For decades, the history of South Asian Muslims under British rule has largely been narrated through the decline of the Mughal Empire, political movements, religious reform and the eventual creation of Pakistan. Commerce and entrepreneurship, however, have remained on the margins of this story. Historian Danish Khan seeks to change that narrative.

In a thought-provoking conversation, Khan argues that Muslim commercial communities such as the Khojas, Bohras and Memons were not peripheral actors in colonial India but central participants in building modern capitalism. His forthcoming book, Muslim Capitalism, published by Cambridge University Press, examines how these communities navigated British legal institutions while preserving their own commercial traditions and........

© Naya Daur