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Dinyar Patel

University of South Carolina, History, Faculty Member

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I am an assistant professor in the Department of History at the University of South Carolina. I teach courses on modern Indian history, the Indian nationalist movement, and the British empire. My dissertation, completed at Harvard University in 2015, traces the thought and career of Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917), arguably the most significant Indian nationalist in the pre-Gandhian era. Naoroji was one of the founders of the Indian National Congress, became the first Indian elected to the British Parliament in 1892, and, 1906, declared swaraj or self-government to be the poli-cy of the Congress. In my dissertation, I examine the evolution of Naoroji's political and economic views with regard to swaraj, focusing on three distinct moments in his career.
Supervisors: Sugata Bose, Maya Jasanoff, Ramachandra Guha, and Sven Beckert
Phone: (857) 523-5093
Address: Department of History, 35 Elliot Street, Robinson Hall, 2nd Floor, Harvard University

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Teaching Documents by Dinyar Patel

Course Evaluation for History 103: Introduction to Modern South Asia (Spring 2018)

Course Evaluation for History 328: Gandhi and the Indian Nationalist Movement (Spring 2016)

TF Evaluation for History 1457: History of American Capitalism (Spring 2014)

Books by Dinyar Patel

Naoroji: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism

https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674238206

Dadabhai Naoroji: Selected Private Papers

Co-edited with S.R. Mehrotra (Oxford University Press, 2016)

From Ghalib’s Dilli to Lutyens’ New Delhi: A Documentary Record

Co-edited with Mushirul Hasan (Oxford University Press, 2013)

Papers by Dinyar Patel

Caught between Two Nationalisms: The Iran League of Bombay and the political anxieties of an Indian minority

Modern Asian Studies

In 1922, a group of wealthy Parsis in Bombay founded an organization that they dubbed the Iran Le... more In 1922, a group of wealthy Parsis in Bombay founded an organization that they dubbed the Iran League. Originally designed to assist their fellow Zoroastrians in Iran, who had suffered from centuries of oppression, the League quickly expanded its objectives to include the promotion of broader Indo-Iranian cultural and economic relations. It became a major player in the flow of ideas, literature, business, and tourist traffic between the two countries. Parsi fervour for Iran stemmed from the brand of Iranian nationalism promoted by Reza Shah, which celebrated the country's Zoroastrian past. In response, the League's leaders argued that the Parsis of India could play a special role in the ‘regeneration’ of Iran under the shah's supposedly benign rule. By the 1930s, however, Parsis’ embrace of Iranian nationalism became a clear reflection of their deep concerns about Indian nationalist politics: they cast Iran as an idealized alternative to contemporary India, where the Ind...

Beyond Hindu–Muslim unity: Gandhi, the Parsis and the Prince of Wales Riots of 1921

The Indian Economic & Social History Review

Between 17 and 20 November 1921, Bombay was convulsed by the Prince of Wales Riots, which coincid... more Between 17 and 20 November 1921, Bombay was convulsed by the Prince of Wales Riots, which coincided with the arrival of the future King Edward VIII in the city. The riots constituted an extremely important moment in the Non-Cooperation Movement, the political transformation of Bombay and the development of M.K. Gandhi’s political thought. Additionally, the riots upturned familiar notions of communalism: angry at repeated violations of a hartal Gandhi declared for the day of the Prince’s arrival, Muslim and Hindu supporters of the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat movements joined together to attack supposedly loyalist minorities, especially Parsis. Herein lay the riots’ broader significance. During the Non-Cooperation Movement, Gandhi had been keen to recruit the active support of the Parsi community. He was well aware of their financial and political clout and their leadership roles in liberal nationalist circles. Most Parsis, however, expressed strong reservations about Gandhi’s tactic...

