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{{Short description|Historian of late medieval India}}
{{Short description|Historian of late medieval India}}
'''Audrey Truschke''' is a historian of South Asia and an associate professor at [[Rutgers University]]. Her work focuses on Hindu–Muslim relations in South Asia, especially during the [[Mughal Empire]]. She has been a frequent target of harassment by [[Hindutva|right-wing Hindu nationalists]], who accuse her of having prejudiced views on Hinduism, and making offensive statements; scholars reject the charges.<ref name="Scroll_Staff" /><ref name="Chung" /><ref name="wire.in" />
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Infobox academic
| name = Audrey Truschke
| occupation = Professor, historian, author
| image = Audrey Truschke in August 2018.png
| caption = Truschke in August 2018
| citizenship = United States
| alma_mater = [[University of Chicago]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]]) <br />[[Columbia University]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]], [[MPhil]], [[PhD]])
| thesis_title = Cosmopolitan Encounters: Sanskrit and Persian at the Mughal Court<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Trushke |first=Audrey |date=2012 |title=Cosmopolitan Encounters: Sanskrit and Persian at the Mughal Court |url= |work= |degree=Ph.D. |location= |publisher=Columbia University |access-date=}}</ref>
| thesis_year = 2012
| doctoral_advisor = [[Sheldon Pollock]]{{sfn|Trushke|2012|pp=vi}}
| work_institution = [[Rutgers University]]
| website = {{URL|https://audreytruschke.com}}
}}
 
'''Audrey Truschke''' ({{IPAc-en|'|t|r|ʌ|ʃ|k|i}} {{respell|TRUSH|kee}}) is a historian of South Asia and a professor at [[Rutgers University]]. Her work focuses on inter-community relations in [[Medieval India|medieval South Asia]], especially during the [[Mughal Empire]]. In 2017, she was conferred with the John F. Richards Prize in South Asian History by [[American Historical Association]]. Truschke has been a frequent target of harassment by [[Hindutva|right-wing Hindu nationalists]], who accuse her of having prejudiced views on [[Hinduism]], and making offensive statements; scholars reject the charges.<ref name="Scroll_Staff" /><ref name="Chung" /><ref name="wire.in" /><ref name="Venugopal">{{cite news |last=Venugopal |first=Arun |date=2021-07-21 |title=At Rutgers, and Beyond, Scholars Are Under Attack For Their Critique of India's Far-Right Government |url=https://gothamist.com/news/at-rutgers-and-beyond-scholars-are-under-attack-for-their-critique-of-indias-far-right-government |newspaper=Gothamist }}</ref>


== Education and career ==
== Education and career ==
Truschke received her bachelor's in religious studies from [[University of Chicago]] (2004).<ref name="CV"/> She graduated from [[Columbia University]] (2007) in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies before going on to receive a M.Phil. (2008) in the same discipline.<ref name="CV" />


She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2012, and was a postdoctoral fellow at [[University of Cambridge]] (2012-2013) and Stanford University (2013-2016).<ref name="CV" /> In 2015, she joined Rutgers University as an assistant professor of South Asian History and in 2020, she was promoted to associate professorship.<ref name="CV" /> She is also the current director of the Asian Studies program.<ref name="Rutgers_resume"/>
Truschke earned her bachelor's degree in religious studies from the [[University of Chicago]] in 2004.<ref name="CV"/> She earned her [[Master of Arts|MA]] from [[Columbia University]] in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies in 2007 before going on to receive a [[Master of Philosophy|MPhil]] in the same discipline in 2008.<ref name="CV" /> She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2012, and was a [[Postdoctoral researcher|postdoctoral fellow]] at [[University of Cambridge]] (2012–2013) and [[Stanford University]] (2013–2016).<ref name="CV" />
 
In 2015, Truschke joined Rutgers University as an [[assistant professor]] of South Asian history and in 2023, she was promoted to full [[Professors in the United States|professorship]].<ref name="CV" />


== Publications and reception ==
== Publications and reception ==


=== Monographs ===
=== Monographs ===
In 2016, ''[[Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court]]'', was published by [[Columbia University Press]]. It dwelt upon the literary, social, and political roles of Sanskrit in the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] courts from 1560 to 1650, and was reviewed in multiple journals.<ref name="Rutgers_resume" /> Aria Fani, in the [[Journal of Iranian Studies]] found the work to be an invaluable contribution to South Asian studies.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fani|first=Aria|date=4 March 2019|title=Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00210862.2019.1590819|journal=Iranian Studies|volume=52|issue=1–2|pages=231–237|doi=10.1080/00210862.2019.1590819|s2cid=167120313|issn=0021-0862}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Smith|first=Edmond|date=2017|title=Review of 'Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court'|url=http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/2122|journal=Reviews in History|doi=10.14296/RiH/2014/2122|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Gandhi"/><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Anooshahr|first=Ali|date=3 August 2018|title=Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court, written by Audrey Truschke|url=https://brill.com/view/journals/jemh/22/4/article-p299_6.xml|journal=Journal of Early Modern History|language=en|volume=22|issue=4|pages=299–301|doi=10.1163/15700658-12342585-01|issn=1385-3783}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gommans|first=Jos|date=1 December 2017|title=Audrey Truschke. Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court.|url=https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article/122/5/1584/4724842|journal=The American Historical Review|language=en|volume=122|issue=5|pages=1584–1585|doi=10.1093/ahr/122.5.1584|issn=0002-8762}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Keshavmurthy|first=Prashant|date=May 2017|title=Audrey Truschke , Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court (New York: Columbia University Press, 2016). Pp. 384. $60.00 cloth. ISBN: 9780231173629|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-middle-east-studies/article/abs/audrey-truschke-culture-of-encounters-sanskrit-at-the-mughal-court-new-york-columbia-university-press-2016-pp-384-6000-cloth-isbn-9780231173629/306C5E19112AAECD7D24B2ECF1420491|journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies|language=en|volume=49|issue=2|pages=349–352|doi=10.1017/S0020743817000174|s2cid=165087547|issn=0020-7438}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Talbot|first=Cynthia|date=February 2017|title=Audrey Truschke : Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court. xiii, 362 pp. New York: Columbia University Press, 2016. £44. ISBN 978 0231173629.|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/abs/audrey-truschke-culture-of-encounters-sanskrit-at-the-mughal-court-xiii-362-pp-new-york-columbia-university-press-2016-44-isbn-978-0231173629/0B01E37DF174DF88D4A444B23D095B6F|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies|language=en|volume=80|issue=1|pages=167–168|doi=10.1017/S0041977X17000301|issn=0041-977X}}</ref>


In 2017, she published ''[[Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King]]'' about the Mughal emperor [[Aurangzeb]], with [[Stanford University Press]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Aurangzeb {{!}} Reading Religion|url=https://readingreligion.org/books/aurangzeb|access-date=14 March 2021|website=readingreligion.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mondini|first=Sara|date=October 2018|title=Audrey Truschke: Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King. xiii, 136 pp. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2017. ISBN 978 1 5036 0257 1.|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/abs/audrey-truschke-aurangzeb-the-life-and-legacy-of-indias-most-controversial-king-xiii-136-pp-stanford-stanford-university-press-2017-isbn-978-1-5036-0257-1/A257F5FC3BA734D3C7080881687D2C43|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies|language=en|volume=81|issue=3|pages=555–557|doi=10.1017/S0041977X18001179|s2cid=187354883|issn=0041-977X}}</ref> Historian Munis D. Faruqui in the ''[[Journal of the American Academy of Religion]]'' stated that "nonacademics are well served by this book" but scholars might be disappointed because the book does not fill unexplored gaps in the historiography. He also praised her willingness to tackle the topic "knowing full well that it would expose her to vicious personal attacks from mostly nonacademic critics".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Faruqui|first=Munis D.|date=6 March 2019|title=Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King. By Audrey Truschke|url=https://academic.oup.com/jaar/article/87/1/299/5145726|journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion|language=en|volume=87|issue=1|pages=299–303|doi=10.1093/jaarel/lfy040|issn=0002-7189}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Harikrishnan|first=Charmy|title=The ring changed Dushyanta from a lying cad to an honourable man: Wendy Doniger|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/the-ring-changed-dushyanta-from-a-lying-cad-to-an-honourable-man-wendy-doniger/articleshow/60236623.cms?from=mdr|access-date=10 July 2021}}</ref>
==== ''Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court'' ====
In 2016, Truschke's ''Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court'', was published by [[Columbia University Press]]. It dwelt upon the literary, social, and political roles of [[Sanskrit]] in the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] courts from 1560 to 1650, and was reviewed in multiple journals.<ref name="Rutgers_resume" />
 
