Purba Hossain

Purba Hossain is a Lecturer in Modern History (post 1800) at the University of York’s Department of History, based at Vanbrugh College. She holds a BA and MA from Presidency University (Kolkata, India) and a PhD from the University of Leeds. Her research focuses on colonial India, particularly Indian experiences under British rule, indentured labour migration, and colonial language dynamics. She has held fellowships at Christ’s College Cambridge, the Institute of Historical Research (London), and the Royal Historical Society.

• Education:
  • PhD (History), University of Leeds
  • MA (History), Presidency University
  • BA (History), Presidency University

Purba’s work challenges Eurocentric narratives by centering Indian voices in colonial historiography. Her first monograph, Voices from Calcutta: Indian Indenture in the Age of Abolition (Cambridge UP, 2025), examines indentured labour migration from Calcutta’s perspective. Current research explores how Indian language workers mediated British colonial power. She co-edited Across Colonial Lines: Commodities, Networks, and Empire Building (2023) and co-curated a Past & Present special issue on language histories.

Her teaching includes modules on historical analysis, empire studies, and the end of slavery. Purba actively supervises PhD students researching colonial Indian history.