Dr Meenakshi Jain is a noted historian of medieval and colonial India. She is a former Associate Professor of history at Gargi College, University of Delhi, former Fellow of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, and former member of the Governing Council of Indian Council of Historical Research. She is currently Senior Fellow of the Indian Council of Social Science Research. Her areas of research include cultural and religious developments in medieval and early modern India. Her deeply researched books have dealt with historical issues of national importance: Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples (2019), The Battle for Rama: Case of the temple at Ayodhya (2017), Sati: Evangelicals, Baptist Missionaries and the changing Colonial Discourse (2016), Rama and Ayodhya (2013), Parallel Pathways: Essays on Hindu–Muslim Relations (1707-1857) (2010). She also co-edited The India They Saw: Foreign accounts of India from the 8th to mid-19th century, 3 Vols (2011).

In 2020, Dr Meenakshi Jain received from the Government of India the Padma Shri award, in recognition of her contributions.