Ahona Panda

Ahona Panda is an Assistant Professor of History specializing in modern South Asia and the British Empire. Her research reimagines Hindu-Muslim relations through linguistic and moral frameworks, challenging narratives of division. She holds a PhD from the University of Chicago (2019) and degrees from Jadavpur University (2011).

Her major work, Bengal Undivided: Language and the Limits of Nationalism, explores shared Bengali linguistic identity across India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. A second project uses microhistorical methods to trace transnational and environmental histories of regions like Murshidabad and Sylhet. She teaches at the Claremont Colleges, offering courses on nationalism, gender, and colonialism.

• Awards: Sardar Patel Award (2020), Mellon PATHS Fellowship (2020), Political Theology Network recognition (2022-2023)
• Research: Focuses on material culture, oral histories, and multi-lingual archives in Bengali, Persian, and European languages

Her scholarship bridges microhistories with macro-political questions, emphasizing entangled histories of border regions and environmental challenges. Advising focuses on methodological innovation in South Asian studies.