Aria Fani, in the journal ''[[Iranian Studies (journal)|Iranian Studies]]'', found the work to be an invaluable contribution to South Asian studies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fani |first=Aria |date=4 March 2019 |title=Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00210862.2019.1590819 |journal=Iranian Studies |volume=52 |issue=1–2 |pages=231–237 |doi=10.1080/00210862.2019.1590819 |s2cid=167120313 |issn=0021-0862|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Edmond Smith of the [[University of Kent]], writing for ''[[Reviews in History]]'', found the work to be "evocative, [and] expertly researched", where Truschke used her "exceptional linguistic talents" to pose and answer provoking questions about the Mughal Empire while inspiring other scholars to re-examine their approaches to studying religions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Edmond |date=2017 |title=Review of 'Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court' |url=http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/2122 |journal=Reviews in History |doi=10.14296/RiH/2014/2122 |doi-access=free |publisher=School of Advanced Study, University of London |issn= 1749-8155}}</ref><ref>{{multiref2|{{Cite web |title=Review of Truschke, Audrey, ''Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court'' |first=Supriya |last= Gandhi|url=https://networks.h-net.org/node/22055/reviews/1028510/gandhi-truschke-culture-encounters-sanskrit-mughal-court |date=December 2017 |website=H-Asia |series=H-Net Reviews |publisher=Michigan State University}}|{{Cite journal |last=Anooshahr |first=Ali |date=3 August 2018 |title=Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court, written by Audrey Truschke |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/jemh/22/4/article-p299_6.xml |journal=Journal of Early Modern History |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=299–301 |doi=10.1163/15700658-12342585-01 |s2cid=165693077 |issn=1385-3783|url-access=subscription }}|{{Cite journal |last=Gommans |first=Jos |date=1 December 2017 |title=Audrey Truschke. Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court. |url=https://academic.oup.com/ahr/article/122/5/1584/4724842 |journal=The American Historical Review |volume=122 |issue=5 |pages=1584–1585 |doi=10.1093/ahr/122.5.1584 |issn=0002-8762|url-access=subscription }}|{{Cite journal |last=Keshavmurthy |first=Prashant |date=May 2017 |title=Audrey Truschke, Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court (New York: Columbia University Press, 2016). Pp. 384. $60.00 cloth. {{text|ISBN}}: 9780231173629 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-middle-east-studies/article/abs/audrey-truschke-culture-of-encounters-sanskrit-at-the-mughal-court-new-york-columbia-university-press-2016-pp-384-6000-cloth-isbn-9780231173629/306C5E19112AAECD7D24B2ECF1420491 |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=349–352 |doi=10.1017/S0020743817000174 |s2cid=165087547 |issn=0020-7438|url-access=subscription }}|{{Cite journal |last=Talbot |first=Cynthia |date=February 2017 |title=Audrey Truschke : Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court. xiii, 362 pp. New York: Columbia University Press, 2016. £44. {{text|ISBN}} 978 0231173629. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/abs/audrey-truschke-culture-of-encounters-sanskrit-at-the-mughal-court-xiii-362-pp-new-york-columbia-university-press-2016-44-isbn-978-0231173629/0B01E37DF174DF88D4A444B23D095B6F |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |volume=80 |issue=1 |pages=167–168 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X17000301 |issn=0041-977X|url-access=subscription }}}}</ref>


Her third monograph ''The Language of History: Sanskrit Narratives of Indo-Muslim Rule'', was published in January 2021 by Columbia University Press.<ref name="Rutgers_resume" /> [[Sheldon Pollock]], [[Romila Thapar]], [[Cynthia Talbot]], and [[Richard M. Eaton]] blurbed it.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Reviews of The Language of History: Sanskrit Narratives of Indo-Muslim Rule|url=http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-language-of-history/9780231197052|url-status=live|website=Columbia University Press}}</ref>
==== ''Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King'' ====
{{Main articles|Aurangzeb: The Man and the Myth}}
In 2017, Truschke published ''Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King'' about the Mughal emperor [[Aurangzeb]], with [[Stanford University Press]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aurangzeb |work= Reading Religion |url=https://readingreligion.org/books/aurangzeb |access-date=14 March 2021 | first= Shaharyar |last= Zia | date= August 2020 |publisher=American Academy of Religion | type= book review }}</ref> Truschke, in her reading of sources, suggests that Aurangzeb was not the anti-Hindu tyrant he has been made out to be in popular scholarship; there was no "systematic" attack on Hindus and his sporadic destruction of temples or imposition of ''[[jizya]]'' must be interpreted from within a political and economical milieu.
 
Munis D. Faruqui, a historian of Mughal India, found the book to be an excellent work aimed at non-specialists, and praised Truschke's willingness to tackle the topic despite being aware about the inevitability of "vicious personal attacks from mostly nonacademic critics".<ref name="Faruqu">{{Cite journal |last=Faruqui |first=Munis D. |date=6 March 2019 |title=Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King. By Audrey Truschke |url=https://academic.oup.com/jaar/article/87/1/299/5145726 |journal=Journal of the American Academy of Religion |volume=87 |issue=1 |pages=299–303 |doi=10.1093/jaarel/lfy040 |issn=0002-7189|url-access=subscription }}</ref> However, Faruqui cautioned that the book "[did] not fill unexplored gaps in the historiography."<ref name="Faruqu" /> Sara Mondini, a scholar of [[Indo-Islamic architecture|Indo-Islamic art]] and architecture, commended Truschke for having penned a "precise and exhaustive" volume on the subject with due regard to sources; it was far more "rich and complex" than the "stereotypical nationalist" ones prevailing in scholarship, and was "pivotal" to the understanding of Hindu-Muslim encounters in the premodern era.<ref name="Mondini">{{Cite journal |last=Mondini |first=Sara |date=October 2018 |title=Audrey Truschke: Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King. xiii, 136 pp. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2017. {{text|ISBN}} 978 1 5036 0257 1. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/abs/audrey-truschke-aurangzeb-the-life-and-legacy-of-indias-most-controversial-king-xiii-136-pp-stanford-stanford-university-press-2017-isbn-978-1-5036-0257-1/A257F5FC3BA734D3C7080881687D2C43 |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |volume=81 |issue=3 |pages=555–557 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X18001179 |issn=0041-977X |s2cid=187354883|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Reyes |first1=María Fernanda Ramírez |last2=Becerril |first2=Maribel Elliet Alvarado |date=2019 |title=Audrey Truschke (2017). Aurangzeb. The life and legacy of India's most controversial king. Stanford, CA.: Stanford University Press, 152 pp. |journal=Estudios de Asia y Africa |volume=54 |issue=1 (168) |pages=185–190 |doi=10.24201/eaa.v54i1.2420 |jstor=26542051 |s2cid=239532632 |issn=0185-0164 |doi-access=free |language=es}}</ref>
 
==== ''The Language of History: Sanskrit Narratives of Indo-Muslim Rule'' ====
Truschke's third monograph, ''The Language of History: Sanskrit Narratives of Indo-Muslim Rule'', was published in January 2021 by [[Columbia University Press]].<ref name="Rutgers_resume" /> [[Sheldon Pollock]], [[Romila Thapar]], [[Cynthia Talbot]], and [[Richard M. Eaton]] provided blurbs for the publication.<ref>{{Cite web <!-- Citation bot no --> |title=Reviews of The Language of History: Sanskrit Narratives of Indo-Muslim Rule |url=http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-language-of-history/9780231197052 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130200923/http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-language-of-history/9780231197052 |archive-date=2020-11-30 |date=5 January 2021 |website=Columbia University Press |type=publisher's blurb}}</ref>
 
=== ''India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent'' ===
Truschke's fourth monograph, ''India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent'', was published in June 2025 by [[Princeton University Press]].<ref>{{Cite web|title="India, 5000 Years of History on the Subcontinent" by Audrey Truschke|url=https://asianreviewofbooks.com/india-5000-years-of-history-on-the-subcontinent-by-audrey-truschke/ |work=Asian Review of Books|first=David|last=Chaffetz|date=25 May 2025|access-date=2 July 2025}}</ref>


=== Edited volumes ===
=== Edited volumes ===
In May 2021, she co-edited "The Ramayana of Hamida Banu Begum, Queen Mother of Mughal India" which was published by Silvana Editoriale and [[Museum of Islamic Art, Doha]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Ramayana of Hamida Banu Begum, Queen Mother of Mughal India|url=https://en.silvanaeditoriale.it/libro/9788836645466|access-date=20 May 2021|website=en.silvanaeditoriale.it|language=en}}</ref>
In May 2021, Truschke co-edited "''The [[Ramayana]] of [[Hamida Banu Begum]], Queen Mother of Mughal India''" which was published by Silvana Editoriale and [[Museum of Islamic Art, Doha]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Ramayana of Hamida Banu Begum, Queen Mother of Mughal India |url=https://en.silvanaeditoriale.it/libro/9788836645466 |access-date=20 May 2021 |website=en.silvanaeditoriale.it }}</ref>
 
== Honors ==
In 2017, Truschke was awarded the John F. Richards Prize in South Asian History by the [[American Historical Association]] for ''Culture of Encounters'' being the "most distinguished work of scholarship on South Asian history, [published in 2016]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=John F. Richards Prize Recipients {{!}} AHA |url=https://www.historians.org/awards-and-grants/past-recipients/john-f-richards-prize-recipients |access-date=14 March 2021 |website=www.historians.org}}</ref> She received the Rutgers Board of Trustees Research Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence in 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Luongo |first1=Nora |title=SASN Faculty and Staff Honored for their Exceptional Contributions |url=https://sasn.rutgers.edu/news-events/news/sasn-faculty-and-staff-honored-their-exceptional-contributions |work=Rutgers SASN |date=15 May 2020 }}</ref>
 
