Professor Emeritus of History
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Interpretations of Early Indian History

“An historian who is indefatigable in the pursuit of knowledge and prolific in its publication, and who, is above all a devoted partisan of the truth.”— citation presented by Oxford University while conferring on her an honorary doctorate of letters, 2002

Dr. Romila Thapar is one of the world’s foremost experts on ancient Indian history. Thapar received her doctoral degree from London University in 1960 and returned to a newly independent India to pursue her teaching and scholarship. Her research on ancient India has evolved new ways of reading evidence from archaeology, mythology, literature, philosophy, ritual texts, folklore, and other sources. The results have yielded illuminating perspectives on contemporary India as well as new comparative and conceptual insights for historical studies more broadly. First published in 1966, Thapar’s History of India, Vol.1, has been in print ever since. Thapar’s subsequent books—and there are many—have secured her reputation as one of the most distinguished and productive scholars in her field. Her most recent book, Somanatha: The Many Voices of a History (2004), provides a new frame for understanding a pivotal moment in Indian history. In 2004 the U.S. Library of Congress appointed her as the first holder of the Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the South.

Romila Thapar was the Katz Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Humanities Spring Quarter 2005. While in residence, Boreth Ly, a 2004-2005 Rockefeller Residential Fellow in Critical Asian Studies at the Simpson Center, and Miriam Bartha, the Simpson Center’s Assistant Director, took the opportunity to speak with Professor Thapar informally on themes relevant to interdisciplinary and humanistic study. Click here to read an excerpt of the interview. You may listen or view Thapar’s Katz lecture by choosing an option below.