Sreenandhana Hari
Thesis Title: Social Life of Teak and the Making of Colonial Malabar, 1792-1927.
This project examines the history of teak plantations and the making of colonial Malabar in southwestern India between 1792 and 1927. Against the backdrop of growing British demand for teak for naval shipbuilding, it uses teak as an entry point for analysing the connections between forestry policy, labour, landscape, and resistance. Drawing on labour, environmental, and social history as well as historical geography, the research explores the role of teak in shaping the environment, politics, and social order of Malabar. It traces teak from forests and plantations through networks of labour and transport to workshops and shipyards, examining how colonial regulation, local practices, and resistance shaped its production, circulation, and changing value within the wider colonial economy. The research focuses on three interconnected themes: the changing meanings and value of teak, the knowledge and practices of those involved in its cultivation and working, and the spatial and social networks through which it circulated.Biography
I am a PhD researcher in History at the University of Nottingham, where I am funded by the ESRC. I previously completed a BA (Hons) in History at Miranda House, University of Delhi, followed by an MA in History at the University of Delhi. My broader research interests include environmental history, labour history, gender history, and the social and economic history of modern South India, with a particular interest in colonial forestry, resource use and the relationship between people and the environment.
