From Policemen to Revolutionaries uncovers the less-known story of Sikh emigrants in Shanghai in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Yin Cao argues that the cross-border circulation of personnel and knowledge across the British colonial and the Sikh diasporic networks, facilitated the formation of the Sikh community in Shanghai, eventually making this Chinese city one of the overseas hubs of the Indian nationalist struggle. By adopting a translocal approach, this study elaborates on how the flow of Sikh emigrants, largely regarded as subalterns, initially strengthened but eventually unhinged British colonial rule in East and Southeast Asia.
Yin Cao, Ph.D. (2016), National University of Singapore, is Associate Professor in the Department of History, Tsinghua University, China.
"[...] it is worth reading
From Policemen to Revolutionaries for its creative and global thinking on migration history, modern Chinese history, Indian history and British imperial history. Furthermore, the study draws impressively on an abundance of global primary sources in various languages (English, Chinese, Indian), from official archives (Shanghai Municipal Council, Colonial Office, Indian Office) to local newspaper (London, India, Singapore, California, Hong Kong, Shanghai)". Jiang Jiaxin, in
Crossroads, 19 (2020), pp. 99-115.
List of Illustrations
Introduction Sikh Migration in the Context of Global Migration
Shanghai in the Translocal Networks
Revisiting Sikh Diaspora and British Imperial History
Rescuing Shanghai Sikhs from Nation
Sources and Structure
1
Establishing the Sikh Police Unit in Shanghai Hong Kong as the Reference
The Rise and Decline of the Localization Policy in the
smp
A Martial Race in Motion
“They were Unsuitable for Shanghai”: Rejecting the Sikh Scheme
New Bottle with Old Wine: Revival of the Sikh Scheme
Conclusion
2
The Journey of Isser Singh: A Sikh Migrant in Shanghai A Peasant’s Son in the Punjab
Optimizing the Migration Plan
The Road to Shanghai
Accommodating the Sikhs
Policing Hongkou
“A Man Who Gives Considerable Trouble”
An Unending End
Conclusion
3
Kill Buddha Singh: The Indian Nationalist Movement in Shanghai, 1914–1927 Go to North America!
The Rise of the Ghadar Party
The Politicization of Sikhs in Shanghai
Turning to the Left
From Hankou to Shanghai: The Ghadar Hubs in China
“I kill Him Because He was a Bad Man”
The Rise of a Surveillance Network
Conclusion
4
A Lone Islet or A Center of Communications? Shanghai Sikhs and The Indian National Army The Birth of the
ina
and the Unification of Shanghai Sikhs
The
ina
in Crisis and the Hardship of Shanghai Sikhs
Subhas Chandra Bose and the Total Mobilization
The Mobilization of the Sikhs in Shanghai
The End of a Legend
Conclusion
Conclusion: Circulation, Networks, and Subalterns in Global History
Bibliography Index
Specialists and postgraduate students who have an interest in global history, modern Chinese history, and Indian diaspora.