Kalathmika Natarajan
@kalathmika.bsky.social
Historian of modern South Asia at Exeter. Diplomatic history/IR at the intersections of migration, caste, and indenture.
Pinned
My book Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy is out with @hurstpublishers.bsky.social. It has been shaped by the support of a great community of scholars - grateful for generous endorsements from
@rahulraothariel.bsky.social @katesde.bsky.social @kalramnath.bsky.social
Order here - shorturl.at/55NjW
@rahulraothariel.bsky.social @katesde.bsky.social @kalramnath.bsky.social
Order here - shorturl.at/55NjW
So enjoyed discussing my book as part of this interview for the wonderful Imperial and Global Forum ahead of my talk tomorrow at Exeter.
imperialglobalexeter.com/2026/01/27/c...
imperialglobalexeter.com/2026/01/27/c...
Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy: A CIGH book interview with Dr Kalathmika Natarajan
Dr Kalathmika Natarajan, a Lecturer in Modern South Asian History at the University of Exeter, recently sat down for a Forum interview to discuss her exciting new book, Coolie Migrants, Indian Dipl…
imperialglobalexeter.com
January 27, 2026 at 8:01 PM
So enjoyed discussing my book as part of this interview for the wonderful Imperial and Global Forum ahead of my talk tomorrow at Exeter.
imperialglobalexeter.com/2026/01/27/c...
imperialglobalexeter.com/2026/01/27/c...
Looking forward to the launch of my book Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy next week (Wednesday, 28 Jan) at Exeter, organised by wonderful colleagues at the Centre for Imperial and Global History and South Asia Centre. Please join us - hybrid option available.
www.exeter.ac.uk/events/detai...
www.exeter.ac.uk/events/detai...
Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy Book Launch
www.exeter.ac.uk
January 23, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Looking forward to the launch of my book Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy next week (Wednesday, 28 Jan) at Exeter, organised by wonderful colleagues at the Centre for Imperial and Global History and South Asia Centre. Please join us - hybrid option available.
www.exeter.ac.uk/events/detai...
www.exeter.ac.uk/events/detai...
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
Happy to announce the 1st ever @isanet.bsky.social conference in South Asia in August 2026. Hosted in Colombo, Sri Lanka, we welcome proposals from scholars based in and/or studying South Asian politics & international relations, but also broader global themes ofc www.isanet.org/Conferences/...
ISA-SAWP Colombo 2026: Call for Proposals
eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
January 21, 2026 at 7:59 AM
Happy to announce the 1st ever @isanet.bsky.social conference in South Asia in August 2026. Hosted in Colombo, Sri Lanka, we welcome proposals from scholars based in and/or studying South Asian politics & international relations, but also broader global themes ofc www.isanet.org/Conferences/...
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
And for the longer history see James Vernon’s great piece in @pastpresentsoc.bsky.social academic.oup.com/past/article...
December 19, 2025 at 2:43 PM
And for the longer history see James Vernon’s great piece in @pastpresentsoc.bsky.social academic.oup.com/past/article...
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
giving a rare (these days) lecture online in the spring (6th March 2026): Studio Ilankai: A Tamil Photographic History of Sri Lankan Citizenship. Info and registration: www.byforcollective.com/programs/vin...
Studio Ilankai: A Tamil Photographic History of Sri Lankan Citizenship with Vindhya Buthpitiya — By / For: Photography & Democracy
Sri Lanka’s recent history and present, characterised by majoritarian governance, ethno-nationalist conflict, and civil war, is entangled with the multidimensional marginalisation of the island’s Tami...
www.byforcollective.com
December 13, 2025 at 1:21 PM
giving a rare (these days) lecture online in the spring (6th March 2026): Studio Ilankai: A Tamil Photographic History of Sri Lankan Citizenship. Info and registration: www.byforcollective.com/programs/vin...
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
Graduate of the American Studies programme that the University of Nottingham wishes to close wins 2025 Wolfson History Prize for Survivors: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the Atlantic Slave Trade.
History, it's a long game. Divest in haste, repent for the longue durée.
History, it's a long game. Divest in haste, repent for the longue durée.
The Wolfson History Prize - Celebrating Outstanding History
The Wolfson History Prize is awarded annually to promote and recognise outstanding history written for a general audience.
www.wolfsonhistoryprize.org.uk
December 3, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Graduate of the American Studies programme that the University of Nottingham wishes to close wins 2025 Wolfson History Prize for Survivors: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the Atlantic Slave Trade.
