Interview

Thiago Barbosa, Indra Sengupta and Kim König

German racial science and modern anthropology in India

19 June 2025

(0:28 h)

Interview

Thiago Barbosa, Indra Sengupta and Kim König

German racial science and modern anthropology in India

How do colonial-era racial theories continue to influence modern science in India? Today, we're exploring this question by examining new research which traces the transnational connections between Germany and colonial India in the field of racial science.

In this podcast interview, host Kim König is joined by Indra Sengupta, Senior Fellow and Head of our India Research Programme. They speak with Thiago Barbosa, winner of the 2023 GHIL dissertation prize, about his book, Racializing Caste: Anthropology Between Germany and India and the Legacy of Irawati Karve (1905–1970), which has just been published as Volume 91 of our series Veröffentlichungen des Deutschen Historischen Instituts London / Publications of the German Historical Institute London.

Focusing on the pioneering Indian anthropologist Irawati Karve, Thiago's work combines historical and ethnographic research to reveal the transnational impact of German racial sciences — and how that legacy continues to influence anthropology in India today.