WHA Annual Meeting: Korea 2026

This paper examines Indian Ocean port cities to rethink globalization through a history of transregional connectivity without open borders, arguing connected ports repeatedly produced "closed worlds". Tracing a longue durée from Harappan Lothal to the contemporary era, the study reveals connection models structured by hierarchy and regulation. Medieval entrepôts like Calicut and Mughal-era Surat functioned as nodes governed by patronage rather than openness. In the nineteenth century, colonial Bombay instituted dense surveillance and biopolitical controls like plague quarantines. The 1947 Partition further reconfigured ports into sites of hardened borders. Today, mega-ports mirror these controls through intensified security and biometric identification. Collectively, these histories demonstrate that connectivity and political closure are inextricably linked, offering a critical vantage point for writing world history "after globalization" in an era of renewed borders.

This paper examines how English education reshaped Indian Knowledge Systems at the level of epistemic categories, timelines, and intellectual self-understanding. Colonial pedagogy redefined knowledge and religion through mistranslation and selective representation, framing Hindu traditions as static while marginalizing indigenous plurality. Tracing these interventions, the study focuses on the modern Hindu intellectual—a figure contesting inherited colonial frameworks while remaining rooted in indigenous traditions. This "civilisational self-assertion" is analyzed as a historical precursor to contemporary digital "reputational warfare" over "epistemic ruptures". The paper argues that postcolonial assertion was not a simple recovery of tradition, but a complex conceptual correction conducted largely in English. Finally, it situates contemporary initiatives on Indian Knowledge Systems as institutional attempts to address this epistemic rupture, contributing to ongoing debates on intellectual authority in modern India.

"Connected Reform, Bordered Afterlives" examines how nineteenth-century Hindu reform movements emerged from connected colonial worlds to develop legacies defined by contested boundaries. Tracing texts, practices, and personas from 1820 to 2020, the paper argues these movements function simultaneously as global bridges and sites of contested belonging. Following the 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions, reform idioms entered a global "translation regime" that authorized specific universalizing templates. During 20th-century nationalist mobilization and the 1947 Partition, these vocabularies were repurposed for civilizational defense. Post-1965 diaspora expansion further navigated the paradox of connectivity coexisting with sharpened gatekeeping. Finally, the study addresses the digital sphere (2000s–2020s), where connectivity facilitates reputational warfare over reform legacies. Ultimately, these movements illustrate globalization’s capacity to generate new closures, providing the "civilizational capital" for modern "strategic calibration".

This paper explores the 21st-century paradox of deep digital and economic interlinkage alongside rigid political boundaries, positioning India at the "fault-line" of this contradiction. The study examines how India leverages global integration in technology and research while managing the strategic necessity of regulated borders. India’s connectivity is demonstrated through digital infrastructure like UPI, leadership in the G-20 and BRICS, and a vast professional diaspora. Conversely, territorial disputes at the LOC and LAC necessitate heightened surveillance and military preparedness. Analyzing challenges like migration and the COVID-19 pandemic, the paper argues India utilizes "strategic calibration". Through initiatives like Atmanirbhar Bharat, the nation pursues "controlled integration," balancing a civilizational ethos of pluralism with modern security requirements. Ultimately, this model offers a framework for navigating a world that is simultaneously interconnected and secure.