== Social media activity ==
 
=== Translation controversy ===
In one of her tweets in 2018, Truschke, referring to an episode in the ''[[Ramayana]]'', said that [[Sita]] had admonished [[Rama]] as a "misogynist pig";<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/AudreyTruschke/status/987062962010640384|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520124547/https://twitter.com/AudreyTruschke/status/987062962010640384|url-status=dead|website=[[Twitter]]|archive-date=2021-05-20|title=Dr. Audrey Truschke on Twitter: "For anyone unfamiliar with these episodes...|date=2018-04-19}}</ref> she cited a critical translation of the Valmiki Ramayana by [[Robert P. Goldman]] in support.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/AudreyTruschke/status/987371326884151296|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920041334/https://twitter.com/AudreyTruschke/status/987371326884151296|url-status=dead|archive-date=2021-09-20|website=[[Twitter]]|title=Dr. Audrey Truschke on Twitter: "Re #RamayanaGate over here...|date=2018-04-20}}</ref><ref name="vice" /><ref name="newsminute" /><ref name="Bhattacharya" /> Goldman however denied that he ever used such language and deemed her choice of words to be "highly inappropriate".<ref name="Venugopal" /> Truschke responded by stating that such disagreements are routine aspects of scholarly discourse and she had only offered a "loose translation" using contemporary language.<ref name="newsminute" /><ref name="Truschke" /> According to Truschke, Goldman himself had used words like "pimp" in describing Sita's criticism of Rama and further, she was not endorsing Sita's criticism.<ref name="Truschke" /><ref name="reddy" />
 
Srinivas Reddy, a professor of religious studies at [[Brown University]], found Truschke's choice of words to lie in the extreme and missing contextual nuances; however, he supported her right to critically interpret epic characters and found subsequent attacks on her by the Hindu right to be misogynistic in essence, and deplorable.<ref name="reddy" /> Highlighting how the ''Ramayana'' was not a dead text but a way of life in India, he urged Truschke to adopt a less polarizing voice in her analyses and respect the text, if not revere.<ref name="reddy" /> Writer [[Purushottam Agrawal]] found the tweet to be inflammatory, disrespectful and poor; it reduced the layered and complex character of Rama to a "caricature in a contemporary American comic strip," noting that "'Prakrita' [is] a common word, which essentially means 'ordinary' or 'uncivilised', or 'raw' as opposed to refined."<ref name="Agrawal" /> Cultural critic [[Pushpesh Pant]] found the translation to be poor, as well.<ref name="Pant" />


== Targeting by the Hindu right ==
== Targeting by the Hindu right ==
Truschke has become a target of the Hindu right,<ref name="vice" /> due to her historical works and her choice of language.
Truschke has been a prominent critic of [[Hindutva]] and its exclusionary ideology.<ref>{{cite news |last=Vadukut |first=Sidin |date=14 October 2017 |title=Audrey Truschke {{!}} The historian who engages |url=https://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/GjK6sLgFpFbYNKWKCshf9N/Audrey-Truschke--The-historian-who-engages.html |newspaper=Mint }}</ref> Due to her historical works and her choice of language, she has become a target of the Hindu right<ref name="vice" /> and has been a frequent recipient of [[hate mail]].<ref>{{cite news |date=2020-07-14 |title=Hate Male |url=https://therevealer.org/hate-male/ |newspaper=The Revealer }}</ref> In 2021, Truschke, along with a group of other scholars, formed a [[collective]] to combat increasing harassment of South Asian scholars by people affiliated with Hindutva.<ref name="Scroll.in_SASAC" /><ref name="WP_academic_freedom" /> They launched the "Hindutva Harassment Field Manual," offering "resources" against "Hindu Rights assault."<ref name="Field_Manual" />


=== Ramayana translation ===
Truschke reports that she is frequently the target of [[antisemitic]] attacks,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/audrey-audrey-quite-contrary-the-historian-everyone-loves-to-hate/articleshow/65455722.cms|author=Manimugdha S Sharma|title=Audrey, Audrey, quite contrary: The historian everyone loves to hate|work=[[Times of India]]|date=August 19, 2018}}</ref> although she is "not Jewish";<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://harpers.org/archive/2024/10/the-hindutva-lobby-hindu-nationalism-america-andrew-cockburn/|magazine=Harper's|author=Andrew Cockburn|date=October 2024|title=The Hindutva Lobby: How Hindu nationalism spreads in America}}</ref> her family name is of [[Polish people|Polish]] origin.
In one of her tweets, she referred to an episode in [[Ramayana]] where [[Sita]] had admonished [[Rama]] as a "misogynist pig".<ref name="vice" /><ref name="newsminute" /> When questioned{{by whom?|date=July 2021}} on the particular choice of words, Truschke cited a critical translation of the Valmiki Ramayana by [[Robert P. Goldman]].<ref name="Bhattacharya" /> Goldman however rejected that he ever used such language and deemed her act as "shocking and extremely inappropriate".<ref name="Vardan" /><ref name="Truschke" /> Truschke responded by stating that such disagreements are routine aspects of scholarly discourse and she had only offered a "loose translation" using contemporary language.<ref name="newsminute" /><ref name="Truschke" /> According to Truschke, Goldman himself had used words like "pimp" in describing Sita's criticism of Rama and further, she was not endorsing Sita's criticism.<ref name="Truschke" /><ref name="reddy" />


Srinivas Reddy, a professor of religious studies at [[Brown University]] supported Truschke's critical interpretation of Rama's character and found subsequent attacks on her by the Hindu Right to be misogynistic in essence, and deplorable.<ref name="reddy" /> But, he also urged Truschke to adopt a less polarizing voice in her analysis and respect the text, if not revere.<ref name="reddy" /> Writer [[Purushottam Agrawal]] found the tweet to be inflammatory, disrespectful and poor; it reduced the layered and complex character of Rama to a "caricature in a contemporary American comic strip," noting that "'Prakrita' [is] a common word, which essentially means 'ordinary' or 'uncivilised', or 'raw' as opposed to refined."<ref name="Agrawal" /> Cultural critic [[Pushpesh Pant]] found the translation to be poor, as well.<ref name="Pant" />
=== Aurangzeb ===
After publishing her monograph on Aurangzeb, Truschke was accused of whitewashing his alleged genocidal atrocities on Hindus and trolled by the Hindu right.<ref name="Harikrishnan">{{Cite news |last=Harikrishnan |first=Charmy |title=The ring changed Dushyanta from a lying cad to an honourable man: Wendy Doniger |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/the-ring-changed-dushyanta-from-a-lying-cad-to-an-honourable-man-wendy-doniger/articleshow/60236623.cms |date=28 August 2017}}</ref><ref name="Mondini" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Audrey Truschke, "Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most… |url=https://newbooksnetwork.com/audrey-truschke-aurangzeb-the-life-and-legacy-of-indias-most-controversial-king-stanford-up-2017 |date=2020-09-04 |website=New Books Network }}</ref> [[Wendy Doniger]] noted these to be ad-hominem attacks infused with [[Islamophobia]] and [[misogyny]].<ref name="Harikrishnan" />


=== Student petition ===
===Student petition===
In 2021, a group of Hindu students of Rutgers University circulated a petition that called for Rutgers University to terminate Truschke's teaching assignments on Hinduism, condemn her prejudiced views, and create “a safe space for diaspora Hindus".<ref name="Scroll_Staff" /><ref name="Chung" /> Among the many alleged reasons were Truschke's claiming [[Bhagavad Gita]] to rationalize mass slaughter,{{refn|group=note|name="mass-slaughter"}} whitewashing a "Hindu genocide" by [[Aurangzeb]],{{refn|group=note|name="Hindu_genocide"|Referring to Truschke (2017), ''[[Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King]]'', in which "Truschke uses extensive research to argue that his life and history do not match his current reputation."<ref name="Scroll_Staff"/>}} and linking Hindus with the [[2021 storming of the United States Capitol]].<ref name="Scroll_Staff" />{{refn|group=note|Truschke linked "Hindu Right folks" with the Capitol riots, not Hindus in general. Audrey Truschke on Twitter, 7 January 2021: "I begin teaching History of South Asia II (Mughals to Modi) on Jan 19, one day before the inauguration. One of my opening images will be this [rioters and flags in front of the Capitol, including an Indian flag] from DC yesterday, with the opening question -- What do we need to know to explain why there is an Indian flag here?" In a reply: "There were a number of Hindu Right folks there, including some who have attacked me in the past."<ref>Audrey Truschke on Twitter, 7 January 2021, [https://twitter.com/audreytruschke/status/1347234737035898881]</ref> See also Mohammed Zubair (9 Jan 2021), [https://scroll.in/article/983610/fact-check-were-the-men-who-waved-the-indian-flag-at-the-capitol-supporters-of-the-congress-party Fact check: Were the men who waved the Indian flag at the Capitol supporters of the Congress party?], Scoll.in: "It turns out that they are actually inclined towards the Bharatiya Janata Party."<br>Footage on video:<br>* "Indian flag spotted during US Capitol chaos";<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDWlMctDkVY Watch: Indian flag spotted during US Capitol chaos, Varun Gandhi & others react]</ref><br>* The Man Who Waved Indian Flag During Capitol Hill Violence;<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27Rs88zURVk Who Is Vinson Palathlingal, The Man Who Waved Indian Flag During Capitol Hill Violence?]</ref><br>* US Capitol Riot: Politics Over Indian Flag In Protest Sparks Twitter Fight.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV7AH5utK00 US Capitol Riot: Politics Over Indian Flag In Protest Sparks Twitter Fight].</ref>}} The [[Hindu American Foundation]] joined the protests, as well.{{cn|date=July 2021}}