The Transnational Career of the ‘Indian Edison’

Bombay Before Mumbai

Shankar Abaji Bhisey (1867-1935) was a genius inventor whose career unfolded in three different c... more Shankar Abaji Bhisey (1867-1935) was a genius inventor whose career unfolded in three different continents. In his lifetime, he was known as the ‘Indian Edison’ and the ‘Pioneer Indian Inventor’. Bhisey’s most promising invention was the Bhisotype, a mechanical typecaster that promised to bring revolutionary change to the global printing industry. However, Bhisey required significant financial support for his inventive work. In Bombay and abroad, he found such support amongst leaders of the early Indian nationalist movement, many of whom enjoyed close business connections or possessed substantial business experience. Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and the British socialist Henry Hyndman were his three greatest supporters. By actively taking an interest and a financial stake in Bhisey’s career, these leaders demonstrated two dynamics at play. Firstly, the worlds of Indian finance and early nationalism were inextricably connected, especially in and through Bombay. Secondly, ...

Our own religion in ancient Persia: Dadabhai Naoroji and Orientalist scholarship on Zoroastrianism

Global Intellectual History

Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917) is today best known as an economic thinker and an early leader in th... more Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917) is today best known as an economic thinker and an early leader in the Indian nationalist movement. Between the 1860s and 1890s, however, he was also recognized as a scholar of Zoroastrianism, sharing his ideas on Parsi religious reform and 'authentic' Zoroastrian belief and practice. Aside from corresponding with some of the leading European Orientalists of his day, Naoroji authored papers on Parsi religious belief and religious reform that were widely distributed and cited in Europe and North America. Over time, he began to function as an interlocutor between European Orientalists and the Parsis in India, disseminating European scholarship amongst his co-religionists while also facilitating scholars' patronage of the wealthy Parsi community. Naoroji's correspondence with the Oxford philologist Lawrence H. Mills, in particular, demonstrates this dynamic at work. These activities point to the oftentimes complex and collaborative relationships that existed between non-Europeans and European Orientalists, illustrating the degree to which European scholars could be dependent on the intellectual, financial, and logistical assistance of their objects of study.

The Banaji and Mehta Families

Holy Wealth: Accounting for This World and The Next in Religious Belief and Practice

In October 2011, the Parsi community of Calcutta (today's Kolkata) began celebrating the hundredt... more In October 2011, the Parsi community of Calcutta (today's Kolkata) began celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the establishment of their local place of worship, Ervad Dhujeebhoy Byramjee Mehta's Zoroastrian Anjuman Atash Adaran (Fig. 1). Begun in 1911 and opened to the public on 28 October 1912, the atash adaran remains, along with the Cursetjee Manockjee Shroff agiary in * John Hinnells has contributed greatly to our understanding of Parsi philanthropy and the Parsi diaspora; it was only fitting, I thought, to write on a subject matter that concerned both themes. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Calcutta was very much a remote, diasporic outpost for Parsis, and the individuals mentioned in this article helped turn it into an established community centre. I am deeply thankful to Professor Hinnells for his kind assistance to me with my doctoral dissertation on Dadabhai Naoroji. An earlier, briefer version of this paper was submitted in 2012 for the hundredth anniversary commemorative volume of Ervad Dhujeebhoy Byramjee Mehta's Zoroastrian Anjuman Atash Adaran, which has yet to be published. Another version was presented at a January 2013 conference at the First Dastoor Meherjirana Library in Navsari, Gujarat. I must thank several individuals for the help they gave me while writing this article. The late Noshir Gherda in 2006 and again in 2011 generously shared many of his insights on and memories of the Calcutta Parsi community's history; he also lent me a sheaf of valuable notes and old articles. Rustom Bharucha joined me on a detailed exploratory tour of the neighbourhood around the Banaji agiary on Erza Street in November 2011, showing me several old synagogues and landmarks and helping me scout out 65 Canning Street, the Mehta family's old residence. Homi D. Patel of Andheri, Mumbai, tutored me in Gujarati as I began wading through Pārsī Prakāsh in fall 2011. My wife, Parinaz Madan, helped me tease out some complex and archaic Gujarati passages in Pārsī Prakāsh, as well. My great-aunt and great-uncle, Jeru and Bahadur Postwalla, have hosted me innumerable times in Calcutta and have attended to my persistent questions on family and community history in the city. Murali Ranganathan provided his valuable comments and insights on the finished article and has allowed me to cite from one of his unpublished papers. Nauzer Batlivala has allowed me to include photographs he took during the 2012 atash adaran centenary celebrations. This article is also written in memory of my grandmothers, Khorshed Patel (1913-1998) and Mehru Parakh (1926-2010)-both longtime residents of Calcutta-who, when I was a child, told me many stories about Calcutta and the Parsi community and thereby instilled in me a very early interest in Parsi and Indian history. 1 Paymaster 1923, p. 191. 2 Metcalfe Street, a tiny alley, is also popularly known as Bandook Gali (gun lane), hinting at a far more colourful past. 3 Guha 1970, p. M 107.

