A critical examination of ‘post-colonial capitalism’ must begin by tracing the genealogy of the concept to debates about the late colonialism that post colonial capital is post. After the first decades of independent development, the study of post-colonial capital has been joined – and for many replaced – by ‘subaltern studies’, ‘Saidian post-colonial studies’, and the theses of Sanyal. In the light of this genealogy we can ask further questions: 1) whether the study of contemporary capitalism in India needs the concept of ‘post-colonial’ at all; and 2) whether what is needed is not rather the study of Indian capital in transition to a US-managed neo-colonial regime.

Barbara Harriss-White: Emeritus Professor of Development Studies and Fellow of Wolfson College. Committed to fieldwork, she has been studying India’s up-country development since driving from Cambridge there in 1969 – in retirement: the economy as a waste-producing system. (Co) producer of 41 books and as many doctoral students. Former director of QEH/ODID and involved with Oxford’s M Phil in Development Studies and MSc in Contemporary India. ‘Her book ‘Rural Commercial Capital won the Edgar Graham prize for originality in development studies. Her most recent book is ‘Gold in India’ (CUP).