Graduation Ceremony Event
The Sir Jadunath Sarkar Fellowship for Indian History reached a significant milestone on September 2, 2025, with the graduation of its inaugural (2024–25) cohort. The ceremony, held at the India International Centre in New Delhi, celebrated the successful completion of the Fellowship’s first academic year and the emergence of a new generation of scholars committed to rigorous historical research.
The ceremony was graced by Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Minister of Education, Government of India, as Chief Guest; and Dr Shamika Ravi, Economist and Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, as Special Guest.
The ceremony was also graced by esteemed dignitaries, including Dr Sonal Mansingh, noted classical dancer and former Member of Parliament, and Shri Sanjeev Sanyal, economist and Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council.
The event concluded with an engaging panel discussion moderated by Ms Marya Shakil, Author and Managing Editor, India Today TV.
Batch 1 (2024-25)
Editor-in-Chief, The New Indian
Ms. Aarti Tikoo
Research Title:
Nehru’s India, Modi’s Bharat
Ms. Aarti Tikoo is the Editor-in-Chief of The New Indian, one of the most credible digital media platforms in India. She is an award-winning Senior Editor with twenty-four years of experience in news reportage, editorials and opinion writing on issues ranging from geopolitics to economic policies and history. Apart from working at India’s biggest English national dailies such as Hindustan Times and The Times of India, she has also briefly worked for the United Nations, BBC, Columbia University and Indo-Asian News Service. She has reported from all major conflict regions in India—Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Assam and also from Russia, Mongolia and France.
Author, Columnist, Public speaker
Mr. Chandrachur Ghose
Research Title:
From Renaissance to Communist Takeover: A Brief History of the Contest of Ideas in Bengal and the Creation of a Bengali Identity
Mr. Chandrachur Ghose is an author, columnist and public speaker on history, politics, economics, and environment. He holds degrees from Visva Bharati (Santiniketan) and the University of Sussex. Among his many works, he has authored Bose: The Untold Story of an Inconvenient Nationalist (2022, Penguin Random House), the comprehensive biography of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and 1947-57, India: The Birth of a Republic (2023, Penguin Random House), which explores India’s challenges and achievements in the decade after Independence. He has also co-authored Conundrum: Subhas Bose’s Life After Death (2019, Vitasta Publishing) and Government Doesn’t Want You To Know This (2021, Vitasta Publishing).
Dean-Research and Professor of History at RV University
Dr. Lakshmi Arya
Research Title:
The essential religious practice in Indian jurisprudence-The limitations of the Constitutional framework
Prof. (Dr.) Lakshmi Arya Thathachar is Dean-Research and Professor of History at RV University, Bengaluru. She has a PhD in Modern Indian History from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Lakshmi has been awarded several fellowships. She has been a Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Emory University, Atlanta; a Charles Wallace Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London; Gender Sexuality and Law Visiting Fellow at Keele University, UK; and a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Shimla. She has previously held faculty positions in various institutions, including O.P. Jindal Global University.
Postgraduate Diploma in Sino-Indian Border Management, Ashoka University
Mr. Nabaarun Barooah
Research Title:
Ashtalakshmi: the Land of Eastern Light
Mr. Nabaarun Barooah holds a Postgraduate Diploma from Ashoka University, for his thesis focused on Sino-Indian Border Management, completed under the guidance of Ambassador Shivshankar Menon. Nabaarun served as an Assistant Research Executive in the Chief Minister’s Office of Assam, where he contributed to policy research and strategic initiatives. His research interests extend to the history of Northeastern India, Indian politics, economics, and Sino-Indian relations, areas to which he frequently contributes scholarly articles. Nabaarun’s work is driven by a commitment to understanding and shaping the political dynamics between India and China, as well as contributing to the discourse on regional history and development.
Professor of History, Rishihood University
Dr. Saumya Dey
Research Title:
The Theory and Practice of Indic Kingship: Reconsidering Marxist Historiography
Dr. Saumya Dey is a professor of History at Rishihood University, Sonipat, Haryana. He gained his PhD at the Center for Historical Studies, JNU. His primary research interests lie in cultural and intellectual history and the politics of colonial India. He is the author of several books such as Becoming Hindus and Muslims: Reading the Cultural Encounter in Bengal, 1342-1905 (Munshiram Manoharlal, 2015), The Cultural Landscape of Hindutva and Other Essays. Historical Legitimacy of an Idea (Shubhi Publications, 2019 [Revised Edition, 2023]), Narrativizing Bharatvarsa and Other Essays (Shubhi Publications, 2021 [Revised Edition, 2022]), The Seedbed of Pakistan. Cultural Conflicts, Elite Muslim Anxieties, and the Congress. 1885-1906 (Vitasta Publications, 2023), and Being Hindu: A Political History from Aditya Chola to Narendra Modi (BlueOne Ink, 2024).
Historian and Translator
Mr. Shaan Kashyap
Research Title:
Histories of Textbook Controversies in India, c. 1870-2005
Mr. Shaan Kashyap is a historian and translator from Bihar. He studied Modern History at BHU (Varanasi) and JNU (New Delhi). He is currently pursuing his PhD at Ravenshaw University, Cuttack. He has presented his research to both academic and wider audiences at venues ranging from India International Centre (New Delhi) to Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He served as a sub-editor at Organizer Weekly for a short while but soon realized his true passion lies in historical research and writing.
Junior Fellowship
Assistant Professor, Rishihood University
Pratishtha Mukherjee
Research Title:
Indian Temples as Custodians of Bhartiya Culture
Dr. Pratishtha Mukherjee is a dedicated archaeologist and heritage scholar specialising in ancient Indian sculpture, iconography, and temple architecture. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor at Rishihood University, where she combines academic teaching with active research and fieldwork.
Dr. Mukherjee holds a PhD in Archaeology and Ancient History from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. Her doctoral research examined the sculptural traditions of Yakṣa figures in North India, with a special focus on the Ganga Valley. She also holds a gold-medal Master’s degree in Archaeology and Heritage Management from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University.