Ghulam Ahmad Raza
Areas of Interest & Expertise
- History of medieval and early modern South Asia
- Interconnected history of the early modern Islamic world
- Judiciary and legal system in the Persianate world
- Intellectual network in early modern South Asia
- Literary tradition and Persian historiography
- Imperial court and courtly culture in the Mughal empire
- Knowledge production and knowledge system in premodern India
- Muslim society and culture in medieval and modern India
Biography
Raza defended his MPhil and PhD degrees in Medieval History from the Centre for Historical Studies (CHS), School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. His journey to PhD in Medieval History started with his MA in history from the Department of History and Culture, Jamia Millia Islamia (Central University), New Delhi. Holding deep-seated interests in Medieval and Early Modern History of South Asia, Raza’s specific research interests broadly include the interconnected History of the Early Modern Islamic World with a special focus on the imperial court, courtly culture, judiciary and legal system, signs and symbols of sovereignty, intellectual pursuits, literary traditions, historiography, palaeography, and epigraphy. He also developed an interest in the History of the Intelligentsia and the Military.
In the teaching domain, he taught as a guest faculty in the Department of History and Culture, Jamia Millia Islamia (Central University), New Delhi. He has taught as a visiting faculty in the National Museum Institute (deemed-to-be University), New Delhi and as a guest faculty in different colleges of the University of Delhi. In addition, he worked as a Research Fellow in a UGC-MRP, entitled Role and Promotion of Heritage Culture Tourism: A Study of Tafrihul Imarat – Edition, Annotation and Translation at the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Jamia Millia Islamia (Central University), New Delhi.
He was a member of a Review Committee constituted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi, to review Hindi and Urdu translations of the trilingual Dictionary of History for Schools. Before joining Azim Premji University, he was working on a military history project as a Research Assistant at the History Division, Ministry of Defense, New Delhi.
Raza received the Professor J. S. Grewal Prize of the Indian History Congress for the best research paper in the Medieval Section of the Indian History Congress in 2019. He also received the Junior Research Fellowship and the Senior Research Fellowship from the University Grants Commission, Government of India, in 2019 and 2022, respectively. He was awarded the Gold Medal in graduation in 2012 and the Razmi Rizwan Husain Memorial Scholarship in post-graduation in 2014. In 2025, he was also selected for the prestigious national fellowship, Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship (junior fellowship) of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (now known as Prime Ministers Museum and Library), New Delhi.
Publications
Books
- Raza, G. A. (2017). Dictionary of History for Schools (Urdu trans.). National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
- Raza, G. A. (Ed). (2016). Imam al-Ghazali. Maktaba Jamenoor.
Journal articles
- Raza, G. A. (2025). Negotiating Identity and Power in Premodern Deccan: A Biographical Analysis of Afāqī Noble Afżal Khān Shīrāzī. Besari: Journal of Social and Cultural Studies, 2(2), 143 – 158. https://ojisnu.isnuponorogo.org/index.php/besari/article/view/138
- Raza, G. A. (2023). Islāmic Ethics and Challenges: An Analytical Study of Hadith‑i Jibrail and Shariah. Islam and Muslim Societies: A Social Science Journal, 15(2), 15 – 27.
https://www.muslimsocieties.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Isl_mic-Ethics-and-Challenges-An-Analytical-Study-of-Hadith-iJibrail-and-Shariah.pdf - Raza, G. A. (2019). Ibrahim Adil Shah’s Devotion to Hindu Deities. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 80, 508 – 519. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27192903
- Raza, G. A. (2018). The Tazkirat ul-Muluk as a Unique Persian Source on Adil Shahi kingship. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 79, 221 – 230. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26906250
- Raza, G. A. (forthcoming). Rafī‘uddīn Ibrāhīm Shīrāzī: A Forgotten Historian of Medieval Deccan in Indo-Persian Historiography. Iran and Caucasus, Brill.
Chapters in books
- Raza, G. A. (2025). India-Arab Relations: Understanding the Old and New Trajectories. In N.R. Khan (Ed.), India- Arab Relations: Emerging Trends and Challenges. Primus Books.
- Raza, G. A. (2024). Crafts and Urbanization in the Delhi Sultanate. In Economic History of India (A.D. 1200 – 1757). National Urdu University (Central University).
- Raza, G. A. (2024). Trade Structure and Currency in the Delhi Sultanate. In Economic History of India (A.D. 1200 – 1757). Maulana Azad National Urdu University (Central University).
- Raza, G. A. (2021). Colonialism and Its Phases. In D. Moin & I. Haque (Eds.), History Textbook for UG Course (Vol. 2). Telangana State Academy.
Paper presentations
- Presented a paper titled, ‘The Mughal Emperors’ Idea of Court: Sources and Views’ at the Two-Day National Conference on Mughal Empire: Art, Architecture and Historiography organised by the Department of History, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Aligarh, on 13 – 15 March 2023.
- Presented a paper titled, ‘An Analytical Study of the Indo-Arab Relation in the Eighth Century: The Primary Sources and Modern Interpretations at the Two-Day National Conference on India-Arab Relations: Understanding the Old and New Trajectories, organised by India-Arab Culture Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, on 14 – 15 December 2022.
- Presented a paper titled, ‘Exemplifying Women’s Empowerment in Medieval Indian Society: A Study of Princess Jahanara Begum’ at the National Conference on Footprints of Women in Making of Bharat organised by NCWEB, University of Delhi, New Delhi, on 26 – 27 November 2022.
- Presented a paper titled, ‘The Tazkirat ul-Muluk of Rafiuddin Ibrahim Shirazi: A Rare Persian Source on the Adil Shahi Kingship’ at the 79th Session of the Indian History Congress, Bhopal, on 26 – 28 February 2019.
- Presented a paper titled, ‘The Differences in Contemporary Primary Sources: History Writing and Challenges’ at the 3rd National Urdu Social Science Congress organised by Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad, on 27 – 28 November 2019.
- Presented a paper titled, ‘Ibrahim Adil Shah’s Devotion to Hindu Deities: Contemporary Criticism and Defence’ at the 80th Session of the Indian History Congress, Kannur University, Kerala, on 27 – 29 December 2019.
- Presented a paper titled, ‘Islamic Ethics: Cross-Cultural Consensus and Contemporary Challenges’ at the International Seminar on Ethics in Religions organised by Al-Mustafa International University & Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, on 7 – 8 March 2018.
- Presented a paper titled, ‘Shirazi Nobles and the Political Culture of the Adil Shahi Sultanate in the Sixteenth Century’ at the 78th Session of the Indian History Congress, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, on 28 – 30 December 2017.