This presentation explores gendered histories of capital, Islam, and politics in the Indian Ocean through the life and legacies of Janbai Topan, the matriarch of a Gujarati-Khoja family in the nineteenth century. Janbai’s husband, Sir Tharia Topan is a legend in the South Asian diaspora due to the staggering fortune he amassed trading between Asia, the Arabian peninsula, and the Swahili coast. In contrast, Janbai remains a footnote in the existing scholarship. This paper reconstructs Janbai’s life via an unpublished family biography, legal records, museum objects, and photographs. These archives reveal how Janbai’s patterns of conspicuous consumption, ceremonial celebrations, and gift giving played a vital role in the Topan family’s rise. At a broader level, the paper asks how existing research frameworks obscure women’s role in Indian Ocean commerce, religion, and politics. The presentation also engages family history as a distinct methodological approach.

Speakers
Julia Stephens, Senior Humanities Research Fellow, NYUAD

Moderated by
Salila Kulshreshtha, Visiting Assistant Professor of History and Art and Art History

In Person (NYUAD Campus) and on Zoom

The seminar is open to the NYUAD community and by invitation. Registration has closed.