Revisiting Colonialism and Colonial Labour: The South Asian Working Class in British Malaya (Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia)

Synopsis

This book argues that the prevailing view of colonialism – that it was a negative and destructive phenomenon – needs to be rethought. It focuses on the experiences of the South Indian working class, large numbers of which came to Malaya in the early years of the twentieth century, emigrating from socially, economically, and environmentally inhospitable south India. It examines the opportunities which colonialism presented for these people, highlighting also the British approach to colonialism in Malaya, an approach which emphasised conservativism and tradition, and which protected the interests of the Malay aristocrat classes and, by extension, the Malay masses in order to compensate for European economic dominance and the influx of a non-Malay labour force. Overall, the book demonstrates that the South Indians, a class whose identity, social existence, and prospects were inextricably linked to imperial processes, benefitted from colonialism, and should be viewed as an active transnational entity within a constructive system, rather than as passive victims of repressive, destructive forces.

Copyright:

2023

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9781000918236

Related ISBNs:

9781032302799, 9781003304319, 9781032283098

Publisher:

Taylor and Francis

Date of Addition:

07/31/23

Copyrighted By:

selection and editorial matter, Sivachandralingam Sundara Raja and Shivalinggam Raymond

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Social Studies

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.

Edited by:

Sivachandralingam Sundara Raja

Edited by:

Shivalinggam Raymond