'How Best Do We Survive?': A Modern Political History of the Tamil Muslims

This book traces the social and political history of the Muslims of south India from the later nineteenth century through to Independence in 1947, and the contours that followed. It describes a community in search of political survival amidst an ever-changing climate, and the fluctuating fortunes it had in dealing with the rise of Indian nationalism, the local political nuances of that rise, and its own changing position as part of the wider Muslim community in India.

Arguing that Partition and the foundation of Pakistan in 1947 were neither the goal nor the necessarily inescapable result of the growth of communal politics and sentiment, the book analyses the local variations of the events leading to Partition. Neither the fact of Muslim communalism per se before 1947 nor the existence of separate Muslim electorates provides an explanation for Pakistan. It advances the theory that micro-level studies of the operation of the former, and the defense of the latter, in British India can lead to a better understanding of the origins of communalism and, specifically, the variations of Islamic identity to be found globally. The book makes an important contribution to understanding and dealing with the complexities of communalism be it Hindu, Muslim or Christian — and its often tragic consequences.

The book will be of interest to those studying history, area studies and South Asia programmes, comparative politics, sociology and geography.

The book traces the social and political history of the Muslims of south India from the later nineteenth century through to Independence in 1947. It describes a community in search of political survival amidst rising Indian nationalism, the local political nuances of that rise, and its own changing position

It argues that Partition and the foundation of Pakistan in 1947 were neither the goal nor the necessarily inescapable result of the growth of communal politics and sentiment, and analyses the local variations of the events leading to Partition. The book advances the theory that micro-level studies of the operation of the former, and the defense of the latter, in British India can lead to a better understanding of the origins of communalism and, specifically, the variations of Islamic identity to be found globally.

Kenneth McPherson was the Founding Director of the Indian Ocean Centre, Curtin University. He was the Founding member of the Australia-India Council, an official advisor on Indian Ocean matters to Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra, and directed many research projects on a myriad of Indian Ocean issues. He also served as Mercator Professor at Heidelberg University, Adjunct Professor at La Trobe University and later as President of the Australian Association for Maritime History. His areas of research interest are Asia, India and Indian Ocean matters.