https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Meenakshi_JainMeenakshi Jain - Revision history2026-07-31T15:18:21ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Meenakshi_Jain&diff=451736&oldid=prevAptechguwahatiaz at 15:39, 24 December 20252025-12-24T15:39:47Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|Indian historian}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}<br />
{{Use British English|date=April 2015}}<br />
{{Infobox officeholder<br />
| name = Meenakshi Jain<br />
| image = Meenakshi Jain.jpg<br />
| image_size = <br />
| caption = Meenakshi Jain in 2025<br />
| office = [[List of nominated members of the Rajya Sabha|Member of Parliament]], [[Rajya Sabha]]<br />
| term_start = 21 July 2025<br />
| nominator = [[Droupadi Murmu]]<br />
| predecessor = [[Rakesh Sinha]]<br />
| constituency = [[List of nominated members of the Rajya Sabha|Nominated]] (Literature and Education)<br />
| birth_date = <br />
| birth_place = [[Delhi]], [[India]]<br />
| death_date = <br />
| death_place = <br />
| other_names = <br />
| known_for = ''Sati: Evangelicals, Baptist Missionaries, and the Changing Colonial Discourse''<br />
| occupation = Historian, Writer, Political scientist<br />
| alma_mater = [[University of Delhi]] ([[PhD]])<br />
| father = [[Girilal Jain]]<br />
| relatives = [[Sunil Jain]] (brother)<br/>Sandhya Jain (sister)<br />
| awards = [[Padma Shri]] (2020)<br />
}}<br />
'''Meenakshi Jain''' is an Indian political scientist and historian who served as an associate professor of history at [[Gargi College]], Delhi. Her areas of research include cultural and religious developments in medieval and early modern India.<ref name="i783">{{cite web | title=Who is Meenakshi Jain? Historian, author, and new Rajya Sabha nominee | website=Moneycontrol | date=13 July 2025 | url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/who-is-meenakshi-jain-historian-author-and-new-rajya-sabha-nominee-13272261.html#google_vignette | access-date=15 July 2025}}</ref><ref name=ichr/> In 2014, she was nominated as a member of the [[Indian Council of Historical Research]] by the Government of India.<ref name=":2" /> In 2020, she was conferred with the [[Padma Shri]], India's fourth highest civilian award, for her work in the field of literature and education.<ref>{{cite news|author=The Hindu Net Desk|date=26 January 2020|title=Full list of 2020 Padma awardees|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/full-list-of-2020-padma-awardees/article30656841.ece}}</ref><br />
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Jain wrote ''Sati: Evangelicals, Baptist Missionaries, and the Changing Colonial Discourse'' on the [[Sati (practice)|practice of Sati]] in colonial India and had also authored a school history textbook, ''Medieval India'', for [[NCERT]], which replaced a previous textbook co-authored by [[Romila Thapar]], [[Satish Chandra (historian)|Satish Chandra]] et al.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/being-proud-of-indias-hindu-past-is-great-but-worry-about-the-present-too/1800185/|title=Being proud of India's Hindu past is great, but worry about the present too|website=[[The Financial Express (India)|The Financial Express]]}}</ref><br />
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Meenakshi Jain was nominated to [[Rajya Sabha]] by President [[Droupadi Murmu]] on 12 July 2025.<ref name="President Murmu nominates four to Rajya Sabha, including former Foreign Secretary Shringla, 26/11 prosecutor Nikam">{{cite news |last1= |first1= |date=13 July 2025 |title=President Murmu nominates four to Rajya Sabha, including former Foreign Secretary Shringla, 26/11 prosecutor Nikam |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/former-foreign-secretary-shringla-ujjwal-nikam-c-sadanandan-master-and-meenakshi-jain-nominated-to-rajya-sabha/article69806580.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250713180529/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/former-foreign-secretary-shringla-ujjwal-nikam-c-sadanandan-master-and-meenakshi-jain-nominated-to-rajya-sabha/article69806580.ece |archive-date=13 July 2025 |access-date=13 July 2025 |publisher=The Hindu |language=en-IN}}</ref><br />
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== Early life and education ==<br />
Meenakshi Jain is the daughter of journalist [[Girilal Jain]], a former editor of ''[[The Times of India]]''.<ref>[[Khushwant Singh]], [https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/books/story/19940831-book-review-of-the-hindu-phenomenon-by-girilal-jain-809565-1994-08-30 Biased view] (Book review of The Hindu Phenomenon), India Today, 31 August 1994.</ref> She received her Ph.D. in political science from the [[University of Delhi]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WAESBQAAQBAJ|title=Caste: Its 20Th Century Avatar|last=Srinivas|first=M. N.|date=2000-10-14|publisher=Penguin UK|isbn=9789351187837|pages=313|language=en}}</ref> Her thesis on the social base and relations between [[caste system in India|caste]] and [[politics]] was published in 1991.<ref name=":3" /><br />