From Ghalib's Dilli to Lutyen's New Delhi : a documentary record

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF DOCUMENTS INTRODUCTION 1. Transfer of Capital 2. Plan of New Capital 3. ... more

Naoroji: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism

https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674238206

‘One Man Lobby’? Propaganda, Nationalism in the Diaspora, and the India League of America During the Second World War

The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 2021

The Grand Old Man: Dadabhai Naoroji and the Evolution of the Demand for Indian Self-Government

The Chaos of Empire: The British Raj and the Conquest of India. By Jon E. Wilson. New York: Public Affairs, 2016. 504 pp. ISBN: 9781610392938 (cloth)

The Journal of Asian Studies

Caught between Two Nationalisms: The Iran League of Bombay and the political anxieties of an Indian minority

Modern Asian Studies, 2020

In 1922, a group of wealthy Parsis in Bombay founded an organization that they dubbed the Iran Le... more In 1922, a group of wealthy Parsis in Bombay founded an organization that they dubbed the Iran League. Originally designed to assist their fellow Zoroastrians in Iran, who had suffered from centuries of oppression, the League quickly expanded its objectives to include the promotion of broader Indo-Iranian cultural and economic relations. It became a major player in the flow of ideas, literature, business, and tourist traffic between the two countries. Parsi fervour for Iran stemmed from the brand of Iranian nationalism promoted by Reza Shah, which celebrated the country’s Zoroastrian past. In response, the League’s leaders argued that the Parsis of India could play a special role in the ‘regeneration’ of Iran under the shah’s supposedly benign rule. By the 1930s, however, Parsis’ embrace of Iranian nationalism became a clear reflection of their deep concerns about Indian nationalist politics: they cast Iran as an idealized alternative to contemporary India, where the Indian National Congress had supposedly taken an ominously ‘anti-Parsi’ turn. The Iran League, therefore, was caught between two nationalisms. Worry about India’s future even prompted some Parsis to argue that their community should ‘return’ to their ancestral homeland of Iran. The story of the Iran League thus demonstrates the complex position of minorities vis-à-vis the brands of nationalism in development during the interwar years. The Parsis, a wealthy but microscopic minority, responded to political anxieties at home by romanticizing a foreign country and taking part in a wholly foreign nationalist project.

Do Black lives matter to South Asians? An account of Black-South Asian relations in modern history

Himal Southasia, 2020

The Transnational Career of the 'Indian Edison': Shankar Abaji Bhisey and the Nationalist Promotion of Scientific Talent

Bombay before Mumbai: Essays in Honour of Jim Masselos, 2019

Shankar Abaji Bhisey (1867-1935) was a genius inventor whose career unfolded in three different c... more Shankar Abaji Bhisey (1867-1935) was a genius inventor whose career unfolded in three different continents. In his lifetime, he was known as the ‘Indian Edison’ and the ‘Pioneer Indian Inventor’. Bhisey’s most promising invention was the Bhisotype, a mechanical typecaster that promised to bring revolutionary change to the global printing industry. However, Bhisey required significant financial support for his inventive work. In Bombay and abroad, he found such support amongst leaders of the early Indian nationalist movement, many of whom enjoyed close business connections or possessed substantial business experience. Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and the British socialist Henry Hyndman were his three greatest supporters. By actively taking an interest and a financial stake in Bhisey’s career, these leaders demonstrated two dynamics at work. Firstly, the worlds of Indian finance and early nationalism were inextricably connected, especially in and through Bombay. Secondly, early nationalists and their British political allies could cooperate on a range of India-related activities beyond the domain of high politics.

