolutionaries uncovers the less-known story of Sikh emigrants in Shanghai in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Yin Cao argues that the cross-border circulation of personnel and knowledge across the British colonial and the Sikh diasporic networks, facilitated the formation of the Sikh community in Shanghai, eventually making this Chinese city one of the overseas hubs of the Indian nationalist struggle. By adopting a translocal approach, this study elaborates on how the flow of Sikh emigrants, largely regarded as subalterns, initially strengthened but eventually unhinged British colonial rule in East and Southeast Asia.
Trade Review"[...] it is worth reading From Policemen to Revolutionaries for its creative and global thinking on migration history, modern Chinese history, Indian history and British imperial history. Furthermore, the study draws impressively on an abundance of global primary sources in various languages (English, Chinese, Indian), from official archives (Shanghai Municipal Council, Colonial Office, Indian Office) to local newspaper (London, India, Singapore, California, Hong Kong, Shanghai)". Jiang Jiaxin, in Crossroads, 19 (2020), pp. 99-115.
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Introduction Sikh Migration in the Context of Global Migration Shanghai in the Translocal Networks Revisiting Sikh Diaspora and British Imperial History Rescuing Shanghai Sikhs from Nation Sources and Structure 1 Establishing the Sikh Police Unit in Shanghai Hong Kong as the Reference The Rise and Decline of the Localization Policy in the smp A Martial Race in Motion “They were Unsuitable for Shanghai”: Rejecting the Sikh Scheme New Bottle with Old Wine: Revival of the Sikh Scheme Conclusion 2 The Journey of Isser Singh: A Sikh Migrant in Shanghai A Peasant’s Son in the Punjab Optimizing the Migration Plan The Road to Shanghai Accommodating the Sikhs Policing Hongkou “A Man Who Gives Considerable Trouble” An Unending End Conclusion 3 Kill Buddha Singh: The Indian Nationalist Movement in Shanghai, 1914–1927 Go to North America! The Rise of the Ghadar Party The Politicization of Sikhs in Shanghai Turning to the Left From Hankou to Shanghai: The Ghadar Hubs in China “I kill Him Because He was a Bad Man” The Rise of a Surveillance Network Conclusion 4 A Lone Islet or A Center of Communications? Shanghai Sikhs and The Indian National Army The Birth of the ina and the Unification of Shanghai Sikhs The ina in Crisis and the Hardship of Shanghai Sikhs Subhas Chandra Bose and the Total Mobilization The Mobilization of the Sikhs in Shanghai The End of a Legend Conclusion Conclusion: Circulation, Networks, and Subalterns in Global History Bibliography Index
