Dr Samira Sheikh
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Obaid Siddiqi Lectures, a series of annual lectures delivered by the Obaid Siddiqi Chair in the History and Culture of Science at the Archives at NCBS, will be held in the city this week.
The lectures will be delivered by Dr. Samira Sheikh, a historian of South Asia and Associate Professor of History at Vanderbilt University, currently the fifth Obaid Siddiqi Chair at the Archives at NCBS.
According to the Archives at NCBS website, Dr. Sheikh’s research focuses on early modern and modern western India, with particular attention to Gujarat, riverine and coastal histories, mapping, and the social worlds of trade, labour, and governance.
“She is the author of Forging a Region: Sultans, Traders, and Pilgrims in Gujarat, 1200–1500 and is currently working on two book projects on mapping and mapmaking in South Asia,” it further stated, adding that her work combines archival research with spatial and digital methods to rethink how Indian spaces were historically known and made.
Details of the three talks are below:
Lecture 1: The Mughal Map Mystery
July 10 (Friday), 5.30 p.m. at Dasheri Auditorium, NCBS
Lecture 2: Walking the Dotted Line: Mapping Borders Before the Nation
July 16 (Thursday), 5.30 p.m. at Conference Hall (Ground Floor), Training Centre, National Law School of India University
Lecture 3: Secrets and Lines: A Short History of Boundaries in India
July 19 (Sunday), 5.30 p.m. at Bangalore International Centre
Lectures are free and open to all. To know more, log into www.ncbs.res.in/events/osl-ss
Published – July 03, 2026 03:31 pm IST
