Abhishek Kaicker

Abhishek Kaicker is an Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in Persianate South Asia (1200-1900) with a focus on the Mughal Empire. His work bridges intellectual history, early modern global history, and the intersection of religion and politics.

• Education: PhD (Columbia University), MA (University of British Columbia), BA (Macalester College)

His research explores how ordinary urbanites shaped political dynamics in Mughal Delhi, the prehistory of the British conquest of Bengal, and the evolution of communalism under colonial rule. He is also writing a biography of Anand Ram Mukhlis, an 18th-century Delhi polymath.

Abhishek co-edits the peer-reviewed Journal of South Asian Intellectual History and has contributed to publications like the Oxford Handbook of the Seven Years' War, History of Religions, and New York Times essays on historical parallels. His teaching emphasizes early modern South Asian history, and he mentors graduate students interested in premodern South Asia.

Current projects include a prehistory of British colonialism in Bengal and a study of communalism's roots in Mughal political culture.