Mridula Mukherjee (née Mahajan) is an
Indian 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 species; as well as the ...
known for her work on the role of peasants in the
Indian independence movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed.
The first nationalistic ...
. She is an ex-chairperson of the Centre for Historical Studies at the
Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...
, and former director of the
Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.
Early life and education
Mukherjee was born in 1950 in New Delhi, India. Her parents,
Vidya Dhar Mahajan and Savitri Shori Mahajan, had been renowned teachers of history in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
, from where they emigrated to New Delhi following the
Partition of India
The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
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 (LSR) is a constituent women's college, affiliated with the University of Delhi.
History
Established in 1956 in New Delhi by the late Lala Shri Ram in memory of his wife Phoolan Devi (Lady Shri Ram), the college bega ...
in New Delhi. She joined Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...
(JNU) as a post-graduate student in 1971, from where she obtained a PhD
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
degree. Her doctoral thesis advisor was Bipan Chandra
Bipan Chandra (24 May 1928 – 30 August 2014) was an Indian Marxist 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 ...
.
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
* ''D ...
of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi
New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
.
Research
She investigated agrarian history in the Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
. 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 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 Marxist 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 ...
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 '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 (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. He is an important autho ...
and Sumit Sarkar 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 10 August 1931) is an Indian historian of ancient and medieval India, following the methodology of Marxist historiography in his contributions to economic history. He is known for his strong stance against Hindutva. He has au ...
and Madhu Kishwar, 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 Srivastava (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), also known as JP and ''Lok Nayak'' (Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian politician, theorist and Indian independence activist, independence activist. He is mai ...
, 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
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Articles
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukherjee, Mridula
Living people
Academics 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
Lady Shri Ram College alumni
Jawaharlal Nehru University alumni