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Jodhpur and the aeroplane: aviation and diplomacy in an Indian state 1924–1952

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2023

Aashique Ahmed Iqbal
Aashique Ahmed Iqbal*
Affiliation:
Faculty of History, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Krea University, India
*
Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper is a study of the intersection between aviation and diplomacy in the semi-autonomous Indian state of Jodhpur in the final decades of British colonial rule in India. Jodhpur's Maharaja Umaid Singh established a major international aerodrome, patronized one of India's first flying clubs and collaborated with British authorities to make aviation laws for the Indian states. He would also serve in the Royal Air Force during the war and placed Jodhpur state's aviation resources at the disposal of the king-emperor. This paper argues that Jodhpur was able to leverage its aviation resources to wield substantial influence both within and beyond the British Empire through both war and peace. An analysis of Jodhpur's engagement with aviation diplomacy is also revealing of some of the limitations as well as possibilities for the deployment of science diplomacy frameworks, especially in non-Western contexts.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal for the History of Science , Volume 57 , Special Issue 2: Decentring histories of science diplomacy: cases from Asia , June 2024 , pp. 175 - 189
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of British Society for the History of Science

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References

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