Dr. Kashshaf Ghani

My research interests span pre-modern South Asia covering the years 1000-1800 CE. covering society. politics, religion and cultural interactions in this region. I focus on the Indo-Persianate world through the history of Sufism. I am closely interested in Sufi rituals and practices. devotional exercises, regional interactions, and transregional networks. My wider research interests are informed by the global histories of the Persianate world. cosmopolitan cultures, Asian interconnections and transregionalism, Muslim networks across South, West and Central Asia, and inter-religious interactions.

I teach courses on pre-modern North India and the Deccan, survey courses on history of Asia: along with specialized courses on Sufi traditions. Indo-Persian practices of history writing, Asian interconnections/ silk route, cultural history and pre-modern West and Central Asia. I have supervised dissertations ranging from local religious cults and practices, Mongol history, history of women, history of the Malabar region. Sufi and Bhakti traditions, cultural history of Bhutan, textile manufacturing and trade, merchant communities, history of weapon production and warfare, social history of poet Annamacharya. history of Assam. Sufi shrines, and architecture. Gross National Happiness in Bhutan among else.

I was trained in history from Presidency College (Calcutta), and the University of Calcutta. I completed my PhD in History from the University of Calcutta. Thereafter I held research positions at the Asiatic Society, Kolkata as the first Sir Amir Ali Fellow; postdoctoral research positions at the University of Sorbonne-Nouvelle, Paris, as the inaugural Perso-Indica fellow, at the Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin as Visiting Fellow, and at the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata as Project Fllow. I have travelled extensively to deliver lectures in universities across Asia and Europe.

Prior to joining Nalanda, I held teaching positions at the Aliah University, Kolkata and the University of Calcutta. In 2016, I have been the co-instructor in a course on Global Asia jointly conducted by Nalanda University-India, New York University-Shanghai and New York University-Abu Dhabi. l have been the United States Department of State Academic Visitor in 2018 to study religious pluralism in the U.S. I also received the SUSI Scholarship Follow-onGrant from the United States Department of State in 2020.

My publications range from edited volumes to articles in peer-reviewed journals, essays in books and conference volumes. Oxford University Press is publishing my forthcoming book titled Sufi Rituals and Practices: Experiences from South Asia 1200-1450.

For details visit https://kghani.in/