Often seen as a land of temples and colourful processions, Tamil Nadu is not commonly associated with Islam. Yet, Muslims have played a vital role in the state's history for over a thousand years. Islam first arrived through Arab and Persian traders who supplied horses to Tamil kingdoms and carried pearls and other goods across the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf. At our talk #GuardiansOfTheCoast, researcher Dr Torsten Tschacher traces the rise of Muslim communities across the Tamil region and their growing importance in trade, artisanal production, and military service. He examines how, by the sixteenth century, Tamil Muslim merchants had become key players in Bay of Bengal trade, linking South India with Southeast Asia and China. He also explores how Tamil Muslims adapted to European colonialism, extending their commercial reach deeper into Southeast Asia, and highlights their enduring contribution to the history, economy, and cultural life of Tamil Nadu.
About the speaker
Torsten Tschacher is a Heisenberg Fellow of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and lecturer for Tamil at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. His research focusses on the history and discursive traditions of Tamil-speaking Muslims around the Bay of Bengal. His book Race, Religion, and the ‘Indian Muslim’ Predicament in Singapore was published in 2018 with Routledge. He has also translated two novels from Tamil to German.
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