Who are the two India-origin authors shortlisted for 2023 British Academy Book Prize
Nandini Das from the UK and Kris Manjapra from the US, have earned coveted spots on the shortlist for the 2023 British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding. This prestigious international non-fiction award, valued at GBP 25,000, recognizes outstanding contributions to the public's understanding of world cultures and their interconnectedness.
Nandini Das, originally from India and now a Professor of Early Modern Literature and Culture at the University of Oxford, is a finalist for her debut work, 'Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire.' Judges have commended her book as «ground-breaking» for its intricate blend of biography and historical narrative, offering fresh perspectives on the early 1600s diplomatic mission from England to India.
Through her work, Das sheds light on the mutual understanding and misunderstandings between the Mughals and the English, providing valuable insights into global connections and shifting power dynamics during this pivotal period in world history.
Kris Manjapra, of mixed African and Indian parentage, is a finalist for 'Black Ghost of Empire: The Long Death of Slavery and the Failure of Emancipation.' Manjapra, a Stearns Trustee Professor of History and Global Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, delves into the slow demise of slavery and the disappointments of emancipation in his book.
Judges have described it as a «detailed and disturbing account» of the false promise of emancipation that accompanied the formal abolition of slavery in the 19th century.