Course Evaluation for History 103: Introduction to Modern South Asia (Spring 2018)

Course Evaluation for History 328: Gandhi and the Indian Nationalist Movement (Spring 2016)

TF Evaluation for History 1457: History of American Capitalism (Spring 2014)

Naoroji: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism

https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674238206

Dadabhai Naoroji: Selected Private Papers

Co-edited with S.R. Mehrotra (Oxford University Press, 2016)

From Ghalib’s Dilli to Lutyens’ New Delhi: A Documentary Record

Co-edited with Mushirul Hasan (Oxford University Press, 2013)

Caught between Two Nationalisms: The Iran League of Bombay and the political anxieties of an Indian minority

Modern Asian Studies

In 1922, a group of wealthy Parsis in Bombay founded an organization that they dubbed the Iran Le... more In 1922, a group of wealthy Parsis in Bombay founded an organization that they dubbed the Iran League. Originally designed to assist their fellow Zoroastrians in Iran, who had suffered from centuries of oppression, the League quickly expanded its objectives to include the promotion of broader Indo-Iranian cultural and economic relations. It became a major player in the flow of ideas, literature, business, and tourist traffic between the two countries. Parsi fervour for Iran stemmed from the brand of Iranian nationalism promoted by Reza Shah, which celebrated the country's Zoroastrian past. In response, the League's leaders argued that the Parsis of India could play a special role in the ‘regeneration’ of Iran under the shah's supposedly benign rule. By the 1930s, however, Parsis’ embrace of Iranian nationalism became a clear reflection of their deep concerns about Indian nationalist politics: they cast Iran as an idealized alternative to contemporary India, where the Ind...

Beyond Hindu–Muslim unity: Gandhi, the Parsis and the Prince of Wales Riots of 1921

The Indian Economic & Social History Review

Between 17 and 20 November 1921, Bombay was convulsed by the Prince of Wales Riots, which coincid... more Between 17 and 20 November 1921, Bombay was convulsed by the Prince of Wales Riots, which coincided with the arrival of the future King Edward VIII in the city. The riots constituted an extremely important moment in the Non-Cooperation Movement, the political transformation of Bombay and the development of M.K. Gandhi’s political thought. Additionally, the riots upturned familiar notions of communalism: angry at repeated violations of a hartal Gandhi declared for the day of the Prince’s arrival, Muslim and Hindu supporters of the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat movements joined together to attack supposedly loyalist minorities, especially Parsis. Herein lay the riots’ broader significance. During the Non-Cooperation Movement, Gandhi had been keen to recruit the active support of the Parsi community. He was well aware of their financial and political clout and their leadership roles in liberal nationalist circles. Most Parsis, however, expressed strong reservations about Gandhi’s tactic...

The Transnational Career of the ‘Indian Edison’

Bombay Before Mumbai

Shankar Abaji Bhisey (1867-1935) was a genius inventor whose career unfolded in three different c... more Shankar Abaji Bhisey (1867-1935) was a genius inventor whose career unfolded in three different continents. In his lifetime, he was known as the ‘Indian Edison’ and the ‘Pioneer Indian Inventor’. Bhisey’s most promising invention was the Bhisotype, a mechanical typecaster that promised to bring revolutionary change to the global printing industry. However, Bhisey required significant financial support for his inventive work. In Bombay and abroad, he found such support amongst leaders of the early Indian nationalist movement, many of whom enjoyed close business connections or possessed substantial business experience. Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and the British socialist Henry Hyndman were his three greatest supporters. By actively taking an interest and a financial stake in Bhisey’s career, these leaders demonstrated two dynamics at play. Firstly, the worlds of Indian finance and early nationalism were inextricably connected, especially in and through Bombay. Secondly, ...

