ABSTRACT

Between 1947 and 1972, governments of India and Pakistan laid claims to ownership, management and share of the India Office Library & Records. These attempts and the British government’s responses to them have been bypassed by scholars of decolonisation. This article traces the trajectory of that dispute’s three distinct phases, wherein different proposals were mooted to wrest and retain, respectively the riches and records of the IOL&R. Unlike the more-studied African and Southeast Asian cases from the former British Empire, this dispute was less clear-cut and therefore more demanding of both sides in their manoeuvres to pursue their desires. Legal, administrative and technical bids were made in historical and moral arguments, with cultural and economic factors listed in support. In providing their details, this article demonstrates a difficult episode for decolonisation, where at stake was both its curated imperial past and yet-to-be written national narratives. It shows how symbols of a shared history as well as sources of that history’s separate writing became an arena of contest as much for the old glory as for new profits. At a time when decolonising history is in vogue, this article depicts the difficulties of even diversifying the artefacts of colonial history.

摘要

1947 年至 1972 年间，印度和巴基斯坦政府声称拥有、管理和分享印度办公室图书馆和记录。非殖民化学者绕过了这些尝试和英国政府对它们的回应。本文追溯了该争端的三个不同阶段的轨迹，其中提出了不同的提案，以分别夺取和保留 IOL&R 的财富和记录。与前大英帝国研究较多的非洲和东南亚案例不同，这场争端不那么明确，因此对双方追求自己的愿望的策略要求更高。法律、行政和技术投标是在历史和道德论据的基础上进行的，并列出了文化和经济因素作为支持。在提供他们的详细信息时，这篇文章展示了非殖民化的艰难插曲，其中危及的是其策划的帝国过去和尚未写成的民族叙事。它展示了共同历史的符号以及该历史的独立书写的来源如何成为争夺旧荣耀和新利润的竞技场。在非殖民化历史盛行的时代，这篇文章描述了即使使殖民历史的人工制品多样化也面临的困难。