The University, while defending academic freedom and calling for an immediate end to hate speech directed at her, said that it was initiating a dialogue with the Hindu community to understand their concerns.<ref name="Zutshi" /><ref name="Scroll_Staff" /> Days later, faculty members of Rutgers from varied faith backgrounds (including Hinduism) drafted an open letter which affirmed faith in Truschke's scholarship, rejected the levelled charges of "Hinduphobia", and applauded Rutgers' affirmation of academic liberty whilst upholding commitment to diversity; among the signatories who expressed solidarity with those academics were [[Romila Thapar]], [[Rajmohan Gandhi]], [[Sheldon Pollock]], [[Partha Chatterjee (scholar)|Partha Chatterjee]], [[Suketu Mehta]] and others.<ref name="wire.in" />
In 2021, a group of Hindu students at Rutgers University circulated a petition calling for the university to disallow Truschke from teaching a course on Hinduism, condemn her views, and create "a safe space for diaspora Hindus".<ref name="Scroll_Staff" /><ref name="Chung" /> The petition alleged that Truschke held "inherently prejudiced views" on Hinduism and the Hindus.<ref name="Scroll_Staff"/> Among the alleged reasons were Truschke's claiming that the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'' rationalizes mass slaughter,<ref name="Scroll_Staff"/>{{efn|Referring to Truschke (2020), ''The living Mahabharata'':{{blockquote|text=[T]he line between virtue and vice [ in Mahabharata], dharma and adharma, is often muddled [...] Krishna's discourse to Arjuna, known as the Bhagavadgita (‘Song of the Lord’), or Gita for short, is often read as a standalone work today, and revered by many across the world for its insights on morality and even nonviolence. In the 20th century, Mahatma Gandhi understood the Gita to support nonviolent resistance to colonial oppression. In the Mahabharata's plot, however, the Bhagavadgita rationalises mass slaughter [...] The Pandavas win, but at a magnificent cost of human life. The epic compels readers to imagine that human cost by describing the battle in excruciating, bloody detail over tens of thousands of verses. The Pandavas kill multiple members of their own family along the way, including elders who ought to be revered. Their victory is further soured by a night raid in which, on the last night of the war, the few remaining Kauravas creep into the slumbering Pandava camp and kill nearly everyone, including all the victors’ sons."|source=<ref name="Truschke_Aeon"/>}} The philosophy of violence (and nonviolence), as espoused in Bhagavadgita and their appropriation into sociopolitical discourse has attracted significant scholarship. See Palshikar, Sanjay. "Evil and the Philosophy of Retribution: Modern Commentaries on the Bhagavad-Gītā". UK: Routledge (2014)}} linking Hindus with the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack]],<ref name="Scroll_Staff"/>{{efn|Truschke linked "Hindu Right folks" with the Capitol riots, not Hindus in general:{{blockquote|text=I begin teaching History of South Asia II (Mughals to Modi) on Jan 19, one day before the inauguration.{{pb}}One of my opening images will be this [rioters and flags in front of the Capitol, including an Indian flag] from DC yesterday, with the opening question -- What do we need to know to explain why there is an Indian flag here?"{{pb}}[In a reply]: There were a number of Hindu Right folks there, including some who have attacked me in the past.|source=<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/audreytruschke/status/1347234737035898881|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202044350/https://twitter.com/audreytruschke/status/1347234737035898881|title=Dr. Audrey Truschke on Twitter: "@Yael_Rice There were a number of Hindu Right folks there|date=2021-01-07|archive-date=2022-12-02|url-status=dead}}</ref>}} A fact-check by [[Alt News]] corroborates Truschke's accusations:{{blockquote |text=It turns out that they are actually inclined towards the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]]. |source=<ref>Mohammed Zubair (9 Jan 2021), [https://scroll.in/article/983610/fact-check-were-the-men-who-waved-the-indian-flag-at-the-capitol-supporters-of-the-congress-party Fact check: Were the men who waved the Indian flag at the Capitol supporters of the Congress party?], Scroll.in</ref>}}In general, other scholars have noted the enmeshing of Hindu Nationalist diaspora with US-based Far Right.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Leidig |first1=Eviane |last2=Ganesh |first2=Bharath |last3=Bright |first3=Jonathan |date=January 2022 |title=New forms of cultural nationalism? American and British Indians in the Trump and Brexit Twittersphere |journal=Nations and Nationalism |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=302–321 |doi=10.1111/nana.12781 |s2cid=244443494 |issn=1354-5078|doi-access=free |hdl=11250/3053021 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>}} whitewashing the "trauma" inflicted on Hindus by [[Aurangzeb]],<ref name="Scroll_Staff"/>{{efn|name="Hindu_genocide" |Referring to the conclusions of Truschke (2017), ''[[Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King]]''}} and designing an undergraduate course to portray an "exotic-erotic-chauvinist-oppressive" view of Hindu India by relying on scholars like [[Wendy Doniger]] and focusing on the multiplicity of Ramayana among other errors of omission and commission.<ref name="Chung" />
 
The university, while defending academic freedom and calling for an immediate end to [[hate speech]] directed at her, said that it was initiating a dialogue with the Hindu community to understand their concerns.<ref name="Zutshi" /><ref name="Scroll_Staff" /> Days later, Rutgers faculty members from varied faith backgrounds (including Hinduism) drafted an open letter affirming faith in Truschke's scholarship, rejecting the leveled charges of "Hinduphobia", and applauding Rutgers' affirmation of academic liberty whilst upholding commitment to diversity. Among the signatories who expressed solidarity with those academics were [[Romila Thapar]], [[Rajmohan Gandhi]], [[Sheldon Pollock]], [[Partha Chatterjee (scholar)|Partha Chatterjee]], and [[Suketu Mehta]].<ref name="wire.in" />


=== Litigation ===
=== Litigation ===
In May 2021, Hindu American Foundation filed a libel suit on her and several other organizations.<ref>{{Cite web|date=20 May 2021|title=Hindu American Foundation files defamation suit against Hindu rights nonprofit|url=https://religionnews.com/2021/05/20/hindu-american-foundation-files-defamation-suit-against-hindu-rights-nonprofit/|access-date=18 July 2021|website=Religion News Service|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Sircar|first=Anisha|title=Explained: The Hindu American Foundation’s defamation case against Hindus for Human Rights founders|url=https://scroll.in/global/995560/explained-the-hindu-american-foundations-defamation-case-against-hindus-for-human-rights-founders|access-date=18 July 2021|website=Scroll.in|language=en-US}}</ref> A diverse group of intellectuals and academics — [[Akeel Bilgrami]], [[Amitav Ghosh]], [[Anita Desai]], [[Cornel West]], [[Martha Nussbaum]], [[Nandini Sundar]], [[Noam Chomsky]], [[Romila Thapar]], [[Sudipta Kaviraj]], [[Sheldon Pollock]], and [[Wendy Doniger]] among others — condemned HAF's tactics as [[SLAPP]] and a tool of pushing forward [[Hindutva]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Over 300 Writers, Academics and Scholars Repudiate HAF's Attempt to Silence Hindus for Human Rights|url=https://www.hindusforhumanrights.org/en/blog/for-immediate-release-300-academics-and-scholars-express-their-solidarity-with-hindus-for-human-rights-and-its-allies-in-the-lawsuit-filed-by-the-hindu-american-foundation-py7je|access-date=18 July 2021|website=Hindus for Human Rights|language=en-US}}</ref>
In May 2021, the [[Hindu American Foundation]] filed a libel suit against Truschke and representatives of several other organizations in the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]].<ref>{{cite news |date=20 May 2021 |title=Hindu American Foundation files defamation suit against Hindu rights nonprofit |url=https://religionnews.com/2021/05/20/hindu-american-foundation-files-defamation-suit-against-hindu-rights-nonprofit/ |newspaper=Religion News Service }}</ref><ref name="Scroll HAF suit">{{cite news |last=Sircar |first=Anisha |title=Explained: The Hindu American Foundation's defamation case against Hindus for Human Rights founders |url=https://scroll.in/global/995560/explained-the-hindu-american-foundations-defamation-case-against-hindus-for-human-rights-founders |newspaper=Scroll.in |date=24 May 2021}}</ref> Truschke was represented by [[Cornell Law School|Cornell Law School's]] First Amendment Clinic and [[Davis Wright Tremaine]]. A year and a half later, Judge [[Amit Mehta]]  dismissed the suit since HAF not only failed to establish any [[cause of action]] — even assuming that their allegations were factually accurate{{Efn|Judge Mehta rejected that HAF had provided any evidence to support that the defenders were acting with [[malice (law)|malice]], which is integral to maintainability of a defamation suit.}} — but also failed to evidence that the court had any personal jurisdiction over the defendants.{{Efn|HAF requested for a [[discovery (law)|discovery]] to bolster its jurisdictional claims; Judge Mehta denied the request for being a "fishing expedition, [..] not made in good faith."}}<ref>{{cite news |author=Scroll Staff |title=US court dismisses Hindutva group's defamation case against academic Audrey Truschke, four activists |url=https://scroll.in/latest/1040232/us-court-dismisses-hindutva-groups-defamation-case-against-academic-audrey-truschke-four-activists |date=2022-12-21 |newspaper=Scroll.in }}</ref>


