Mridula Mukherjee (née Mahajan) is an
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
known for her work on the role of peasants in the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...
. She is an ex-chairperson of the Centre for Historical Studies at the
Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
, and former director of the
Nehru Memorial Museum and Library
The Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) is a museum and library in New Delhi, India, which aims to preserve and reconstruct the history of the Indian independence movement. Housed within the Teen Murti House complex, it is an autonomous inst ...
.
Early life and education
Mukherjee was born in 1950 in New Delhi, India. Her parents,
Vidya Dhar Mahajan
Vidya Dhar Mahajan (1913 — 10 July 1990) was an Indian historian, political scientist, and advocate.
Biography
Mahajan was born in 1913 in Punjab, British India. He did M.A. twice – in History at the D.A.V. College, Lahore and in Political ...
and Savitri Shori Mahajan, had been renowned teachers of history in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
, from where they emigrated to New Delhi following the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
in 1947.
Her sister,
Sucheta Mahajan, is a professor of Indian history at JNU, and her brother is Ajay Mahajan.
[ Mukherjee is married to the historian Aditya Mukherjee. They have a daughter, Madhavi.][
Mukherjee graduated from ]Lady Shri Ram College
Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) is a constituent women's college, affiliated with the University of Delhi, and has a legacy in women's education.
History
Established in 1956 in New Delhi by the late Lala Shri Ram in memory of his wife ...
in New Delhi. She joined Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
(JNU) as a post-graduate student in 1971, from where she obtained a PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
degree. Her doctoral thesis advisor was Bipan Chandra
Bipan Chandra (24 May 1928 – 30 August 2014) was an Indian historian, specialising in economic and political history of modern India. An emeritus professor of modern history at Jawaharlal Nehru University, he specialized on the Indian ind ...
.
Career
In 1972, while working on her doctoral thesis, Mukherjee was hired by the Centre for Historical Studies, JNU, as a faculty member,[ from where she retired as a professor of history. She was a chairperson of the Centre as well. In 2005, she was appointed the ]director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''Di ...
of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library
The Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) is a museum and library in New Delhi, India, which aims to preserve and reconstruct the history of the Indian independence movement. Housed within the Teen Murti House complex, it is an autonomous inst ...
, New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
.
Research
She investigated agrarian history in the Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
. She argued that despite extensive irrigation works, colonialisation caused agricultural involution, with the number of workers per unit area rising and production dropping. She also analysed peasant movements in the erstwhile princely states of the Punjab across the pre- and post-1947 periods. Her critical analysis of a Marxian orientation of peasant consciousness has been highlighted.
A common thread running through Mukherjee's work has been a criticism of the Subaltern
Subaltern may refer to:
*Subaltern (postcolonialism), colonial populations who are outside the hierarchy of power
* Subaltern (military), a primarily British and Commonwealth military term for a junior officer
* Subalternation, going from a univer ...
mode of historical inquiry, which informs her analysis of peasant movements as well as her other major contribution: modern Indian history. This is encapsulated by the two books co-written with Bipan Chandra
Bipan Chandra (24 May 1928 – 30 August 2014) was an Indian historian, specialising in economic and political history of modern India. An emeritus professor of modern history at Jawaharlal Nehru University, he specialized on the Indian ind ...
et al: ''India's Struggle for Independence'' and ''India after independence: 1947-2000''. In the former book, the authors sought to "demolish the influence of the Cambridge and Subaltern
Subaltern may refer to:
*Subaltern (postcolonialism), colonial populations who are outside the hierarchy of power
* Subaltern (military), a primarily British and Commonwealth military term for a junior officer
* Subalternation, going from a univer ...
'schools' reflected in the writing on colonialism and nationalism in India".
Ideology
After Mukherjee was appointed the director of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library
The Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) is a museum and library in New Delhi, India, which aims to preserve and reconstruct the history of the Indian independence movement. Housed within the Teen Murti House complex, it is an autonomous inst ...
(NMML) two letters, written between February 2008 and June 2009 and signed by various academics, including Ramchandra Guha
Ramachandra "Ram" Guha (born 29 April 1958) is an Indian historian, environmentalist, writer and public intellectual whose research interests include social, political, contemporary, environmental and cricket history, and the field of economics ...
and Sumit Sarkar
Sumit Sarkar (born 1939) is an Indian historian of modern India. He is the author of ''Swadeshi Movement''.
Early life, education and career
He was born to Susobhan Sarkar. His maternal uncle was Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis.
He completed h ...
were sent to the NMML's executive council complaining of alleged deterioration in scholarly standards of the centre.[
Supporting Mukherjee, another set of academics, including ]Irfan Habib
Irfan Habib (born August 10, 1931) is an Indian historian of ancient and medieval India, following the methodology of Marxist historiography in his contributions to economic history. He identifies as a Marxist and is well known for his strong ...
and Madhu Kishwar
Madhu Purnima Kishwar is an Indian academic and a commentator.
, wrote to the Prime Minister of India protesting her treatment. Mukherjee herself pointed out that under her tenure, the NMML had completed a ten-volume publication of the selected works of Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), popularly referred to as JP or ''Lok Nayak'' (Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. He is remembered for le ...
, besides initiating a digitisation project.[
The executive council disregarded the petition and extended Mukherjee's tenure for another two years.][
Following the end of her appointment, a search for her replacement ended up in a court case with accusations of irregularities. The Delhi High Court struck down the appointment of Mukherjee's successor on the grounds that the process was faulty and against norms.]
Selected publications
Books
*
*
*
*
*
Articles
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukherjee, Mridula
Living people
People from Lahore
Historians of South Asia
1950 births
Indian Marxist historians
20th-century Indian women scientists
20th-century Indian scientists
21st-century Indian women scientists
21st-century Indian scientists
20th-century Indian women writers
20th-century Indian writers
21st-century Indian women writers
21st-century Indian writers
Indian political writers
Indian women political writers
Educators from Delhi
Women educators from Delhi
Writers from Delhi
Indian women historians
21st-century Indian historians
Women writers from Delhi