An eventful first overseas research trip for the project…

Posted byDr. Jatinder MannPosted inUncategorized

I have been in the United Kingdom (UK) for the past week carrying out primary research for my research project, my first overseas trip for it. However, it has certainly been an eventful one…Before leaving Hong Kong I was anxious about whether my new flight (my previous one earlier in the day had been cancelled) to London, UK would be leaving due to the drastic reduction in people flying due to the now Coronavirus pandemic. My flight thankfully did leave, but it was the emptiest flight that I have ever been on…

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I jumped into my research here in London soon after arriving as I am only here for a limited time. I visited the National Archives of the UK and the British Library and found some great material.

Here is a photograph of an interesting thing that I came across: a British Indian Passport during the British Raj.

I have really enjoyed carrying out primary research after several years and especially appreciated being back in the National Archives and British Library after a very long time (for my postdoctoral team research project on ‘Australia in War and Peace, 1914-1919’ at King’s College London in 2012-14). However, my second week here in London is looking uncertain as the Coronavirus has been declared a pandemic and the UK government is escalating its response to deal with the crisis. My concern is that public places like archives and libraries might be closed to help stop the spread of the virus. Of course people’s health must come first, but for a researcher who has only a limited time here it would be unfortunate…I hope everyone stays healthy.

Published by Dr. Jatinder Mann

Dr. Jatinder Mann is a Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of History at the University of Reading. He specialises in transnational, international, and comparative history, law, and politics with a focus on Australia, Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand, South Africa, and the British World. Jatinder is also the Creator and Manager of the Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand Studies Network (ACNZSN). He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Jatinder is British and of South Asian descent, specifically from the Punjab. His current research project is on the ‘Transnational Identities of the Global South Asian Diaspora in Australia, Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand, and South Africa, 1900s-1940s’. Jatinder has over fifty refereed publications, which include over a dozen books and edited journals. His most recent book is Indigeneity and the British World: Settler Colonialism, Resistance, and Self-Determination (2026). Jatinder has also published numerous articles in front-ranking and emerging interdisciplinary journals. He is the editor for a book series on ‘Studies in Transnationalism’ with Peter Lang Publishing. Jatinder is also the Editor-in-chief and Book Reviews Editor of the Journal of Australian, Canadian, and Aotearoa New Zealand Studies (JACANZS). He was awarded the prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Alberta. Jatinder was also a recipient of the highly competitive Endeavour International Postgraduate Research Scholarship for his doctoral research at the University of Sydney. He has held visiting fellowships at King’s College London, the Australian National University, Carleton University, and Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington.

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