== Activism ==
A diverse group of intellectuals and academics—[[Akeel Bilgrami]], [[Amitav Ghosh]], [[Anita Desai]], [[Cornel West]], [[Martha Nussbaum]], [[Nandini Sundar]], [[Noam Chomsky]], [[Romila Thapar]], [[Sudipta Kaviraj]], [[Sheldon Pollock]], and [[Wendy Doniger]] among others—have condemned HAF's tactics as a [[strategic lawsuit against public participation]] to silence critics and push forward [[Hindutva]].<ref name="Scroll HAF suit" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Over 300 Writers, Academics and Scholars Repudiate HAF's Attempt to Silence Hindus for Human Rights |url=https://www.hindusforhumanrights.org/en/blog/for-immediate-release-300-academics-and-scholars-express-their-solidarity-with-hindus-for-human-rights-and-its-allies-in-the-lawsuit-filed-by-the-hindu-american-foundation-py7je |date=20 May 2021 |website=Hindus for Human Rights }}</ref>
Truschke has been a prominent critic of [[Hindutva]] and its exclusionary ideology.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Vadukut|first=Sidin|date=14 October 2017|title=Audrey Truschke {{!}} The historian who engages|url=https://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/GjK6sLgFpFbYNKWKCshf9N/Audrey-Truschke--The-historian-who-engages.html|access-date=18 July 2021|website=mint|language=en}}</ref>


In 2021, Truschke along with a group of other scholars formed a [[collective]] to combat increasing harassment of South Asian scholars by people affiliated with [[Hindutva]].<ref name="Scroll.in_SASAC"/><ref name="WP_academic_freedom"/> They launched the "Hindutva Harassment Field Manual," offering "resources" against "Hindu Rights assault."<ref name="Field_Manual" />
== Personal life ==
Truschke has three children.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pedagogy & the Pandemic: Professor Audrey Truschke Meets the Moment |url=https://sasn.rutgers.edu/news-events/news/pedagogy-pandemic-professor-audrey-truschke-meets-moment# |access-date=2021-09-18 |website=Rutgers SASN }}</ref>


== Honors ==
==See also==
In 2017, she was conferred with the John F. Richards Prize in South Asian History by [[American Historical Association]] for ''Culture of Encounters'' being the "most distinguished work of scholarship on South Asian history" in the previous year .<ref>{{Cite web|title=John F. Richards Prize Recipients {{!}} AHA|url=https://www.historians.org/awards-and-grants/past-recipients/john-f-richards-prize-recipients|access-date=14 March 2021|website=www.historians.org}}</ref>
* [[Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent]]


==Notes==
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|35em|refs=
{{notelist}}
<!-- "mass-slaughter" -->
{{refn|group=note|name="mass-slaughter"|Referring to Truscke (2020), ''The living Mahabharata'': "The Mahabharata claims to show dharma or righteous conduct – a guiding ideal of human life in Hindu thought – within the morass of the characters’ immoral behaviours. But the line between virtue and vice, dharma and adharma, is often muddled [...] Krishna’s discourse to Arjuna, known as the Bhagavadgita (‘Song of the Lord’), or Gita for short, is often read as a standalone work today, and revered by many across the world for its insights on morality and even nonviolence. In the 20th century, Mahatma Gandhi understood the Gita to support nonviolent resistance to colonial oppression. In the Mahabharata’s plot, however, the Bhagavadgita rationalises mass slaughter [...] The Pandavas win, but at a magnificent cost of human life. The epic compels readers to imagine that human cost by describing the battle in excruciating, bloody detail over tens of thousands of verses. The Pandavas kill multiple members of their own family along the way, including elders who ought to be revered. Their victory is further soured by a night raid in which, on the last night of the war, the few remaining Kauravas creep into the slumbering Pandava camp and kill nearly everyone, including all the victors’ sons."<ref name="Truschke_Aeon"/>}}
}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<references>
 
