Itinerant Belonging
Intimate Histories of Indian Ocean Capitalism

An intimate history of Indian Ocean capitalism, seen through the lens of Gujarat's old merchant homes.

Ketaki Pant (Author)

9781009601603, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 April 2025

255 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2 cm, 0.51 kg

'In Itinerant Belonging, the sense of 'belonging' as mobile, layered and uncertain is deeply rooted among the Muslim and Parsi mercantile communities. Moreover, by focusing … attention on social histories of marginalised groups (Muslim seafarers, and Parsi/Muslim merchants), and structures (dhow and haveli) [the author] draw[s] attention to the cultural diversity and entanglements of the Indian ocean and its people and their challenges and successes in making a livelihood.' Nishkala Suntharalingam, Asian Affairs

Along the coast of Gujarat, nineteenth-century merchant houses or havelis still stand in historic cities, connecting ports from Durban to Rangoon. In this ambitious and multifaceted work, Ketaki Pant uses these old spaces as a lens through which to view not only the vibrant stories of their occupants, but also the complex entanglements of Indian Ocean capitalism. These homes reveal new perspectives from colonized communities who were also major merchants, signifying ideas of family, race, gender, and religion, as well as representing ties to land. Employing concepts from feminist studies, colonial studies, and history, Pant argues that havelis provide a model for understanding colonial capitalism in the Indian Ocean as a spatial project. This is a rich exploration of both belonging and unbelonging and the ways they continue to shape individual and social identities today.

Prologue: ruined histories
Introduction: reimagining Gujarat
1. Inhabited histories
2. Haunted houses
3. Unsettling foundations
4. A house on a hill
Epilogue: Critical inhabitation – an intimate history.

Subject Areas: Asian history [HBJF]