Gujarati Muslim merchants in colonial Bombay: Talk at Asiatic Society
I thoroughly enjoyed my talk at Asiatic Society of Mumbai on Gujarati Muslim trading communities of colonial Bombay. I was in conversation with historian Murali Ranganathan and was very pleased to see a packed house in the hallowed Durbar Hall of the majestic Asiatic Society of Mumbai. I drew on my research at Oxford where I made sense of how Bohra, Khoja, and Memon merchants negotiated the legal architecture as political and economic actors. My thesis is under contract with Cambridge University Press (CUP) and it was heartening to see people ask about when the book will come out! In the audience were members of the Lalljee, Barodawalla, Lukmani, Sayani, Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, Fyzee, Tyabji, Rogay families. These are the ones I met and could spot. I am sure there were many others. Two news reports, in Mumbai Mirror and Mid Day, also helped in drawing attention. As I said in my talk, these three communities have been seen as big players in foreign trade and much less work has been done ...