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<!-- "Agrawal" -->
<ref name="Agrawal">{{Cite web|last=Agrawal|first=Purushottam|last2=|first2=|last3=|first3=|last4=|first4=|title=Lost in translation|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/up-front/story/20180514-lord-rama-caricature-audrey-truschke-misogynist-pig-1226422-2018-05-04|url-status=live|access-date=10 July 2021|website=India Today|language=en}}</ref>
<ref name="Agrawal">{{cite news |last=Agrawal |first=Purushottam |title=Lost in translation |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/up-front/story/20180514-lord-rama-caricature-audrey-truschke-misogynist-pig-1226422-2018-05-04 |url-status=live |newspaper=India Today |date=4 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509103631/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/up-front/story/20180514-lord-rama-caricature-audrey-truschke-misogynist-pig-1226422-2018-05-04 |archive-date=2018-05-09 }}</ref>
<!-- B -->
<!-- B -->
<!-- "Bhattacharya" -->
<!-- "Bhattacharya" -->
<ref name="Bhattacharya">{{Cite news|last=Bhattacharya|first=A. K.|date=25 May 2018|title=Was Rama's putting Sita through 'agni pariksha' a 'misogynistic' act?|work=Business Standard India|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/was-rama-s-putting-sita-through-agni-pariksha-a-misogynistic-act-118052501569_1.html|access-date=10 July 2021}}</ref>
<ref name="Bhattacharya">{{Cite news |last=Bhattacharya |first=A. K. |date=25 May 2018 |title=Was Rama's putting Sita through 'agni pariksha' a 'misogynistic' act? |work=Business Standard India |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/was-rama-s-putting-sita-through-agni-pariksha-a-misogynistic-act-118052501569_1.html}} {{subscription required|s}}</ref>
<!-- C -->
<!-- C -->
<ref name="Chung">{{Cite web|last1=Chung|first1=Victoria|last2=Yeasky|first2=Joanne|title=Rutgers professor faces open letter accusing her of Hinduphobia|url=https://dailytargum.com//article/2021/03/rutgers-professor-faces-open-letter-accusing-her-of-hinduphobia|access-date=17 March 2021|website=The Daily Targum|language=en}}</ref>
<ref name="Chung">{{cite news |last1=Chung |first1=Victoria |last2=Yeasky |first2=Joanne |title=Rutgers professor faces open letter accusing her of Hinduphobia |url=https://dailytargum.com//article/2021/03/rutgers-professor-faces-open-letter-accusing-her-of-hinduphobia |date=11 March 2021 |newspaper=The Daily Targum}}{{pb}}Read with the linked letter: "[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-zSlYc4Y1hmg5oDPA8SRTSnYrHDdvaHnv9Rkx4W2q8Y Open Letter to Rutgers Administration from Concerned Hindu Students and Allies]".</ref>
<!-- "CV" -->
<!-- "CV" -->
<ref name="CV">{{Cite web|title=Audrey Truschke {{!}} Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Academia.edu|url=https://rutgers.academia.edu/AudreyTruschke/CurriculumVitae|access-date=14 March 2021|website=rutgers.academia.edu}}</ref>
<ref name="CV">{{Cite web |title=Audrey Truschke {{!}} Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Academia.edu |url=https://rutgers.academia.edu/AudreyTruschke/CurriculumVitae |access-date=14 March 2021 |website=rutgers.academia.edu}}</ref>
<!-- "Field_Manual" -->
<!-- "Field_Manual" -->
<ref name="Field_Manual">[https://www.hindutvaharassmentfieldmanual.org/ Hindutva Harassment Field Manual]</ref>
<ref name="Field_Manual">{{Cite Q|Q108732338}}</ref>
<!-- G -->
<!-- "Gandhi" -->
<ref name="Gandhi">{{Cite web|title=Gandhi on Truschke, 'Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court' {{!}} H-Asia {{!}} H-Net|url=https://networks.h-net.org/node/22055/reviews/1028510/gandhi-truschke-culture-encounters-sanskrit-mughal-court|access-date=14 March 2021|website=networks.h-net.org}}</ref>
<!-- N -->
<!-- N -->
<!-- "newsminute" -->
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<ref name="newsminute">{{Cite web|date=8 August 2018|title=Author Audrey Truschke’s Hyderabad event cancelled allegedly due to RSS, BJP protests|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/author-audrey-truschke-s-hyderabad-event-cancelled-allegedly-due-rss-bjp-protests-86195|access-date=10 July 2021|website=The News Minute|language=en}}</ref>
<ref name="newsminute">{{cite news |date=8 August 2018 |title=Author Audrey Truschke's Hyderabad event cancelled allegedly due to RSS, BJP protests |url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/author-audrey-truschke-s-hyderabad-event-cancelled-allegedly-due-rss-bjp-protests-86195 |newspaper=The News Minute}}</ref>
<!-- P -->
<!-- P -->
<!-- "Pant" -->
<!-- "Pant" -->
<ref name="Pant">{{Cite web|last=Pant|first=Pushpesh|date=27 April 2018|title=Ram to Aurangzeb: Audrey Truschke and the Art of Taking Liberties|url=https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/pushpesh-pant-on-audrey-truschke-tweet-ramayana-aurangzeb|access-date=10 July 2021|website=TheQuint|language=en}}</ref>
<ref name="Pant">{{cite news |last=Pant |first=Pushpesh |date=27 April 2018 |title=Ram to Aurangzeb: Audrey Truschke and the Art of Taking Liberties |url=https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/pushpesh-pant-on-audrey-truschke-tweet-ramayana-aurangzeb |newspaper=TheQuint}}</ref>
<!-- R -->
<!-- R -->
<!-- "reddy" -->
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<ref name="reddy">{{Cite web|last=Reddy|first=Srinivas|title=What does Sita really say in Valmiki’s Ramayana?|url=https://caravanmagazine.in/literature/what-does-sita-really-say-in-valmikis-ramayana|access-date=10 July 2021|website=The Caravan|language=en}}</ref>
<ref name="reddy">{{cite news |last=Reddy |first=Srinivas |title=What does Sita really say in Valmiki's Ramayana? |url=https://caravanmagazine.in/literature/what-does-sita-really-say-in-valmikis-ramayana |date=9 July 2018 |newspaper=The Caravan}}</ref>
<!-- "Rutgers_resume" -->
<!-- "Rutgers_resume" -->
<ref name="Rutgers_resume">{{Cite web|title=Audrey Truschke|url=https://sasn.rutgers.edu/about-us/faculty-staff/audrey-truschke|access-date=14 March 2021|website=Rutgers SASN|language=en}}</ref>
<ref name="Rutgers_resume">{{Cite web |title=Audrey Truschke |url=https://sasn.rutgers.edu/about-us/faculty-staff/audrey-truschke |access-date=14 March 2021 |website=Rutgers SASN}}</ref>
<!-- S -->
<!-- S -->
<!-- "Scroll.in_SASAC" -->
<!-- "Scroll.in_SASAC" -->
<ref name="Scroll.in_SASAC">Priyali Prakash (10 July 2021), [https://scroll.in/article/999710/targeted-by-hate-audrey-truschke-on-why-she-helped-write-a-hindutva-harassment-field-manual ‘Targeted by hate’: Audrey Truschke on why she helped write a ‘Hindutva Harassment Field Manual’], Scroll.in</ref>
<ref name="Scroll.in_SASAC">Priyali Prakash (10 July 2021), [https://scroll.in/article/999710/targeted-by-hate-audrey-truschke-on-why-she-helped-write-a-hindutva-harassment-field-manual ‘Targeted by hate’: Audrey Truschke on why she helped write a ‘Hindutva Harassment Field Manual’], Scroll.in</ref>
<!-- "Scroll_Staff" -->
<!-- "Scroll_Staff" -->
<ref name="Scroll_Staff">{{Cite web|author=Scroll Staff|title=Historian Audrey Truschke faces threats, Rutgers University extends support to her|url=https://scroll.in/latest/988994/abhor-vile-messages-and-threats-directed-at-audrey-truschke-says-rutgers-university|access-date=14 March 2021|website=Scroll.in|language=en-US}}</ref>
<ref name="Scroll_Staff">{{cite news  |title=Historian Audrey Truschke faces threats, Rutgers University extends support to her |url=https://scroll.in/latest/988994/abhor-vile-messages-and-threats-directed-at-audrey-truschke-says-rutgers-university |date=9 March 2021 |newspaper=Scroll.in}}</ref>
<!-- T -->
<!-- T -->
<!-- "Truschke" -->
<!-- "Truschke" -->
<ref name="Truschke">{{Cite web|last=Truschke|first=Audrey|title=The Many Criticisms of Rama and the 'Anger' of the Hindu Right|url=https://thewire.in/religion/the-many-criticisms-of-rama-and-the-anger-of-the-hindu-right|url-status=live|access-date=17 March 2021|website=The Wire}}</ref>
<ref name="Truschke">{{cite news |last=Truschke |first=Audrey |title=The Many Criticisms of Rama and the 'Anger' of the Hindu Right |url=https://thewire.in/religion/the-many-criticisms-of-rama-and-the-anger-of-the-hindu-right |url-status=live |newspaper=The Wire |date=29 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429110045/https://thewire.in/religion/the-many-criticisms-of-rama-and-the-anger-of-the-hindu-right |archive-date=2018-04-29 }}</ref>
<!-- "Truschke_Aeon" -->
<!-- "Truschke_Aeon" -->
<ref name="Truschke_Aeon">Audrey Truschke (2020), [https://aeon.co/essays/the-indian-epic-mahabharata-imparts-a-dark-nuanced-moral-vision The living Mahabharata], Aeon</ref>
<ref name="Truschke_Aeon">Audrey Truschke (2020), [https://aeon.co/essays/the-indian-epic-mahabharata-imparts-a-dark-nuanced-moral-vision The living Mahabharata], Aeon</ref>
<!-- V -->
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<!-- "Vadukut" -->
<!-- "Vadukut" -->
<!--<ref name="Vadukut">{{Cite web|last=Vadukut|first=Sidin|date=14 October 2017|title=Audrey Truschke {{!}} The historian who engages|url=https://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/GjK6sLgFpFbYNKWKCshf9N/Audrey-Truschke--The-historian-who-engages.html|access-date=14 March 2021|website=mint|language=en}}</ref>-->
<!--<ref name="Vadukut">{{cite news |last=Vadukut |first=Sidin |date=14 October 2017 |title=Audrey Truschke {{!}} The historian who engages |url=https://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/GjK6sLgFpFbYNKWKCshf9N/Audrey-Truschke--The-historian-who-engages.html |newspaper=Mint}}</ref>-->
<!-- name="Vardan" -->
<ref name="Vardan">{{Cite web|last=Anand|first=Vardhan|date=30 April 2018|title=The Unscholarly Dishonesty of Audrey Truschke|url=https://www.newslaundry.com/2018/04/30/the-unscholarly-dishonesty-of-audrey-truschke|url-status=live|access-date=14 March 2021|website=Newslaundry|quote=}}</ref>
<!-- "vice" -->
<!-- "vice" -->
<ref name="vice">{{Cite web|title=Audrey Truschke on Why She Won’t Quit Social Media, Despite Being Trolled by the Hindu Right - VICE|url=https://www.vice.com/amp/en/article/gy33wm/audrey-truschke-on-why-she-wont-quit-social-media-despite-being-trolled-by-the-hindu-right|access-date=10 July 2021|website=www.vice.com}}</ref>
<ref name="vice">{{Cite news |author=Pallavi Pundir |title=Audrey Truschke on Why She Won't Quit Social Media, Despite Being Trolled by the Hindu Right - VICE |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/audrey-truschke-on-why-she-wont-quit-social-media-despite-being-trolled-by-the-hindu-right/ |date=16 August 2018 |newspaper=VICE News}}</ref>
<!-- W -->
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<!-- "WP_academic_freedom" -->
<ref name="WP_academic_freedom">{{Cite news|title=Hindutva’s threat to academic freedom|language=en-US|work=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/hindutvas-threat-to-academic-freedom/2021/07/07/476a8128-df73-11eb-a27f-8b294930e95b_story.html|access-date=10 July 2021|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
<ref name="WP_academic_freedom">{{Cite news |title=Hindutva's threat to academic freedom |newspaper=Washington Post |date=7 July 2021 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/hindutvas-threat-to-academic-freedom/2021/07/07/476a8128-df73-11eb-a27f-8b294930e95b_story.html |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
<!-- "wire.in" -->
<!-- "wire.in" -->
<ref name="wire.in">{{Cite web|title=Rutgers Faculty Extends 'Unreserved Support' to Professor Audrey Truschke|url=https://thewire.in/rights/audrey-truschke-rutgers-university-faculty|access-date=18 March 2021|website=The Wire}}</ref>
<ref name="wire.in">{{cite news |title=Rutgers Faculty Extends 'Unreserved Support' to Professor Audrey Truschke |url=https://thewire.in/rights/audrey-truschke-rutgers-university-faculty |access-date=18 March 2021 |newspaper=The Wire}}</ref>
<!-- Z -->
<!-- Z -->
<!-- "Zutshi" -->
<!-- "Zutshi" -->
<ref name="Zutshi">Vikram Zutshi, [https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/the-curious-case-of-controversial-historian-audrey-truschke/article34050315.ece The curious case of controversial historian Audrey Truschke], ''The Hindu'', 12 March 2021.</ref>
<ref name="Zutshi">Vikram Zutshi, [https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/the-curious-case-of-controversial-historian-audrey-truschke/article34050315.ece The curious case of controversial historian Audrey Truschke], ''The Hindu'', 12 March 2021.</ref>
}}


==See also==
</references>
* [[Anti-Hindu sentiment]]
* [[Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent]]


==External links==
==External links==
* [https://www.hindutvaharassmentfieldmanual.org/ Hindutva Harassment Field Manual]
* [https://www.hindutvaharassmentfieldmanual.org/ Hindutva Harassment Field Manual]
* [https://caravanmagazine.in/history/hindu-right-cannot-debate-me-audrey-truschke The Hindu Right cannot debate me because it rejects critical thought: Audrey Truschke]
* [https://caravanmagazine.in/history/hindu-right-cannot-debate-me-audrey-truschke The Hindu Right cannot debate me because it rejects critical thought: Audrey Truschke]. ''[[The Caravan]]''.


