A scholar of ancient Indian history, Sanjukta Datta works on inscriptions from the ancient and early medieval periods. Her research interests focus on kingship, patronage, trans-regional Buddhist networks, and documentary culture. She has published in journals like the Indian Economic and Social History Review, Studies in History, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress and has contributed essays in edited volumes such as Ancient India: New Research (2009) and Social Worlds of Premodern Transactions: Perspectives from Indian Epigraphy and History (2021). She is currently working on her first book manuscript, tentatively titled In the Name of the Buddha: Kingship and Patronage in Eastern India. Archaeology is another area of her enquiry and she has participated in excavations of the Archaeological Survey of India and has edited some of the organization’s publications.
At Ashoka University, she offers a mandatory introductory course on archaeology for History Majors and electives on early medieval India, documentary cultures of premodern India, Buddhism, Hinduism, and world religions. Prior to joining Ashoka, Datta taught history at St. Stephen’s College and Gargi College, University of Delhi. Having completed her BA (Honours) in History from St. Stephen’s College, she obtained her MA, MPhil and PhD from University of Delhi.
