Akhila Mathew
Areas of Interest & Expertise
- History of Witchcraft
- Gender and Questions of Deviance
- History of Households
- Caste, Law and State
- Early Modern Rajasthan
Biography
Akhila has completed her MA, MPhil, and PhD from the Centre for Historical Studies (CHS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi. She specialises in the social and legal history of early modern Rajasthan.
Her work engages with themes of gender, caste, and law through a study of women accused of witchcraft practices. She was awarded a PhD degree in 2021 after successfully defending her thesis titled ‘Witchcraft, Law and State in 18th and 19th century Rajasthan’.
Before joining Azim Premji University, she taught as an ad hoc Assistant Professor for over four years at the University of Delhi, Indraprastha College for Women, and St. Stephen’s College.
She has been the recipient of the Charles Wallace India Trust research grant (2018) and the Nandita Prasad Sahai Memorial Trust Field Study Grant (2015).
Publications
Magazine Article
- Mathew, A. (2017, November 22). Padmavati: The Legend of the Queen. Open Magazine. https://openthemagazine.com/columns/comment/padmavati-the-legend-of-the-queen/
Book Reviews
- Mathew, A. (2022). Unexplored themes on a broad canvas [Review of the book Socio-Cultural and Technological Development in Medieval India, by Ali Athar (Ed.)]. The Book Review, 46(8). https://www.thebookreviewindia.org/unexplored-themes-on-a-broad-canvas/
- Mathew, A. (2021). Engaging with premodern Odisha [Review of the book The Making of Regions in Indian History: Society, State and Identity in Premodern Odisha, by B.P. Sahu]. The Book Review, 45(10). https://www.thebookreviewindia.org/engaging-with-premodern-odisha/