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:American women academics]]
[[Category:American women academics]]
[[Category:University of Chicago alumni]]
[[Category:University of Chicago alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia University alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:Stanford University fellows]]
[[Category:Stanford University postdoctoral scholars]]

Latest revision as of 17:59, 20 December 2025

Audrey Truschke
Truschke in August 2018
CitizenshipUnited States
OccupationProfessor, historian, author
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Chicago (BA)
Columbia University (MA, MPhil, PhD)
ThesisCosmopolitan Encounters: Sanskrit and Persian at the Mughal Court[1] (2012)
Doctoral advisorSheldon Pollock[2]
Academic work
InstitutionsRutgers University
Websiteaudreytruschke.com

Audrey Truschke (/ˈtrʌʃki/ TRUSH-kee) is a historian of South Asia and a professor at Rutgers University. Her work focuses on inter-community relations in medieval South Asia, especially during the Mughal Empire. In 2017, she was conferred with the John F. Richards Prize in South Asian History by American Historical Association. Truschke has been a frequent target of harassment by right-wing Hindu nationalists, who accuse her of having prejudiced views on Hinduism, and making offensive statements; scholars reject the charges.[3][4][5][6]

Education and career[edit | edit source]

Truschke earned her bachelor's degree in religious studies from the University of Chicago in 2004.[7] She earned her MA from Columbia University in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies in 2007 before going on to receive a MPhil in the same discipline in 2008.[7] She received her PhD from Columbia University in 2012, and was a postdoctoral fellow at University of Cambridge (2012–2013) and Stanford University (2013–2016).[7]

In 2015, Truschke joined Rutgers University as an assistant professor of South Asian history and in 2023, she was promoted to full professorship.[7]

Publications and reception[edit | edit source]

Monographs[edit | edit source]

Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court[edit | edit source]

In 2016, Truschke's Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court, was published by Columbia University Press. It dwelt upon the literary, social, and political roles of Sanskrit in the Mughal courts from 1560 to 1650, and was reviewed in multiple journals.[8]

Aria Fani, in the journal Iranian Studies, found the work to be an invaluable contribution to South Asian studies.[9] Edmond Smith of the University of Kent, writing for Reviews in History, found the work to be "evocative, [and] expertly researched", where Truschke used her "exceptional linguistic talents" to pose and answer provoking questions about the Mughal Empire while inspiring other scholars to re-examine their approaches to studying religions.[10][11]

Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King[edit | edit source]

Main article: Aurangzeb: The Man and the Myth

In 2017, Truschke published Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King about the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, with Stanford University Press.[12] Truschke, in her reading of sources, suggests that Aurangzeb was not the anti-Hindu tyrant he has been made out to be in popular scholarship; there was no "systematic" attack on Hindus and his sporadic destruction of temples or imposition of jizya must be interpreted from within a political and economical milieu.

Munis D. Faruqui, a historian of Mughal India, found the book to be an excellent work aimed at non-specialists, and praised Truschke's willingness to tackle the topic despite being aware about the inevitability of "vicious personal attacks from mostly nonacademic critics".[13] However, Faruqui cautioned that the book "[did] not fill unexplored gaps in the historiography."[13] Sara Mondini, a scholar of Indo-Islamic art and architecture, commended Truschke for having penned a "precise and exhaustive" volume on the subject with due regard to sources; it was far more "rich and complex" than the "stereotypical nationalist" ones prevailing in scholarship, and was "pivotal" to the understanding of Hindu-Muslim encounters in the premodern era.[14][15]

The Language of History: Sanskrit Narratives of Indo-Muslim Rule[edit | edit source]

Truschke's third monograph, The Language of History: Sanskrit Narratives of Indo-Muslim Rule, was published in January 2021 by Columbia University Press.[8] Sheldon Pollock, Romila Thapar, Cynthia Talbot, and Richard M. Eaton provided blurbs for the publication.[16]

India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent[edit | edit source]

Truschke's fourth monograph, India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent, was published in June 2025 by Princeton University Press.[17]

Edited volumes[edit | edit source]

In May 2021, Truschke co-edited "The Ramayana of Hamida Banu Begum, Queen Mother of Mughal India" which was published by Silvana Editoriale and Museum of Islamic Art, Doha.[18]

Honors[edit | edit source]

In 2017, Truschke was awarded the John F. Richards Prize in South Asian History by the American Historical Association for Culture of Encounters being the "most distinguished work of scholarship on South Asian history, [published in 2016]".[19] She received the Rutgers Board of Trustees Research Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence in 2020.[20]

Social media activity[edit | edit source]

Translation controversy[edit | edit source]

In one of her tweets in 2018, Truschke, referring to an episode in the Ramayana, said that Sita had admonished Rama as a "misogynist pig";[21] she cited a critical translation of the Valmiki Ramayana by Robert P. Goldman in support.[22][23][24][25] Goldman however denied that he ever used such language and deemed her choice of words to be "highly inappropriate".[6] Truschke responded by stating that such disagreements are routine aspects of scholarly discourse and she had only offered a "loose translation" using contemporary language.[24][26] According to Truschke, Goldman himself had used words like "pimp" in describing Sita's criticism of Rama and further, she was not endorsing Sita's criticism.[26][27]

Srinivas Reddy, a professor of religious studies at Brown University, found Truschke's choice of words to lie in the extreme and missing contextual nuances; however, he supported her right to critically interpret epic characters and found subsequent attacks on her by the Hindu right to be misogynistic in essence, and deplorable.[27] Highlighting how the Ramayana was not a dead text but a way of life in India, he urged Truschke to adopt a less polarizing voice in her analyses and respect the text, if not revere.[27] Writer Purushottam Agrawal found the tweet to be inflammatory, disrespectful and poor; it reduced the layered and complex character of Rama to a "caricature in a contemporary American comic strip," noting that "'Prakrita' [is] a common word, which essentially means 'ordinary' or 'uncivilised', or 'raw' as opposed to refined."[28] Cultural critic Pushpesh Pant found the translation to be poor, as well.[29]

Targeting by the Hindu right[edit | edit source]

Truschke has been a prominent critic of Hindutva and its exclusionary ideology.[30] Due to her historical works and her choice of language, she has become a target of the Hindu right[23] and has been a frequent recipient of hate mail.[31] In 2021, Truschke, along with a group of other scholars, formed a collective to combat increasing harassment of South Asian scholars by people affiliated with Hindutva.[32][33] They launched the "Hindutva Harassment Field Manual," offering "resources" against "Hindu Rights assault."[34]

Truschke reports that she is frequently the target of antisemitic attacks,[35] although she is "not Jewish";[36] her family name is of Polish origin.

Aurangzeb[edit | edit source]

After publishing her monograph on Aurangzeb, Truschke was accused of whitewashing his alleged genocidal atrocities on Hindus and trolled by the Hindu right.[37][14][38] Wendy Doniger noted these to be ad-hominem attacks infused with Islamophobia and misogyny.[37]

Student petition[edit | edit source]

In 2021, a group of Hindu students at Rutgers University circulated a petition calling for the university to disallow Truschke from teaching a course on Hinduism, condemn her views, and create "a safe space for diaspora Hindus".[3][4] The petition alleged that Truschke held "inherently prejudiced views" on Hinduism and the Hindus.[3] Among the alleged reasons were Truschke's claiming that the Bhagavad Gita rationalizes mass slaughter,[3][lower-alpha 1] linking Hindus with the January 6 United States Capitol attack,[3][lower-alpha 2] whitewashing the "trauma" inflicted on Hindus by Aurangzeb,[3][lower-alpha 3] and designing an undergraduate course to portray an "exotic-erotic-chauvinist-oppressive" view of Hindu India by relying on scholars like Wendy Doniger and focusing on the multiplicity of Ramayana among other errors of omission and commission.[4]

The university, while defending academic freedom and calling for an immediate end to hate speech directed at her, said that it was initiating a dialogue with the Hindu community to understand their concerns.[43][3] Days later, Rutgers faculty members from varied faith backgrounds (including Hinduism) drafted an open letter affirming faith in Truschke's scholarship, rejecting the leveled charges of "Hinduphobia", and applauding Rutgers' affirmation of academic liberty whilst upholding commitment to diversity. Among the signatories who expressed solidarity with those academics were Romila Thapar, Rajmohan Gandhi, Sheldon Pollock, Partha Chatterjee, and Suketu Mehta.[5]

Litigation[edit | edit source]

