Heartiest Greetings from the Faculty and Staff

Its indeed a privilege to be a part of one of the oldest, largest and distinguished departments of the University of Rajasthan. The Department of History was set up in 1950, acquiring its present nomenclature as Department of History & Indian Culture in 1962. The intellectual stature of the Department is registered in many metrics. It flourished under the erudite leadership of stalwarts like Prof. G.C. Pandey, Dr. Satish Chandra, Prof. G.N. Sharma, Prof. Devendra Kaushik, Prof. V.S. Bhatnaghar, Prof. M.S. Jain, Dr. G.S.P. Mishra, Dr. Pratibha Jain and Prof. Mukund Lat.

Also, it is one of the largest History departments in India offering a rich spread of courses in ancient, medieval and modern Indian, Rajasthan and World History divided into four semesters covering two years. Apart from offering the traditional courses, the Department has since long introduced avantgarde themes like ecology, Indian diaspora, historical tourism, journalism, etc. The Department has acquired distinction for its emphasis on multiple components of historical knowledge-ideas and thought, political, social, religious and cultural movements, art and archaeology, historiography, philosophy of history, regional history, contemporary history, women’s history etc. Our department has long been proud of its extensive engagement with regional history (History of Rajasthan), a domain that has remained neglected till recent decades.

The faculty of the department are experts in their respective domains and enthusiastic participants in the activities of the Department and have also been assigned responsibilities within the Campus administration. Our alumni have made a name for themselves not only in academia, but in journalism, law, public service as well as entrepreneurship.

The Department has consistently endeavoured to incorporate the latest themes, trends and pedagogics in historical knowledge. To achieve the same the syllabi is reviewed and revised regularly. The design of the paper is prepared through consultation with the concerned teachers as well as experts. The syllabi are also now being reworked with an eye on the New Education Policy, i.e., link the courses to employability.

The department’s journal Jijnasa: Journal of the History of Ideas and Culture, being published since 1974, commands immense prestige and is listed as UGC Care journal.The theme of the upcoming issue of Jijnasa is ‘Historians and Historiography of Rajasthan’.

Herodotus Society is an inhouse academic club for the teachers and students. Innovative and scholarly activities like lectures (by department faculty or invited scholars), film shows, discussions and book reviews are regularly organized under its auspices have made it a popular and vibrant learning forum. The Herodotus Society is playing a significant role in nurturing a lively and robust academic environment in the Department.

With a rich legacy combined with innovative initiatives, we seek to succeed in our mission to prepare knowledgeable, confident, reflective and engaged learners at all levels – M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. – equipped to succeed in the modern world.



(Prof. (Dr.) Sangeeta Sharma)
Head of Department,
Department of History & Indian Culture,
University of Rajasthan, Jaipur