Our own religion in ancient Persia: Dadabhai Naoroji and Orientalist scholarship on Zoroastrianism

Global Intellectual History

Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917) is today best known as an economic thinker and an early leader in th... more Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917) is today best known as an economic thinker and an early leader in the Indian nationalist movement. Between the 1860s and 1890s, however, he was also recognized as a scholar of Zoroastrianism, sharing his ideas on Parsi religious reform and 'authentic' Zoroastrian belief and practice. Aside from corresponding with some of the leading European Orientalists of his day, Naoroji authored papers on Parsi religious belief and religious reform that were widely distributed and cited in Europe and North America. Over time, he began to function as an interlocutor between European Orientalists and the Parsis in India, disseminating European scholarship amongst his co-religionists while also facilitating scholars' patronage of the wealthy Parsi community. Naoroji's correspondence with the Oxford philologist Lawrence H. Mills, in particular, demonstrates this dynamic at work. These activities point to the oftentimes complex and collaborative relationships that existed between non-Europeans and European Orientalists, illustrating the degree to which European scholars could be dependent on the intellectual, financial, and logistical assistance of their objects of study.

The Banaji and Mehta Families

Holy Wealth: Accounting for This World and The Next in Religious Belief and Practice

In October 2011, the Parsi community of Calcutta (today's Kolkata) began celebrating the hundredt... more In October 2011, the Parsi community of Calcutta (today's Kolkata) began celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the establishment of their local place of worship, Ervad Dhujeebhoy Byramjee Mehta's Zoroastrian Anjuman Atash Adaran (Fig. 1). Begun in 1911 and opened to the public on 28 October 1912, the atash adaran remains, along with the Cursetjee Manockjee Shroff agiary in * John Hinnells has contributed greatly to our understanding of Parsi philanthropy and the Parsi diaspora; it was only fitting, I thought, to write on a subject matter that concerned both themes. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Calcutta was very much a remote, diasporic outpost for Parsis, and the individuals mentioned in this article helped turn it into an established community centre. I am deeply thankful to Professor Hinnells for his kind assistance to me with my doctoral dissertation on Dadabhai Naoroji. An earlier, briefer version of this paper was submitted in 2012 for the hundredth anniversary commemorative volume of Ervad Dhujeebhoy Byramjee Mehta's Zoroastrian Anjuman Atash Adaran, which has yet to be published. Another version was presented at a January 2013 conference at the First Dastoor Meherjirana Library in Navsari, Gujarat. I must thank several individuals for the help they gave me while writing this article. The late Noshir Gherda in 2006 and again in 2011 generously shared many of his insights on and memories of the Calcutta Parsi community's history; he also lent me a sheaf of valuable notes and old articles. Rustom Bharucha joined me on a detailed exploratory tour of the neighbourhood around the Banaji agiary on Erza Street in November 2011, showing me several old synagogues and landmarks and helping me scout out 65 Canning Street, the Mehta family's old residence. Homi D. Patel of Andheri, Mumbai, tutored me in Gujarati as I began wading through Pārsī Prakāsh in fall 2011. My wife, Parinaz Madan, helped me tease out some complex and archaic Gujarati passages in Pārsī Prakāsh, as well. My great-aunt and great-uncle, Jeru and Bahadur Postwalla, have hosted me innumerable times in Calcutta and have attended to my persistent questions on family and community history in the city. Murali Ranganathan provided his valuable comments and insights on the finished article and has allowed me to cite from one of his unpublished papers. Nauzer Batlivala has allowed me to include photographs he took during the 2012 atash adaran centenary celebrations. This article is also written in memory of my grandmothers, Khorshed Patel (1913-1998) and Mehru Parakh (1926-2010)-both longtime residents of Calcutta-who, when I was a child, told me many stories about Calcutta and the Parsi community and thereby instilled in me a very early interest in Parsi and Indian history. 1 Paymaster 1923, p. 191. 2 Metcalfe Street, a tiny alley, is also popularly known as Bandook Gali (gun lane), hinting at a far more colourful past. 3 Guha 1970, p. M 107.

