Ep 9: A colonial history of the passport. With Radhika Mongia (English).

Nowadays, states have a monopoly to control migration. And because this is the case, we tend to think of this monopoly as a natural and defining element of state sovereignty, as something that has been around for as long as states have existed. Radhika argues that this is not the case. State control over migration is only a recent aspect of the state. Our conversation today roughly follows the arc of Radhika’s 2018 book, Indian Migration and Empire: A Colonial Genealogy of the Modern State. In it, she looks at Indian colonial migrations from about 1834, when Britain abolished slavery, up until the First World War. Radhika explains how the movements of these Indians was crucial to the emergence of the first forms of state control of mobility. In other words, the regulation of colonial migrations played a critical part in bringing about borders. Throughout the conversation, Radhika emphasizes the entanglements of the colonial state and the modern state, as well as the crucial role race and racisms played in shaping the passport inequality we know today. Book: Mongia, Radhika (2018). Indian Migration and Empire: A Colonial Genealogy of the Modern State. Music: Hüseyni Peşrev (Lavtacı Andon) by Michalis Kouloumis (Violin) and Baha Yetkin (Turkish Oud) lllustrations by B. Carrot, i.a. from Alle Dagen Ui, published by Soul Food Comics. For more of B. Carrot see www.instagram.com/bcarrotdraws and www.bcarrot.nl Graphic design by Thomas from Dark Roast (www.instagram.com/thomas.darkroast) Theme music: David (guitar) and Joris (drums) Theme music: Allen (accordion)and Neske (violin), after Doina from the Fanfare Ciocarlia

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