Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Kultur-, Sozial- und Bildungswissenschaftliche Fakultät - Institut für Asien- und Afrikawissenschaften

BERSAS Talk: 18.06. Social and temporal histories of infrastructure in colonial India. By Dr. Nitin Sinha

When? 18th June, 12–2pm (c.t.)

Where? Institute for Asian and African Studies, Invalidenstr. 118, Room 315 (Hybrid)

>Link< to participation via zoom:

This talk is part of a BERSAS Lecture series. You can find the complete programme >here<

Abstract The session will open with a selection of diverse visual materials -- films and images -- that capture the multifaceted everyday life of infrastructure in the colonial period of South Asian history. These visuals evoke key themes such as imperial politics of representation, racial hierarchies, and gendered segregations and aspirations. They will serve as entry points for our discussion on the relationship between power, society, and the quotidian experiences shaped by infrastructural systems.

Interwoven with brief recounting of a few interesting archival cases, the discussion will span both macro-historiographical frameworks and new emerging areas of research in the field of transport and communication. In particular, students will be encouraged to share their ideas on how to do histories of speed, comfort, time, and delay, for instance.

Rather than offering a comprehensive history (economic, social, or cultural) of a specific aspect or a period of infrastructural development, the presentation will aim to demonstrate snapshots of people’s practices with institutional set up of the infrastructure, foregrounding the themes of social contestations and adaptations.

As part of the ongoing course on imaginaries, contestations, and everyday lives of infrastructure in South Asia, this talk is purposefully designed to foster active student participation, encouraging engagement with assigned readings for this session. Guests are welcome. For access to assigned readings, please email sadia.bajwa@hu-berlin.de

Bio Dr. Nitin Sinha is a social historian based at Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin. He has researched and published on themes of transport, labour, ecology, and law. His recent publications are on the history of domestic servants in India. His most recent book is titled, Against the Fetishisation of Plural Time: Rethinking Ways of Doing a Social History of Time, De Gruyter 2025. He actively engages in public outreach by reflecting on contemporary political and social changes in India on platforms such as https://thewire.in  and https://scroll.in