Brown History Podcast

Brown History

South Asia through the lens of South Asians

  1. 12/01/2025

    EP 76: The South Asian Diaspora on Indigenous Lands

    North America looks the way it does today because European settlers took land that Indigenous peoples were already living on. They did this through unfair treaties, wars, forced removal, and taking land by force. Historians call this settler colonialism — when newcomers move in, push out the original people, and build a permanent society on their land. And this didn't end in the past. It still happens today, just in quieter ways. Now, land is taken through laws, court decisions, and big corporations. For example, mining projects, pipelines, dams, and logging often get approved even when Indigenous nations say no. The process looks official, lots of paperwork and legal terms, but the idea is the same: governments still act like they can use Indigenous land without Indigenous permission. Immigrants have a complicated role in this. We didn't start these systems, we didn't fight the original wars or create reservations, but we still arrive and build our lives on this land. That means we also benefit from a system built on taking land from Indigenous peoples. And each of us has to choose whether we continue that system or help change it. Today, I'm talking with Nishant Upadhyay, author of Indians on Indian Lands. We discuss how South Asian communities became part of these settler systems, how race and caste shape our relationships with Indigenous peoples, and what it means to live responsibly on lands that were never given up. Get the book here: https://amzn.to/3Y5kDhz Visit our Shop: https://shopbrownhistory.com/ Become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/brownhistory Books covered on the podcast so far: https://amzn.to/42TH768

    45 min
  2. 03/18/2025

    The Making of Indian-Occupied Kashmir

    When countries in the Global South gained independence from European colonial rule, they didn't fully break away from the systems imposed by their former colonizers. While they became independent nations, they continued to follow the same ideas about borders, governance, and state power—ideas shaped by colonial rule. In other words, they removed foreign rulers but didn't necessarily rethink the structures that defined nations and states. In today's episode, we sit with Hafsa Kanjwal, author of the book 'Colonizing Kashmir: State-building Under Indian Occupation.' and explore how the Indian and Kashmiri governments used development and governance to tighten India's control over Kashmir after Partition. In her book, she argues that India's efforts to integrate and develop Kashmir after British rule were fundamentally colonial. She examines how India brought Kashmir under its control without the people's approval, using local leaders who followed India's interests. Her work argues that India's actions were not about freedom but instead shows them as part of a larger effort to strengthen the country after World War II. Get the book here: https://amzn.to/4eJg7fn Visit our Shop: https://shopbrownhistory.com/ Become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/brownhistory Books covered on the podcast so far: https://amzn.to/42TH768 Book Recommendations by Guest: Resisting Disappearance: Military Occupation and Women's Activism in Kashmir by Ather Zia Indians on Indian Lands: Intersections of Race, Caste, and Indigeneity by Nishant Upadhyay

    58 min
4.8
out of 5
92 Ratings

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South Asia through the lens of South Asians

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