Temple Tracks: Labour, Piety and Railway Construction in Asia is a fascinating book by Vineeta Sinha, a professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the National University of Singapore. It explores how Indian migrant workers, brought to colonial Malaya and Singapore to build and maintain the railway system, were not just labourers laying down tracks — they were also community-builders and religion-makers.



In this episode, we speak to the author about the intersection of railways, migrant labour, and Hindu temples and how it resulted in interesting parallels and divergences in political thought between the South Indians, specifically the Tamils in Tamil Nadu and those in Malaya/Singapore.


Image Credit: NUS FASS/Berghahn Books

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/8cc808e0-651a-44a7-8557-5e6fe4987777/external_content.pdf">Temple Tracks: Labour, Piety and Railway Construction in Asia</a> is a fascinating book by Vineeta Sinha, a professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the National University of Singapore. It explores how Indian migrant workers, brought to colonial Malaya and Singapore to build and maintain the railway system, were not just labourers laying down tracks — they were also community-builders and religion-makers.In this episode, we speak to the author about the intersection of railways, migrant labour, and Hindu temples and how it resulted in interesting parallels and divergences in political thought between the South Indians, specifically the Tamils in Tamil Nadu and those in Malaya/Singapore. Image Credit: NUS FASS/Berghahn Books

As they say, democracy doesn't begin and end at the ballot box. 
On Beyond the Ballot Box, we have in-depth conversations about political economy and human rights in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and around the globe through a class prism.

As they say, democracy doesn't begin and end at the ballot box. On Beyond the Ballot Box, we have in-depth conversations about political economy and human rights in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and around the globe through a class prism.

Beyond the Ballot Box

As they say, democracy doesn't begin and end at the ballot box. On Beyond the Ballot Box, we speak to politicians and analysts and explore burning issues and questions surrounding our fluid and ever-changing political scene.

As they say, democracy doesn't begin and end at the ballot box. On Beyond the Ballot Box, we speak to politicians and analysts and explore burning issues and questions surrounding our fluid and ever-changing political scene.

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