We have long recognised the need for consuming literature, media, and academia beyond just Anglo-Saxon contributors and while many strides have been made when it comes to the consumption of work created by those at the margins, the majority of it is still produced and published within a western canon. When everything we consume has been approved of by the West and therefore subjected to its specific ideals of censorship, how can we truly challenge colonial hegemony in literature?
The Political Economy of Development
The resources selected are independently published to further decolonise our understanding of the political economy of development. We have long recognised the need for consuming literature, media, and academia beyond just anglo-saxan contributors and while many strides when it comes to the consumption of those at the margins, the work consumed is still produced and published within a western canon. When everything we consume has been approved of by the West and therefore subjected to its specific ideals of censorship, how can we truly challenge the hegemony of western thought? How can we think differently if we are only learning from a singular perspective- even if that perspective claims to be based on various experiences…
Memories of Partition: homeland, displacement and diasporic communities, sharing their narratives
While growing up, I can vividly recall the 1947 partition stories that my father would share with my siblings and myself. They were harrowing, emotional and yet at the same time empowering accounts of what dad and our family had to overcome. It will remain with me forever as the struggles that were endured by both my parents to survive…
Memories of 1947 between Rawalpindi and Delhi. Partition told through the eyes of VN Luthra
On May the 20th 2022, I interviewed Mr. V N Luthra, who shared his experiences of Partition in India. Mr. Luthra was born in 1935, where he lived in Bhabra Bazaar, Rawalpindi until he was twelve years old. He then made the traumatic and emotional crossing over the border from what is now present-day Pakistan to Delhi, India.
Partition Memories Exhibition
On the 16th August, Farzana Qureshi (SOAS Arts and Humanities Librarian) and Dr. Aditi Kumar (Post Doctoral at Warwick University) held a walk and talk event in SOAS library, around the Lady David Cases. Thirty-five people attended the afternoon, from the British Library, SOAS staff and students and family members whose stories are shared in the exhibition…
Hidden Histories #11 – A Brief Record of my Father’s Time at Sea
A Brief Record of my Father’s Time at Sea
SOAS Library Decolonisation Group
A screening of “A Brief Record of My Father’s Time at Sea”, the latest documentary from Toronto-based Hakka filmmaker, Jeanette Kong.
Discussion and Q&A session with Dr. Richard Hylton.
Wednesday 21st June, 6pm – 8pm, Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre.
Hidden Histories #10 – Losing Home: Finding Home
75 years after the Partition of India, who owns the narrative? This question has been pondered at length in different forms on different forums, and the Sindh story has been markedly absent. It’s hard to understand why this is so, as it is a big story affecting a large and diverse population, with many remarkable features.
When Partition gave the province of Sindh intact to Pakistan, it was believed that the non-Muslims would continue as a peaceful and prosperous minority, as they had been for centuries. And when the trouble escalated, they faced their abrupt exile with courage and enterprise. At the moment it starts with the decolonising group…
Hidden Histories #9 – Celebrating through Masquerade
Gambia celebrated its 53rd year as a republic on 24 April and for this occasion we seek to celebrate our independence from total colonial rule by showcasing our cultural diversity as a country in masquerades. Masquerade in Africa symbolises unity, as all ethnic and religious groups celebrate together through Masquerade. SOAS Decolonising Working Group (DWG) Hidden Histories A seminar series curated by the Library Decolonisation Operational Group, led by Farzana
Hidden Histories #8 – African and Caribbean People in Britain (book launch)
Despite the best efforts of researchers and campaigners, there remains today a steadfast tendency to reduce the history of African and Caribbean people in Britain to a simple story: it is one that begins in 1948 with the arrival of a single ship, the Empire Windrush, and continues mostly apart from a distinct British history, overlapping only on occasion amid grotesque injustice or pioneering protest. SOAS Decolonising Working Group (DWG)
Hidden Histories #7 – BlindianProject — The HOME of Black x Brown Culture
The BlindianProject is a social impact media platform and community at the intersection of Black x Brown culture. We aim to normalize Black x Brown relationships and dismantle anti-Blackness and Indophobia. SOAS Decolonising Working Group (DWG) Hidden Histories A seminar series curated by the Library Decolonisation Operational Group, led by Farzana Qureshi, Dr. Ludi Price, Amma Poku and Angelica Baschiera Hidden Histories seeks to highlight stories from African, Caribbean and Asian communities in the UK