History, it's a long game. Divest in haste, repent for the longue durée.
History, it's a long game. Divest in haste, repent for the longue durée.
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
The Belonging Project is off to a fantastic start today!
It was wonderful to host Mohsin Alam Bhat, Shardul Gopujkar, and Arushi Gupta, the co-authors of the "Unmaking Citizens: The Architecture of Rights Violations and Exclusion in India’s Citizenship Trials":
www.nls.ac.in/wp-content/u...
It was wonderful to host Mohsin Alam Bhat, Shardul Gopujkar, and Arushi Gupta, the co-authors of the "Unmaking Citizens: The Architecture of Rights Violations and Exclusion in India’s Citizenship Trials":
www.nls.ac.in/wp-content/u...
November 7, 2025 at 4:57 PM
The Belonging Project is off to a fantastic start today!
It was wonderful to host Mohsin Alam Bhat, Shardul Gopujkar, and Arushi Gupta, the co-authors of the "Unmaking Citizens: The Architecture of Rights Violations and Exclusion in India’s Citizenship Trials":
www.nls.ac.in/wp-content/u...
It was wonderful to host Mohsin Alam Bhat, Shardul Gopujkar, and Arushi Gupta, the co-authors of the "Unmaking Citizens: The Architecture of Rights Violations and Exclusion in India’s Citizenship Trials":
www.nls.ac.in/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
Debs. Nehru. Dhoom Machale. I’m in danger of believing good things might be possible again
November 5, 2025 at 4:54 AM
Debs. Nehru. Dhoom Machale. I’m in danger of believing good things might be possible again
My book Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy is out with @hurstpublishers.bsky.social. It has been shaped by the support of a great community of scholars - grateful for generous endorsements from
@rahulraothariel.bsky.social @katesde.bsky.social @kalramnath.bsky.social
Order here - shorturl.at/55NjW
@rahulraothariel.bsky.social @katesde.bsky.social @kalramnath.bsky.social
Order here - shorturl.at/55NjW
November 4, 2025 at 8:14 AM
My book Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy is out with @hurstpublishers.bsky.social. It has been shaped by the support of a great community of scholars - grateful for generous endorsements from
@rahulraothariel.bsky.social @katesde.bsky.social @kalramnath.bsky.social
Order here - shorturl.at/55NjW
@rahulraothariel.bsky.social @katesde.bsky.social @kalramnath.bsky.social
Order here - shorturl.at/55NjW
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
📚 🇮🇳 OUT NOW: Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy: Caste, Class and Indenture Abroad, 1914–67 by @kalathmika.bsky.social
‘Transforms our understanding of diplomatic history.’ @rahulraothariel.bsky.social
25% off w/code COOLIE25 tinyurl.com/59246yu5
‘Transforms our understanding of diplomatic history.’ @rahulraothariel.bsky.social
25% off w/code COOLIE25 tinyurl.com/59246yu5
November 3, 2025 at 4:51 PM
📚 🇮🇳 OUT NOW: Coolie Migrants, Indian Diplomacy: Caste, Class and Indenture Abroad, 1914–67 by @kalathmika.bsky.social
‘Transforms our understanding of diplomatic history.’ @rahulraothariel.bsky.social
25% off w/code COOLIE25 tinyurl.com/59246yu5
‘Transforms our understanding of diplomatic history.’ @rahulraothariel.bsky.social
25% off w/code COOLIE25 tinyurl.com/59246yu5
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
Rathod & Ranganathan: "flooding exacerbates the marginalization that many Dalits already face"
The Caste-Climate-Labor Nexus: Migrant Journeys in India - Fourteen Magazine
Fourteen Magazine is an online thematic bi-annual magazine that platforms anti-caste writing and multimedia work.
www.fourteenmag.com
October 25, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Rathod & Ranganathan: "flooding exacerbates the marginalization that many Dalits already face"
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
I have a new article out.
TLDR: Actively courting deportation by air is a way to claim rights as a stateless person and even as a refugee.
academic.oup.com/past/advance...
TLDR: Actively courting deportation by air is a way to claim rights as a stateless person and even as a refugee.
academic.oup.com/past/advance...
Air Travel, Statelessness, and the Rights Claims of Ugandan Asians, c.1973*
Abstract. In the aftermath of Idi Amin’s expulsion of Uganda’s South Asians in 1972, some of those made technically stateless arrived in India unsupported
academic.oup.com
October 9, 2025 at 6:02 PM
I have a new article out.