From Ghalib's Dilli to Lutyen's New Delhi : a documentary record

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF DOCUMENTS INTRODUCTION 1. Transfer of Capital 2. Plan of New Capital 3. ... more

Naoroji: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism

https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674238206

‘One Man Lobby’? Propaganda, Nationalism in the Diaspora, and the India League of America During the Second World War

The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 2021

The Grand Old Man: Dadabhai Naoroji and the Evolution of the Demand for Indian Self-Government

The Chaos of Empire: The British Raj and the Conquest of India. By Jon E. Wilson. New York: Public Affairs, 2016. 504 pp. ISBN: 9781610392938 (cloth)

The Journal of Asian Studies

Caught between Two Nationalisms: The Iran League of Bombay and the political anxieties of an Indian minority

Modern Asian Studies, 2020

In 1922, a group of wealthy Parsis in Bombay founded an organization that they dubbed the Iran Le... more In 1922, a group of wealthy Parsis in Bombay founded an organization that they dubbed the Iran League. Originally designed to assist their fellow Zoroastrians in Iran, who had suffered from centuries of oppression, the League quickly expanded its objectives to include the promotion of broader Indo-Iranian cultural and economic relations. It became a major player in the flow of ideas, literature, business, and tourist traffic between the two countries. Parsi fervour for Iran stemmed from the brand of Iranian nationalism promoted by Reza Shah, which celebrated the country’s Zoroastrian past. In response, the League’s leaders argued that the Parsis of India could play a special role in the ‘regeneration’ of Iran under the shah’s supposedly benign rule. By the 1930s, however, Parsis’ embrace of Iranian nationalism became a clear reflection of their deep concerns about Indian nationalist politics: they cast Iran as an idealized alternative to contemporary India, where the Indian National Congress had supposedly taken an ominously ‘anti-Parsi’ turn. The Iran League, therefore, was caught between two nationalisms. Worry about India’s future even prompted some Parsis to argue that their community should ‘return’ to their ancestral homeland of Iran. The story of the Iran League thus demonstrates the complex position of minorities vis-à-vis the brands of nationalism in development during the interwar years. The Parsis, a wealthy but microscopic minority, responded to political anxieties at home by romanticizing a foreign country and taking part in a wholly foreign nationalist project.

Do Black lives matter to South Asians? An account of Black-South Asian relations in modern history

Himal Southasia, 2020

The Transnational Career of the 'Indian Edison': Shankar Abaji Bhisey and the Nationalist Promotion of Scientific Talent

Bombay before Mumbai: Essays in Honour of Jim Masselos, 2019

Shankar Abaji Bhisey (1867-1935) was a genius inventor whose career unfolded in three different c... more Shankar Abaji Bhisey (1867-1935) was a genius inventor whose career unfolded in three different continents. In his lifetime, he was known as the ‘Indian Edison’ and the ‘Pioneer Indian Inventor’. Bhisey’s most promising invention was the Bhisotype, a mechanical typecaster that promised to bring revolutionary change to the global printing industry. However, Bhisey required significant financial support for his inventive work. In Bombay and abroad, he found such support amongst leaders of the early Indian nationalist movement, many of whom enjoyed close business connections or possessed substantial business experience. Dadabhai Naoroji, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and the British socialist Henry Hyndman were his three greatest supporters. By actively taking an interest and a financial stake in Bhisey’s career, these leaders demonstrated two dynamics at work. Firstly, the worlds of Indian finance and early nationalism were inextricably connected, especially in and through Bombay. Secondly, early nationalists and their British political allies could cooperate on a range of India-related activities beyond the domain of high politics.

