Charu Gupta receives Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy Book Prize for 'Hindi Hindu Histories'

Academic and author Charu Gupta has been awarded the coveted 'Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy Book Prize' (South Asia) for her book ''Hindi Hindu Histories''. The international award, named after the pioneering art historian and cultural thinker Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, honours a ''distinguished work of scholarship in South Asian Studies that promises to define or redefine the understanding of whole subject areas''. The award by the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) carries a cash prize of USD 1,000 (approx Rs 90,500). ''I feel honoured to receive this prize, regarded as one of the most prestigious awards in South Asian studies. 'Hindi Hindu Histories' is, in many ways, a continuation of my work on the history of vernacular literature. ''It examines Hindu life through autobiographies and print culture in early twentieth-century North India, and highlights the plurality and richness of the Hindu world. I have ensured that the book remains accessible and readable while retaining its academic rigor,'' the 61-year-old author, currently serving as the senior professor in the department of History at the University of Delhi, told PTI. Drawing on a rich Hindi archive, ''Hindi Hindu Histories: Caste, Ayurveda, Travel, and Communism in Early Twentieth-Century India'', published by Permanent Black and SUNY Press, examines four influential figures -- an anti-caste reformer, a woman Ayurvedic practitioner, a nationalist travel writer, and a Left journalist -- revealing diverse vernacular visions of caste, gender, nationhood, and Hindu identity during a transformative era. Gupta's research has explored gender, caste, masculinity, medicine, religious identities, and vernacular print cultures in early 20th century North India. Her work has significantly reshaped debates on gender, caste, and popular print in modern Indian history.