Prof. Nayanjot Lahiri

Nayanjot Lahiri is a historian and archaeologist of ancient India and a professor of history at Ashoka University. Her prior appointments include Lecturer at the Department of History, Hindu College, University of Delhi (1982 – 1993); Reader at the Department of History, University of Delhi (1993 – 2001); and Professor at Department of History, University of Delhi (2001-2016).

Prof. Lahiri won the 2013 Infosys Prize in the humanities for her contribution towards the integration of archaeological knowledge with the historical understanding of India from the earliest times. She also won the 2016 John F. Richards prize for her book Ashoka in Ancient India. Her books include: The Archaeology of Indian Trade Routes (1992), Finding Forgotten Cities (2005), Ashoka in Ancient India (2015), and Monuments Matter: India's Archaeological Heritage After Independence (2017). She has edited The Decline and Fall of the Indus Civilization (2000) and an issue of World Archaeology entitled The Archaeology of Hinduism (2004).