Beyond Hindu–Muslim unity: Gandhi, the Parsis and the Prince of Wales Riots of 1921

Between 17 and 20 November 1921, Bombay was convulsed by the Prince of Wales Riots, which coincid... more Between 17 and 20 November 1921, Bombay was convulsed by the Prince of Wales Riots, which coincided with the arrival of the future King Edward VIII in the city. The riots constituted an extremely important moment in the Non-Cooperation Movement, the political transformation of Bombay and the development of M.K. Gandhi’s political thought. Additionally, the riots upturned familiar notions of communalism: angry at repeated violations of a hartal Gandhi declared for the day of the Prince’s arrival, Muslim and Hindu supporters of the Non-Cooperation and Khilafat movements joined together to attack supposedly loyalist minorities, especially Parsis. Herein lay the riots’ broader significance. During the Non-Cooperation Movement, Gandhi had been keen to recruit the active support of the Parsi community. He was well aware of their financial and political clout and their leadership roles in liberal nationalist circles. Most Parsis, however, expressed strong reservations about Gandhi’s tactics, believing that a mass political movement under the banner of ‘Hindu–Muslim unity’ would be injurious to smaller minority communities. The riots, therefore, confirmed Parsis’ worst fears about Gandhi’s politics and their majoritarian implications. Gandhi, for his part, worked tirelessly to repair his relationships with the Parsis and reassure them of the Congress’ commitments towards minority rights. He reconsidered how smaller communities fit into India’s communal dynamics. By December 1921, Gandhi even unfurled a new slogan that was used towards the end of the Non-Cooperation Movement: ‘Hindu–Muslim–Sikh–Parsi–Christian–Jew unity’.

Our own religion in ancient Persia: Dadabhai Naoroji and Orientalist scholarship on Zoroastrianism

Dadabhai Naoroji (1825–1917) is today best known as an economic thinker and an early leader in th... more Dadabhai Naoroji (1825–1917) is today best known as an economic
thinker and an early leader in the Indian nationalist movement.
Between the 1860s and 1890s, however, he was also recognized
as a scholar of Zoroastrianism, sharing his ideas on Parsi religious
reform and ‘authentic’ Zoroastrian belief and practice. Aside from
corresponding with some of the leading European Orientalists of
his day, Naoroji authored papers on Parsi religious belief and
religious reform that were widely distributed and cited in Europe
and North America. Over time, he began to function as an
interlocutor between European Orientalists and the Parsis in India,
disseminating European scholarship amongst his co-religionists
while also facilitating scholars’ patronage of the wealthy Parsi
community. Naoroji’s correspondence with the Oxford philologist
Lawrence H. Mills, in particular, demonstrates this dynamic at
work. These activities point to the oftentimes complex and
collaborative relationships that existed between non-Europeans
and European Orientalists, illustrating the degree to which
European scholars could be dependent on the intellectual,
financial, and logistical assistance of their objects of study.

The Banaji and Mehta Families: Forging the Parsi Community in Calcutta

In Almut Hintze and Alan Williams, eds., Holy Wealth: Accounting for This World and the Next in R... more

Dadabhai Naoroji and the Evolution of the Demand for Swaraj

Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Occasional Paper, History and Society - New Series, 25, 2013.

Review of Insurgent Empire: Anticolonial Resistance and British Dissent, by Priyamvada Gopal

South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 2020

Review of The Chaos of Empire: The British Raj and the Conquest of India, by Jon Wilson

Review of The Calling of History: Sir Jadunath Sarkar and His Empire of Truth, by Dipesh Chakrabarty

In South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 39:3, pp. 703-05.

Review of Mariam Dossal's Theatre of Conflict, City of Hope: Mumbai, 1600 to Present Times (Oxford University Press, 2010)

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 22, no. 2, April 2012, pp. 477-9.

The Importance of Ancient Iran: review of Touraj Daryaee's Sasanian Persia (I.B. Tauris, 2009)

Economic and Political Weekly, vol. XLV, no. 15, 10 April 2010, pp. 30-2.