Summary of 2019-20 Cotterrell Lecture: Professor Renisa Mawani

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00:00:00 - 01:00:00

This lecture discusses the history of the Komagata Maru and the British Empire's reaction to it. The ship was filled with Indians attempting to travel to India to demand their rights, and the British Empire's reaction was to pass the India Ordinance of 1914, which granted authorities expansive powers to govern recent arrivals in India as though they were foreigners with limited rights in their own land. The lecture also provides context for the Qasim brothers, who arrived in Calcutta in 1914 and were described as revolutionary forces.

00:00:00 The speaker, Professor Renisa Mawani from the University of British Columbia, introduces Professor Roger Cottle, who will speak about cultural force prudence. The talk is about how to resist the instrumentalization of our labor and exploitation, and emphasizes the importance of knowledge and communication.
00:05:00 This talk will discuss Bernice Cottrell's work on colonial technologies of governance, and how her research connects to her current project, "Enemies of Empire." Cottrell will also discuss her book, "Across Oceans of Law," which examines various forms of law across different parts of the world.
00:10:00 This 1-paragraph summary of the video "2019-20 Cotterrell Lecture: Professor Renisa Mawani" discusses the history of the Indian colonial state and how certain men were deemed enemies of the Empire because of their political and economic aspirations. The lecture focuses on four men from one Gujarati merchant family who traveled to various ports of call in East and Southeast Asia between 1914 and 1919. The video provides context for the recent protests in India against anti-immigrant legislation.
00:15:00 This lecture discusses India's history of ordinances, focusing on radical Singha Nasir Hussain and the foreigners ordinance of 1914. These ordinances emerged from maritime contests over commerce, migration, and anti-colonialism. The introduction of ordinances in India began at a slow pace, but increased dramatically during World War I.
00:20:00 The video discusses the Komagata Maru and its arrival in Calcutta in 1914, which heightened fears of sedition and anti-colonialism in India. The ingress was enacted to control the movements of returning migrants and was designed to prevent any threat to national security.
00:25:00 The 2019-20 Cotterrell Lecture, given by Professor Renisa Mawani, explores the history and significance of the India Ordinance of 1914, which granted authorities expansive powers to govern recent arrivals in India as though they were foreigners with limited rights in their own land. The lecture also provides context for the Qasim brothers, who arrived in Calcutta in 1914 and were described as revolutionary forces. Indian colonial officials relied on the foreigners ordinance to apprehend and detain suspects, even though the ingress into India could not prohibit Indians from reentering India.
00:30:00 In 1916, the Indian Colonial Government passed three emergency ordinances- the foreigners ordinance, the ingress into India ordinance, and the ingress into Burma ordinance. These ordinances were designed to expand the colonial government's surveillance and control over the population, particularly migrants and merchants. In 1919, after seven years of enforcement, the ordinances were repealed.
00:35:00 In 1917, three Muslim brothers from India, Sadiq Qasim, Mohammed, and Amara, were arrested in Burma for seditious behavior, and deported to India. Siddhi, one of the brothers, was also arrested and detained, claiming he had no idea why. In 1919, they were all released and Mohammed and Siddhi traveled to Singapore, where they met up with Muhammad Qasim, the eldest brother. Siddhi was deported to Burma again because authorities were concerned about his auction business. All four brothers were eventually imprisoned in different locations in Burma. Siddhi was released in 1921 and Mohammed and Amara in 1923. Muhammad Qasim was deported to India in 1917 and opened correspondence with and actively assisted the seditionist party. He was eventually released and returned to Singapore.
00:40:00 According to Sigmund Baumann, the 9/11 terrorist attacks marked the beginning of a new era in which space is no longer as important as place, as threats are constantly manifested in the form of emotional threats. Baumann argues that this "space of constant movement" is what we now know as "liquid modernity."
00:45:00 Renisa Mawani, a professor of sociology at University of California, Berkeley, gives a lecture on the effects of India's Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) and other anti-terrorism laws. These laws, she argues, have had a negative impact on free speech and freedom of movement, and have created a climate of fear.
00:50:00 The speaker discusses how she chooses stories to focus on, how they are "innocent," and how their interests are in question. She asks whether the people she is telling the stories of were actually enemies or just experiencing the "wickedness of Empire."
00:55:00 This lecture discusses the Komagata Maru, a ship filled with Indians attempting to travel to India to demand their rights, and the British Empire's reaction. The lecture discusses the reasons Singh, the captain of the Komagata Maru, decided to charter the ship and the amount of money it cost, as well as the passengers' backgrounds. The lecture also discusses the eventual outcome of the voyage and Singh's unsuccessful attempts to recover his funds.

01:00:00 - 01:05:00

This lecture discusses the case of the Qasim brothers, who were accused of trafficking people and extorting money. The lecture discusses the different accounts of the brothers and how they can be connected to India's history of anti-colonialism and capitalism. Mawani also discusses her current project, which focuses on American Muslim communities and their relationships with the government.