Ashok Malhotra, "Imperial Science, the Organic Movement and the Path to Shangri La, 1900-1969" (UCL Press, 2026)

About this episode

The episode discusses Ashok Malhotra's examination of the impact of imperial agendas on dietary and agricultural research in British India and its influence on the organic movement in Britain and the US.

Imperial Science, the Organic Movement and the Path to Shangri La, 1900-1969 (UCL Press, 2026) is a global history project that examines the diffusion of scientific and environmental discourses from India to Britain and the US. Ashok Malhotra examines how imperial agendas and colonial stereotyping shaped dietary and agricultural research carried out in the 1920s in British India, from soil protection initiatives to studies of diet and healthy living. It also discusses how a selective interpretation of this research, which focused on the supposed vigor of one community, the Hunzas, influenced the organic and lifestyles movements that later emerged in Britain and the US from the 1940s to the 1960s. Ashok Malhotra is a senior lecturer in British imperial history at Queen's University Belfast. Crawford Gribben is a professor of history at Queen’s University Belfast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies

People in this episode

Host: Marshall Poe

Guest: Ashok Malhotra

Topics covered

• imperial science
• organic movement
• colonial history
• dietary research
• agricultural research
• environmental discourses
• historical influence

Keywords

• imperial science
• organic movement
• British India
• diet research
• agriculture
• Hunzas
• colonial stereotyping
• environmental history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Queen's University Belfast, UCL Press

Places: India, Britain, US

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