Tan Tai Yong

Following the Mutiny of 1857, various factors impelled the British to turn to the province of Punjab in north-western India as the principal recruiting ground for the Indian Army. This book examines the processes by which the politics and political economy of colonial Punjab was militarised by the province`s position as the `sword arm` of the Raj. The militarisation of the administration in the Punjab was characterised by a conjunction of the military, civil and political authorities. This led to the emergence of a uniquely civil-military regime, a phenomenon that was not replicated anywhere else in British India, indeed in the Empire. Analysing these events, this book: - Studies the manner in which the Punjab became the main recruiting ground for the Indian Army - Looks at how certain districts were selected for military recruitment, and the factors motivating the `military classes` among the Punjabis to join the Army - Discusses the effects of the First World War on the recruitment process in the Punjab - Highlights the role the civil-military regime played in the politics of the Punjab, its survival after the Second World War and the manner in which it handled the demand for Pakistan and the subsequent partitioning of the province.

Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab, 1849-1947

The Garrison State

Marc Frey

Tai Yong Tan

Ronald W. Pruessen

This book provides the basis for a reconceptualization of key features in Southeast Asia's history. Scholars from Europe, America, and Asia examine evolutionary patterns of Europe's and Japan's Southeast Asian empires from the late nineteenth century through World War II, and offer important insights into the specific events of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. In turn, their different perspectives on the political, economic, and cultural currents of the "post-colonial" era - including Southeast Asia's gradual adjustment to globalizing forces - enhance understanding of the dynamics of the decolonization process. Drawing on new and wide-ranging research in international relations, economics, anthropology, and cultural studies, the book looks at the impact of decolonization and the struggle of the new nation-states with issues such as economic development, cultural development, nation-building, ideology, race, and modernization. The contributors also consider decolonization as a phenomenon within the larger international structure of the Cold War and the post-Cold War eras.

The Transformation of Southeast Asia

Peter Borschberg

Kwa Chong Guan

Derek Heng

Assessments of Singapore’s history invariably revolve around Sir Stamford Raffles’ arrival in 1819. Before this date – we’ve been told – “nothing very much appears to have happened in Singapore”. Pre-1819 Singapore was a sleepy, historically insignificant fishing village, little more than the “occasional resort of pirates”. This ambitious book, co-written by four of Singapore’s foremost historians, offers an assertive re-evaluation of that view, firmly situating Singapore’s starting point seven hundred years ago. Drawing on a multi-disciplinary range of archival, textual and cartographical records, as well as the latest archaeological discoveries, the authors cast a singular historical trajectory for Singapore over the past seven centuries, animating its history like never before. Written in a compelling and accessible manner, and richly illustrated with more than 200 artefacts, photographs, maps, art works and ephemera, this volume builds upon the foundations of an earlier book, Singapore: A 700-Year History. Extensively rewritten to incorporate ground-breaking research findings, Seven Hundred Years: A History of Singapore widens the historical lens and offers a vital new perspective on the story of Singapore.

Seven Hundred Years: A History of Singapore

Gyanesh Kudaisya

This book draws upon new theoretical insights and fresh bodies of data to historically reappraise partition in the light of its long aftermath. It uses a comparative approach by viewing South Asia in its totality, rather than looking at it in narrow 'national' terms. As the first book to focus on the aftermath of partition, it fills a distinctive niche in the study of contemporary South Asia.

Tan Tai Yong

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