Shereen F. Ratnagar is an Indian

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

whose work has focused on the

Indus Valley civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...

. She is the author of several books and academic textbooks.

Career

Ratnagar was educated at Deccan College,

University of Pune Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Poona, is a collegiate public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganes ...

. She studied

Mesopotamian Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsc ...

at the Institute of Archaeology,

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. She was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

of archaeology and

ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

at the Centre for Historical Studies at the

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 an ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. She retired in 2000, and is currently an independent researcher living in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

. She is noted for work on investigating the factors contributing to the end of the Indus Valley Civilization.

Ayodhya dispute

Shereen Ratnagar along with archaeologist D. Mandal spent a day, in 2003, examining the court-ordered excavations conducted by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

(ASI) at the site of the

Babri Masjid Babri Masjid ( IAST: Bābarī Masjid; meaning ''Mosque of Babur'') was a mosque in Ayodhya, India, at a site believed by many Hindus to be the birthplace of Hindu deity Rama. It has been a focus of dispute between the Hindu and Muslim commun ...

on behalf of the Sunni Central Waqf Board (the Muslim litigant in the dispute). Subsequently, the two researchers wrote a highly critical appraisal of the excavations by the ASI titled ''Ayodhya: Archaeology after Excavation''. In 2010, they appeared as expert witnesses for the Sunni Waqf Board in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case in the

Allahabad High Court Allahabad High Court, also known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is the high court based in Prayagraj that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 17 March 1866, making it one of the oldest high ...

. In its judgement on the Ayodhya dispute, the High Court flayed the role played by several witnesses including Ratnagar, who was forced to admit under oath that she had no field experience in

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

excavations In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...

in India.How Allahabad HC exposed experts espousing Masjid-cause
Times of India, 9 October 2010. Ratnagar and her supporters defend her record by stating that she has participated in some archaeological digs at sites outside India, such as Tell al-Rimah,

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, in 1971, ''Iraq'' Vol. 34, No. 2 (Autumn, 1972), pp. 77-86. Published by: British Institute for the Study of Iraq
/ref> as well as in Turkey and the Gulf.Publisher's statement on Shereen Ratnagar, Trading Encounters (Oxford University Press, 2006)
Earlier in the case, Shereen Ratnagar was served a

contempt Contempt is a pattern of attitudes and behaviour, often towards an individual or a group, but sometimes towards an ideology, which has the characteristics of disgust and anger. The word originated in 1393 in Old French contempt, contemps, ...

notice for violating a court order restraining witnesses in the ongoing case from airing their views in public.Babri witnesses get HC contempt notice
Indian Express, Thu 20 May 2010, 04:18 hrs

Publications

*''Encounters, the westerly trade of the Harappa civilization'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

(1981). *''Enquiries into the political organization of Harappan society'', Ravish Publishers (1991). *''The End of the Great Harappan Tradition'', New Delhi: Manohar, . (2000) *''Understanding Harappa: Civilization in the greater Indus Valley'',

Tulika Books Tulika Books is a New Delhi-based independent publisher of scholarly and academic books in the humanities and social sciences, with a "broadly left perspective." The Chennai-based Tulika Publishers is a sister company of Tulika Books. History ...

, (2002) *''Mobile and Marginalized Peoples'', New Delhi: Manohar (2003) *''Trading Encounters: From the Euphrates to the Indus in the Bronze Age,''

(2nd edition), (2006) *''The Other Indians - Essays on Pastoralists and Prehistoric Tribal People'', Three Essays Collective (2004) *''Ayodhya: Archaeology After Excavation'', New Delhi:

(2007) *''The Timechart History of Ancient Egypt'', Worth (2007). . *''Makers and Shapers: Early Indian Technology in the Household, Village, and Urban Workshop'',

(2007). *''Being Tribal'', Primus Books (2010). .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratnagar, Shereen Historians of South Asia 20th-century Indian archaeologists Indian social sciences writers 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian women scientists 20th-century Indian social scientists Indian women archaeologists Living people Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni Alumni of the UCL Institute of Archaeology Academic staff of Jawaharlal Nehru University Year of birth missing (living people) Analysts of Ayodhya dispute Indian women historians Scientists from Maharashtra Historians of India Women writers from Maharashtra Indian women science writers 21st-century Indian women scientists 21st-century Indian social scientists 21st-century Indian women writers Women scientists from Maharashtra 21st-century Indian archaeologists People associated with the Indus Valley civilisation 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers Parsi people Women educators from Maharashtra Educators from Maharashtra