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EMPIRE, RACE AND THE INDIANS IN COLONIAL KENYA'S CONTESTED PUBLIC POLITICAL SPHERE, 1919–1923

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 January 2011

Sana Aiyar
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Abstract

This article explores the connection between three political movements that broke out amongst Africans and Indians within the public political realm across the Indian Ocean – the Khilafat/non-cooperation movement initiated by Gandhi in India between 1919 and 1922, the ‘quest for equality’ with European settlers amongst Indians in Kenya from 1910 to 1923, and the anti-settler movement launched by Harry Thuku in protest against unfair labour ordinances between 1921 and 1922. Moving away from the racial and territorial boundaries of South Asian and Kenyan historiographies, it uses the Indian Ocean realm – a space of economic, social and political interaction – as its paradigm of analysis. A variety of primary sources from archives in Kenya, India and Britain have been studied to uncover a connected, interregional history of politics, race and empire. In an attempt to highlight the importance of the Indian Ocean realm in understanding the interracial and interregional concerns that shaped the political imaginary of Indians and Africans in Kenya, the article reveals the emergence of a shared public political space across the Indian Ocean that was deeply contested.

Résumé

Cet article examine le lien entre trois mouvements politiques apparus de part et d'autre de l'océan Indien, parmi des Africains et Indiens de la sphère politique publique: le mouvement Khilafat de non-coopération engagé par Gandhi en Inde entre 1919 et 1922, la « quête pour l'égalité » avec les colons européens des Indiens au Kenya de 1910 à 1923, et le mouvement anti-colons lancé par Harry Thuku en réaction à des ordonnances injustes sur l'emploi entre 1921 et 1922. S’éloignant des frontières raciales et territoriales des historiographies d'Asie du Sud et du Kenya, l'article utilise comme paradigme d'analyse la sphère de l'océan Indien, espace d'interaction économique, sociale et politique. Une étude de diverses sources primaires d'archives au Kenya, en Inde et en Grande-Bretagne a permis de révéler une histoire interrégionale connectée de la politique, des races et de l'empire. En cherchant à souligner l'importance de l'espace de l'océan Indien dans la compréhension des questions interraciales et interrégionales qui ont façonné l'imaginaire politique des Indiens et des Africains au Kenya, l'article révèle l'émergence d'un espace politique public partagé de part et d'autre de l'océan Indien, vivement disputé.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 81 , Issue 1: Print Cultures, Nationalisms and Publics of the Indian Ocean , February 2011 , pp. 132 - 154
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2011

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