Kenneth Robbins
The Maharajahs of Gujarat
Summary
This talk is based on three multi-authored volumes about the maharajas of Gujarat. The hundreds of illustrations are mostly from the speaker’s eclectic and comprehensive archives and collections, covering everything from wall and miniature paintings to state administration and business history. We also focus on maharajas who deserve recognition for their promotion of Indian honor, traditions, values, art, and culture.
Kenneth Robbins
Kenneth Robbins has amassed a large diverse South Asian collection, which will be the basis for an archive at the University of Pennsylvania Library. He has published seventeen books and 157 articles, mostly on maharajas and other local Indian rulers as well as South Asian minority groups like African Muslim elites and Jews He is creating an Indian Jewish Heritage Trail and working on documenting “small international crises” in Asia, Africa, and the Ottoman empire. Two of his many exhibitions documented the history of Jews in Indian movies. Three of his co-edited volumes - available on Amazon -develop different aspects of studying Afro-South Asia in the African global diaspora. They are African Rulers and Generals in India, African Diasporan Communities Across South Asia, and Black Ambassadors of Politics, Religion, and Jazz in India.