Ep 37: Unsettling Utopia- Guftagu with Dr Jessica Namakkal

In this episode of Guftagu, we've with us Dr Jessica Namakkal, author of the book, "Unsettling Utopia: The Making and Unmaking of French India"

In this episode of Guftagu, we've with us Dr Jessica Namakkal, author of the book, "Unsettling Utopia: The Making and Unmaking of French India"

Dr Jessica Namakkal is an assistant professor of the practice in international comparative studies; gender, sexuality, and feminist studies; and history at Duke University.

Jessica Namakkal's Unsettling Utopia gives a new version of twentieth-century French India's history. It demonstrates how colonial developments persisted even after official decolonization kicked in. The book analyses the colonial histories of the Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville, demonstrating how state-sponsored decolonization is rarely associated with local demands. She suggests that their ongoing growth reveals how decolonization, unfortunately, resulted in new settling spaces which preserve colonial control.

This book puts into question the long-held scholarly argument on the time and place of decolonization. Unsettling Utopia puts the spotlight on colonialism's legacies and provides striking thoughts on what decolonization might yet involve.

This interview explores and examines such provided stances in the book along with other broader perspectives on decolonisation.