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== Career ==<br />
Jain is an associate professor of history at [[Gargi College]], affiliated with the University of Delhi.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ichr.ac.in/Council_new.pdf|title=Members of the Council|website=INDIAN COUNCIL OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH|access-date=6 November 2019|archive-date=6 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106120853/http://ichr.ac.in/Council_new.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In December 2014, she was nominated as a member of the [[Indian Council of Historical Research]] by the [[Indian government]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |url=http://ichr.ac.in/newcouncilMembers.pdf |title=Membership of the Indian Council of Historical Research |access-date=21 March 2015 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200819/http://ichr.ac.in/newcouncilMembers.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> She is former Fellow of the [[Nehru Memorial Museum and Library]] and currently Senior Fellow of the [[Indian Council of Social Science Research]] (ICSSR).<ref name=ichr>[https://fihcr.com/dr-meenakshi-jain/ Dr Meenakshi Jain] IHCR.</ref><br />
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Her books include, ''Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples'', ''The Battle for Rama: Case of the Temple at Ayodhya'' and ''Rama and Ayodhya''.<ref name="Times14July">{{cite news |title=From having legs hacked off to getting Rajya Sabha foothold: A Master's journey of grit |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/from-having-legs-hacked-off-to-getting-rajya-sabha-foothold-a-masters-journey-of-grit/articleshow/122424644.cms |access-date=14 July 2025 |publisher=The Times of India |date=14 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250714044603/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/from-having-legs-hacked-off-to-getting-rajya-sabha-foothold-a-masters-journey-of-grit/articleshow/122424644.cms |archive-date=14 July 2025}}</ref><br />
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== Reception ==<br />
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=== Medieval India (textbook) ===<br />
Philosopher [[Martha Nussbaum]] noted Jain to be an amateur historian, who despite being trained as a sociologist, was inducted as a historian in service of a [[Saffronisation|political mission]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=The Clash Within : Democracy, Religious Violence, and India's Future.|last=Nussbaum|first=Martha Craven|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2007|isbn=9780674030596|oclc=1006798430}}</ref> Her ''Medieval India'' rendered the time-span through a monoscopic clash-of-civilizations narrative between the forces of good (Hindus) and evil (Muslims); the tensions and internal conflicts between these seemingly homogeneous groups were done away with.<ref name=":4" /> Nonetheless, Nussbaum found her work to be a small "oasis of intelligence", subtlety and literacy, when contrasted with other publications of the new NCERT series, published under the aegis of the Hindu Nationalist government;<ref name=":4" /> Professor Pralay Kanungo of [[Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi|Jawaharlal Nehru University]] reflected similar sentiments.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Alternative Narratives |url=https://thebookreviewindia.org/alternative-narratives/ |access-date=2019-05-11 |website=The Book Review |language=en-US}}</ref><br />
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Similarly, sociologist [[Nandini Sundar]] found ''Medieval India'' to have portrayed the exactions of the [[Delhi Sultanate|Sultanate]] rulers and the [[Mughals]] as anti-Hindu acts; besides, all of their contributions to the social, cultural and political were ignored.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Sundar|first=Nandini|date=2004|title=Teaching to Hate: RSS' Pedagogical Programme|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=39|issue=16|pages=1605–1612|issn=0012-9976|jstor=4414900|doi=10.1057/9781403980137_9}}</ref> She saw this as part of a broader pattern of state-induced [[historical negationism]] to suit the need of [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]].<ref name=":1" /> John Stratton Hawley of [[Columbia University]] found the book to misrepresent the gensis of the [[Bhakti movement]] by presenting it as a response to [[Shankaracharya]]'s monism than to the egalitarian message of Islam.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/product/457858|title=A storm of songs. India and the idea of the Bhakti Movement.|last=Hawley|first=John Stratton|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2015|isbn=9780674187467|pages=38–40|chapter=The Bhakti Movement and Its Discontents|doi=10.4159/9780674425262|jstor=j.ctt1c84d6f|oclc=917361614|chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/books/9780674425262/9780674425262-004/9780674425262-004.xml}}</ref><br />