TLDR: Actively courting deportation by air is a way to claim rights as a stateless person and even as a refugee.
academic.oup.com/past/advance...
TLDR: Actively courting deportation by air is a way to claim rights as a stateless person and even as a refugee.
academic.oup.com/past/advance...
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
The cover for my book, The Future That Was, is now live! It features the MacArthur genius artist Shahzia Sikander's Infinite Woman (2021), where earth is surrounded by an infinite series of women marching around the globe who, from afar, become rays of the sun ☀️
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
The Future That Was
How Third World women seized the means of knowledge production to fight against rising authoritarianism and imagine a future freer than our present
press.princeton.edu
September 26, 2025 at 12:50 PM
The cover for my book, The Future That Was, is now live! It features the MacArthur genius artist Shahzia Sikander's Infinite Woman (2021), where earth is surrounded by an infinite series of women marching around the globe who, from afar, become rays of the sun ☀️
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
A privilege to work with Vineet Thakur & Pavan Kumar on this first of its kind special issue on Caste in Indian Diplomacy & IR for @haguediplomacyjrnl.bsky.social. Do read, share and cite!
Grateful to the brilliant @deepaknair.bsky.social , @janmdiplo.bsky.social & team at HJD for their support.
Grateful to the brilliant @deepaknair.bsky.social , @janmdiplo.bsky.social & team at HJD for their support.
The Hague Journal of Diplomacy's Special Issue on Caste in Indian Diplomacy & IR is out. Edited by Vineet Thakur, Pavan Kumar & Kalathmika Natarajan @kalathmika.bsky.social @haguediplomacyjrnl.bsky.social
brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com/view/journal...
September 22, 2025 at 11:34 AM
A privilege to work with Vineet Thakur & Pavan Kumar on this first of its kind special issue on Caste in Indian Diplomacy & IR for @haguediplomacyjrnl.bsky.social. Do read, share and cite!
Grateful to the brilliant @deepaknair.bsky.social , @janmdiplo.bsky.social & team at HJD for their support.
Grateful to the brilliant @deepaknair.bsky.social , @janmdiplo.bsky.social & team at HJD for their support.
Glad to share this article co-authored with Medha (SNU) on the widespread, uncritical international usage of the highly derogatory caste slur ‘pariah’. We unpack how caste hierarchies long permeate diplomacy/IR and shape foundational categories like the ‘pariah state’. brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com
September 22, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Glad to share this article co-authored with Medha (SNU) on the widespread, uncritical international usage of the highly derogatory caste slur ‘pariah’. We unpack how caste hierarchies long permeate diplomacy/IR and shape foundational categories like the ‘pariah state’. brill.com/view/journal...
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
A superb special issue on caste and Indian diplomacy. Well done @kalathmika.bsky.social and the other editors! brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com
September 21, 2025 at 6:48 PM
A superb special issue on caste and Indian diplomacy. Well done @kalathmika.bsky.social and the other editors! brill.com/view/journal...
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
So happy to see this excellent Special Issue out in The Hague Journal of Diplomacy @haguediplomacyjrnl.bsky.social on Caste & IR edited by @unileiden.bsky.social colleague Vineet Thakur, Pavan Kumar & @kalathmika.bsky.social after having learned so much from the workshop in Leiden a few years ago
The Hague Journal of Diplomacy's Special Issue on Caste in Indian Diplomacy & IR is out. Edited by Vineet Thakur, Pavan Kumar & Kalathmika Natarajan @kalathmika.bsky.social @haguediplomacyjrnl.bsky.social
brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com/view/journal...
September 18, 2025 at 2:27 PM
So happy to see this excellent Special Issue out in The Hague Journal of Diplomacy @haguediplomacyjrnl.bsky.social on Caste & IR edited by @unileiden.bsky.social colleague Vineet Thakur, Pavan Kumar & @kalathmika.bsky.social after having learned so much from the workshop in Leiden a few years ago
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
The Hague Journal of Diplomacy's Special Issue on Caste in Indian Diplomacy & IR is out. Edited by Vineet Thakur, Pavan Kumar & Kalathmika Natarajan @kalathmika.bsky.social @haguediplomacyjrnl.bsky.social
brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com/view/journal...
