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Delhi Prof Honored for Groundbreaking History Book
15 Feb
Summary
- Charu Gupta won the 2026 Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy Prize.
- Her book examines early 20th-century North India's print culture.
- The book offers diverse perspectives on caste and Hindu identity.
Delhi University Professor Charu Gupta has received the 2026 Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy Prize for her 2024 book, Hindi Hindu Histories: Caste, Ayurveda, Travel, and Communism in Early Twentieth-Century India. The Association for Asian Studies announced the award on February 11, 2026.
Ms. Gupta's book utilizes autobiographies and vernacular print culture to explore early twentieth-century North India. It examines four distinct figures—an anti-caste reformer, a female ayurvedic practitioner, a nationalist travel writer, and a Left journalist—to reveal varied viewpoints on caste, gender, nationhood, and Hindu identity during a pivotal era.
The work highlights the historical breadth of Hindu thought, contrasting it with contemporary trends. Ms. Gupta's research, focusing on gender, caste, masculinity, medicine, and religious identities, has notably influenced modern Indian history and print culture scholarship. The Coomaraswamy Prize is a highly esteemed international honor for South Asian studies.
