Brown Skins, White Coats: Race Science in India, 1920-66

Projit Bihari Mukharji's book explores how India repurposed race science to its own ends, arguing that these appropriations need to be understood within the national and regional contexts of postcolonial nation-making. It comprises seven factual chapters and eight fictive interchapters, revealing the moral, affective, political, and intellectual fissures of the historical moment.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 17 February 2023
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

A captivating narrative weaves together the rich tapestry of race science's evolution in mid-twentieth-century India, bringing it to life in vivid detail. While the field of race science has experienced a significant surge in scholarly interest in recent decades, most studies have primarily focused on Europe, North America, and Australia. In this groundbreaking work, Projit Bihari Mukharji delves into the unique ways in which India embraced and reimagined race science to suit its own purposes, challenging the notion that these appropriations should be merely considered footnotes in the broader Western narrative of "normal science."

The book is structured into seven factual chapters, each operating at distinct conceptual, practical, and cosmological levels. These chapters provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the historical developments and complexities of race science in India. Additionally, eight fictive interchapters serve as a series of epistolary exchanges between the Bengali author Hemendrakumar Ray (1888–1963) and the protagonist of his dystopian science fiction novel, which delves into themes of race, race science, racial improvement, and dehumanization. By incorporating these interchapters, Mukharji fleshes out the historical context in which the factual narrative unfolds, revealing the profound moral, emotional, political, and intellectual fractures that characterized this period.

Through his meticulous research and insightful analysis, Mukharji offers a fresh perspective on the history of race science in India, challenging the dominant narratives that have often overlooked or marginalized this important chapter in global history. His work sheds light on the ways in which India's postcolonial experience shaped its engagement with race science, as well as the complex interplay between science, politics, and culture in shaping the nation's development. This book is a valuable contribution to the field of history, anthropology, and science studies, providing a deeper understanding of the complex and multifaceted relationships between race, science, and society in the mid-twentieth century.

Dimension: 229 x 152 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226823010