September 18, 2025 at 11:36 AM
The Hague Journal of Diplomacy's Special Issue on Caste in Indian Diplomacy & IR is out. Edited by Vineet Thakur, Pavan Kumar & Kalathmika Natarajan @kalathmika.bsky.social @haguediplomacyjrnl.bsky.social
brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com/view/journal...
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
From spy planes to satellites, archaeology has long shared a sky with empire. What does that mean for the knowledge it produces?
Benjamin Thomas White (@btwhite.bsky.social) considers the colonial history of aerial archaeology.
Benjamin Thomas White (@btwhite.bsky.social) considers the colonial history of aerial archaeology.
The Bomber's View of the Past
Discover the influence of Antoine Poidebard on aerial archaeology and his complex role in French colonial history.
www.historyworkshop.org.uk
September 11, 2025 at 10:59 AM
From spy planes to satellites, archaeology has long shared a sky with empire. What does that mean for the knowledge it produces?
Benjamin Thomas White (@btwhite.bsky.social) considers the colonial history of aerial archaeology.
Benjamin Thomas White (@btwhite.bsky.social) considers the colonial history of aerial archaeology.
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
Just a reminder that in the midst of waves of anti-migrant, anti-refugee and anti-asylum-seeker rhetoric and activism, there are also many charities working quietly, stoically and hard to fuel a better conversation and a better future. Actively supporting them makes a difference.
Join the Migration Museum team for a walking tour exploring the incredible stories of the generations of migrants who’ve lived, worked, and shaped the City of London.
🗓️ Sat 13 Sept 2025
🕜 1.30–3pm
📍 Starts behind the Royal Exchange, London EC3V 3LL
🔗 Book now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/migration-...
🗓️ Sat 13 Sept 2025
🕜 1.30–3pm
📍 Starts behind the Royal Exchange, London EC3V 3LL
🔗 Book now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/migration-...
Migration Museum Walking Tour
Discover 2000 years of migration history, following the stories of generations of migrants that have shaped the City of London.
www.eventbrite.co.uk
September 7, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Just a reminder that in the midst of waves of anti-migrant, anti-refugee and anti-asylum-seeker rhetoric and activism, there are also many charities working quietly, stoically and hard to fuel a better conversation and a better future. Actively supporting them makes a difference.
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
Absolutely delighted to have been awarded the Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar medal by the @royalsociety.org for my research on science, race, and empire, including my book Vanished. An enormous thanks to everybody who made this possible, especially the Royal Society.
royalsociety.org/medals-and-p...
royalsociety.org/medals-and-p...
Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Medal and Lecture | Royal Society
This prize lecture is given on a subject relating to the history of science, philosophy of science or the social function of science.
royalsociety.org
August 27, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Absolutely delighted to have been awarded the Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar medal by the @royalsociety.org for my research on science, race, and empire, including my book Vanished. An enormous thanks to everybody who made this possible, especially the Royal Society.
royalsociety.org/medals-and-p...
royalsociety.org/medals-and-p...
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
African prisoners made sound recordings in German camps in WW1: this is what they had to say
theconversation.com/african-pris...
theconversation.com/african-pris...
African prisoners made sound recordings in German camps in WW1: this is what they had to say
African prisoners in German camps were studied by ethnographers, who recorded their voices. What they had to say is poignant and unexpected.
theconversation.com
June 8, 2025 at 5:22 PM
African prisoners made sound recordings in German camps in WW1: this is what they had to say
theconversation.com/african-pris...
theconversation.com/african-pris...
Reposted by Kalathmika Natarajan
Excited to see the website is now live for my forthcoming book, The Future That Was: A History of Third World Feminism Against Authoritarianism (PUP, March 2026)
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
The Future That Was
How Third World women seized the means of knowledge production to fight against rising authoritarianism and imagine a future freer than our present
press.princeton.edu
June 7, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Excited to see the website is now live for my forthcoming book, The Future That Was: A History of Third World Feminism Against Authoritarianism (PUP, March 2026)
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
A. Sivanandan wrote When Memory Dies in his 70s. His memories of experiencing violence as a Tamil in Ceylon shaped the novel and was central to his thought. I wish this would be foregrounded in contemporary analyses of Siva - this is not just background trivia largely forgotten among the aphorisms.
June 2, 2025 at 9:38 PM
A. Sivanandan wrote When Memory Dies in his 70s. His memories of experiencing violence as a Tamil in Ceylon shaped the novel and was central to his thought. I wish this would be foregrounded in contemporary analyses of Siva - this is not just background trivia largely forgotten among the aphorisms.