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=== Works on Ayodhya dispute ===<br />
Pralay Kanungo found Jain's ''Rama and Ayodhya'' (2013) to be a subtle and sophisticated work that managed to stand apart from the earlier ahistorical propaganda by Hindutva-leaning historians.<ref name=":0" /> Nonetheless, while by cherry-picking from random sources, she had managed to produce a useful compilation, which can be traced in many islamic historian's book questioning distortion of history by post independence leftist historians.<ref name=":0" /> <br />
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==Award==<br />
In 2020, President Kovind awarded the [[Padma Shri]] for her contribution in the field of Literature and Education.<br />
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== Works ==<br />
===Books===<br />
* ''Congress Party, 1967-77: Role of Caste in Indian Politics'' (Vikas, 1991), {{ISBN|0706953193}}.<br />
* [https://archive.org/details/flawed-narratives-history-in-the-old-ncert-textbooks-of-satish-chandra-by-meenakshi-jain ''Flawed Narratives: History in the old NCERT Textbooks - A random survey of Satish Chandra’s “Medieval India''], NCERT 2000, by Meenakshi Jain<br />
* ''Medieval India: A Textbook for Class XI'' ([[National Council of Educational Research and Training|NCERT]], 2002), {{ISBN|8174501711}}.<br />
* ''Rajah-Moonje Pact: Documents On A Forgotten Chapter Of Indian History'' (with Devendra Svarupa, Low Price Publishers, 2007), {{ISBN|8184540787}}.<br />
* ''Parallel Pathways: Essays on Hindu-Muslim Relations, 1707-1857'' (Konark Publishers, 2010), {{ISBN|9788122007831}}.<br />
* ''The India They Saw'' (co-edited with Sandhya Jain, 4 Volumes, Prabhat Prakashan), {{ISBN|8184301065}}, {{ISBN|8184301073}}, {{ISBN|8184301081}}, {{ISBN|818430109X}}.<br />
* ''Rama and Ayodhya'' (Aryan Books International, 2013), {{ISBN|8173054517}}.<br />
* ''Sati: Evangelicals, Baptist Missionaries, and the Changing Colonial Discourse'' (Aryan Books International, 2016), {{ISBN|8173055521}}<br />
* ''The Battle for Rama: Case of the Temple at Ayodhya'' (Aryan Books International, 2017), {{ISBN|8173055793}}.<br />
* ''Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples: Episodes from Indian History'' (Aryan Books International, 2019), {{ISBN|8173056196}}.<br />
* ''Vasudeva Krishna and Mathura'' (Aryan Books International, 2021), {{ISBN|8173056587}}<br />
* ''The Hindus of Hindustan: A Civilizational Journey'' (Aryan Books International, 2023), {{ISBN|8173056811}}<br />
* ''The British Makeover of India: Judicial and Other Indigenous Institutions Upturned'', (Aryan Books International, 2024){{ISBN|8173057044}}<br />
* ''Vishwanath Rises and Rises: The Story of Eternal Kashi'' (Aryan Books International, 2024), {{ISBN|8173056994}}<br />
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===Selected articles===<br />
* "Congress 1967: Strategies of Mobilisation in D. A. Low" in ''The Indian National Congress Centenary Hindsights'', 1988.<br />
* "Backward Castes and Social Change in U. P. and Bihar" in ''Srinivas, Caste: Its 20th Century Avatar (2000)''.<br />
* A review of [[Romila Thapar]]'s ''Somanatha: Many Voices of a History'' over [[The Pioneer (India)]].<ref name="Somanathareview">{{cite news|url=http://hindureview.com/2004/04/20/review-romila-thapar%C2%92s-%C2%93somanatha-many-voices-history/|title=Review of Romila Thapar's "Somanatha, The Many Voices of a History"|author=Meenakshi Jain|date=21 March 2004|newspaper=The Pioneer|access-date=2014-12-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218044553/http://hindureview.com/2004/04/20/review-romila-thapar%C2%92s-%C2%93somanatha-many-voices-history/|archive-date=18 December 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><br />
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==See also==<br />
* [[Jadunath Sarkar]]<br />
* [[R. C. Majumdar]]<br />
* [[Sita Ram Goel]]<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist|30em}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Literature & Education}}<br />
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{{authority control}}<br />
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{{Commons category|Meenakshi Jain}}<br />
{{Wikiquote}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jain, Meenakshi}}<br />
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[[Category:Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha]]</div>Aptechguwahatiaz