Between 1943-65, James Puthucheary was caught up in a regional wave of anti-colonial politics. In 1943 he would join Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army before returning to Malaya in 1948...Show moreBetween 1943-65, James Puthucheary was caught up in a regional wave of anti-colonial politics. In 1943 he would join Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army before returning to Malaya in 1948 where he became involved in the Anti-British League, the University Socialist Club and the founding of the People's Action Party. He was detained for a second time between 1956-59 and after his release went on to work within the PAP government on issues of economic development, before leaving politics to turn to the study of Law. After his banishment from Singapore in 1963, he went on to support Malaysia through the Malaysian Afro-Asian Peoples’ Solidarity Organisation. Puthucheary was an anti-colonialist, a socialist, a trade unionist, an economist, an intellectual and a figure who was linked to global anti-colonial networks. Drawing upon a greater focus on global networks of decolonisation and the intellectual history of decolonisation, this thesis uses Puthucheary's political and intellectual trajectory as a lens through which to highlight the more complex ways in which anti-colonialism was being thought out in Malaya. In particular it highlights Puthucheary, and others around him, at the intersection of the rise of Afro-Asianism and of debates on the national question in Malaya which drew upon broader communist and socialist thought. Here questions of decolonisation intersected with questions of class, communalism and economic development. This thesis goes on to highlight how debates on the national question came to shape engagement with Afro-Asian networks.Show less
The main scope of this thesis is the use of the State of Emergency as a tool in colonial counterinsurgency. The State of Emergency allows us to draw connections between three colonies in three...Show moreThe main scope of this thesis is the use of the State of Emergency as a tool in colonial counterinsurgency. The State of Emergency allows us to draw connections between three colonies in three different continents, Malaya, Kenya and Cyprus. The comparison, assists in adding the Cyprus Emergency within the colonial framework and analyse it as a colonial case. The state of emergency is seen as a tool in counterinsurgency. Finally, the thesis is also connected to scholaraship on Human Rights.Show less
