Bangalore-based historian, Dr. Vikram Sampath, is the author of ten acclaimed books on Indian history, including Splendours of Royal Mysore: The Untold Story of the Wodeyars, Voice of the Veena: S. Balachander, Women of the Records, and Indian Classical Music and the Gramophone. His two-volume biography, Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past and Savarkar: A Contested Legacy, along with his recent works, Bravehearts of Bharat: Vignettes from Indian History and Waiting for Shiva: Unearthing the Truth of Kashi’s Gyan Vapi, have all been national bestsellers.

His latest book, Tipu Sultan: The Saga of Mysore’s Interregnum (1760–1799), has been generating significant interest even before its release. Within just a month of publication, it has already gone into its third reprint.

In 2021, Dr. Vikram was elected a Fellow of the prestigious Royal Historical Society. He has been the recipient of several accolades, including the Sahitya Akademi’s first Yuva Puraskar in English literature and the ARSC International Award for Excellence in Historical Research in New York for his book My Name Is Gauhar Jaan: The Life and Times of a Musician, which was later adapted into the play Gauharby Lillette Dubey.

He was among four writers and artists selected as writers-in-residence at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in 2015. Dr. Vikram holds a doctorate in history and music from the University of Queensland, Australia, and was a Senior Research Fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi. Additionally, he has been a Fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, an Eisenhower Global Fellow, and a Visiting Fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg, Berlin. Currently, he serves as an Adjunct Senior Fellow at Monash University, Australia.

Dr. Vikram is also the Founder of the Archive of Indian Music and the Foundation for Indian Historical and Cultural Research (FIHCR), which promotes new scholarship in Indian history. He also curates ARTH: A Culture Fest.