In May 2021, the Hindu American Foundation filed a libel suit against Truschke and representatives of several other organizations in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.[44][45] Truschke was represented by Cornell Law School's First Amendment Clinic and Davis Wright Tremaine. A year and a half later, Judge Amit Mehta dismissed the suit since HAF not only failed to establish any cause of action — even assuming that their allegations were factually accurate[lower-alpha 4] — but also failed to evidence that the court had any personal jurisdiction over the defendants.[lower-alpha 5][46]

A diverse group of intellectuals and academics—Akeel Bilgrami, Amitav Ghosh, Anita Desai, Cornel West, Martha Nussbaum, Nandini Sundar, Noam Chomsky, Romila Thapar, Sudipta Kaviraj, Sheldon Pollock, and Wendy Doniger among others—have condemned HAF's tactics as a strategic lawsuit against public participation to silence critics and push forward Hindutva.[45][47]

Personal life[edit | edit source]

Truschke has three children.[48]

See also[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Referring to Truschke (2020), The living Mahabharata:

    [T]he line between virtue and vice [ in Mahabharata], dharma and adharma, is often muddled [...] Krishna's discourse to Arjuna, known as the Bhagavadgita (‘Song of the Lord’), or Gita for short, is often read as a standalone work today, and revered by many across the world for its insights on morality and even nonviolence. In the 20th century, Mahatma Gandhi understood the Gita to support nonviolent resistance to colonial oppression. In the Mahabharata's plot, however, the Bhagavadgita rationalises mass slaughter [...] The Pandavas win, but at a magnificent cost of human life. The epic compels readers to imagine that human cost by describing the battle in excruciating, bloody detail over tens of thousands of verses. The Pandavas kill multiple members of their own family along the way, including elders who ought to be revered. Their victory is further soured by a night raid in which, on the last night of the war, the few remaining Kauravas creep into the slumbering Pandava camp and kill nearly everyone, including all the victors’ sons."

    — [39]
    The philosophy of violence (and nonviolence), as espoused in Bhagavadgita and their appropriation into sociopolitical discourse has attracted significant scholarship. See Palshikar, Sanjay. "Evil and the Philosophy of Retribution: Modern Commentaries on the Bhagavad-Gītā". UK: Routledge (2014)
  2. ↑ Truschke linked "Hindu Right folks" with the Capitol riots, not Hindus in general:

    I begin teaching History of South Asia II (Mughals to Modi) on Jan 19, one day before the inauguration.

    One of my opening images will be this [rioters and flags in front of the Capitol, including an Indian flag] from DC yesterday, with the opening question -- What do we need to know to explain why there is an Indian flag here?"

    [In a reply]: There were a number of Hindu Right folks there, including some who have attacked me in the past.

    — [40]
    A fact-check by Alt News corroborates Truschke's accusations:

    It turns out that they are actually inclined towards the Bharatiya Janata Party.

    — [41]
    In general, other scholars have noted the enmeshing of Hindu Nationalist diaspora with US-based Far Right.[42]
  3. ↑ Referring to the conclusions of Truschke (2017), Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King
  4. ↑ Judge Mehta rejected that HAF had provided any evidence to support that the defenders were acting with malice, which is integral to maintainability of a defamation suit.
  5. ↑ HAF requested for a discovery to bolster its jurisdictional claims; Judge Mehta denied the request for being a "fishing expedition, [..] not made in good faith."

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Trushke, Audrey (2012). Cosmopolitan Encounters: Sanskrit and Persian at the Mughal Court (Ph.D. thesis). Columbia University.
  2. ↑ Trushke 2012, pp. vi.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "Historian Audrey Truschke faces threats, Rutgers University extends support to her". Scroll.in. 9 March 2021.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Chung, Victoria; Yeasky, Joanne (11 March 2021). "Rutgers professor faces open letter accusing her of Hinduphobia". The Daily Targum.
    Read with the linked letter: "Open Letter to Rutgers Administration from Concerned Hindu Students and Allies".
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Rutgers Faculty Extends 'Unreserved Support' to Professor Audrey Truschke". The Wire. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Venugopal, Arun (2021-07-21). "At Rutgers, and Beyond, Scholars Are Under Attack For Their Critique of India's Far-Right Government". Gothamist.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Audrey Truschke | Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Academia.edu". rutgers.academia.edu. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Audrey Truschke". Rutgers SASN. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  9. ↑ Fani, Aria (4 March 2019). "Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court". Iranian Studies. 52 (1–2): 231–237. doi:10.1080/00210862.2019.1590819. ISSN 0021-0862. S2CID 167120313.
  10. ↑ Smith, Edmond (2017). "Review of 'Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court'". Reviews in History. School of Advanced Study, University of London. doi:10.14296/RiH/2014/2122. ISSN 1749-8155.
  11. ↑ Template:Multiref2
  12. ↑ Zia, Shaharyar (August 2020). "Aurangzeb". Reading Religion (book review). American Academy of Religion. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Faruqui, Munis D. (6 March 2019). "Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King. By Audrey Truschke". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 87 (1): 299–303. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfy040. ISSN 0002-7189.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Mondini, Sara (October 2018). "Audrey Truschke: Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most Controversial King. xiii, 136 pp. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2017. [[:Template:Text]] 978 1 5036 0257 1". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 81 (3): 555–557. doi:10.1017/S0041977X18001179. ISSN 0041-977X. S2CID 187354883. {{cite journal}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  15. ↑ Reyes, María Fernanda Ramírez; Becerril, Maribel Elliet Alvarado (2019). "Audrey Truschke (2017). Aurangzeb. The life and legacy of India's most controversial king. Stanford, CA.: Stanford University Press, 152 pp". Estudios de Asia y Africa (in español). 54 (1 (168)): 185–190. doi:10.24201/eaa.v54i1.2420. ISSN 0185-0164. JSTOR 26542051. S2CID 239532632.
  16. ↑ "Reviews of The Language of History: Sanskrit Narratives of Indo-Muslim Rule". Columbia University Press (publisher's blurb). 5 January 2021. Archived from the original on 2020-11-30.
  17. ↑ Chaffetz, David (25 May 2025). ""India, 5000 Years of History on the Subcontinent" by Audrey Truschke". Asian Review of Books. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
  18. ↑ "The Ramayana of Hamida Banu Begum, Queen Mother of Mughal India". en.silvanaeditoriale.it. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  19. ↑ "John F. Richards Prize Recipients | AHA". www.historians.org. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  20. ↑ Luongo, Nora (15 May 2020). "SASN Faculty and Staff Honored for their Exceptional Contributions". Rutgers SASN.
  21. ↑ "Dr. Audrey Truschke on Twitter: "For anyone unfamiliar with these episodes..." Twitter. 2018-04-19. Archived from the original on 2021-05-20.
  22. ↑ "Dr. Audrey Truschke on Twitter: "Re #RamayanaGate over here..." Twitter. 2018-04-20. Archived from the original on 2021-09-20.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Pallavi Pundir (16 August 2018). "Audrey Truschke on Why She Won't Quit Social Media, Despite Being Trolled by the Hindu Right - VICE". VICE News.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Author Audrey Truschke's Hyderabad event cancelled allegedly due to RSS, BJP protests". The News Minute. 8 August 2018.
  25. ↑ Bhattacharya, A. K. (25 May 2018). "Was Rama's putting Sita through 'agni pariksha' a 'misogynistic' act?". Business Standard India. (Subscription required.)
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Truschke, Audrey (29 April 2018). "The Many Criticisms of Rama and the 'Anger' of the Hindu Right". The Wire. Archived from the original on 2018-04-29.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Reddy, Srinivas (9 July 2018). "What does Sita really say in Valmiki's Ramayana?". The Caravan.
  28. ↑ Agrawal, Purushottam (4 May 2018). "Lost in translation". India Today. Archived from the original on 2018-05-09.
  29. ↑ Pant, Pushpesh (27 April 2018). "Ram to Aurangzeb: Audrey Truschke and the Art of Taking Liberties". TheQuint.
  30. ↑ Vadukut, Sidin (14 October 2017). "Audrey Truschke | The historian who engages". Mint.
  31. ↑ "Hate Male". The Revealer. 2020-07-14.
  32. ↑ Priyali Prakash (10 July 2021), ‘Targeted by hate’: Audrey Truschke on why she helped write a ‘Hindutva Harassment Field Manual’, Scroll.in
  33. ↑ "Hindutva's threat to academic freedom". Washington Post. 7 July 2021. ISSN 0190-8286.
  34. ↑
  35. ↑ Manimugdha S Sharma (August 19, 2018). "Audrey, Audrey, quite contrary: The historian everyone loves to hate". Times of India.
  36. ↑ Andrew Cockburn (October 2024). "The Hindutva Lobby: How Hindu nationalism spreads in America". Harper's.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Harikrishnan, Charmy (28 August 2017). "The ring changed Dushyanta from a lying cad to an honourable man: Wendy Doniger". The Economic Times.
  38. ↑ "Audrey Truschke, "Aurangzeb: The Life and Legacy of India's Most…". New Books Network. 2020-09-04.
  39. ↑ Audrey Truschke (2020), The living Mahabharata, Aeon
  40. ↑ "Dr. Audrey Truschke on Twitter: "@Yael_Rice There were a number of Hindu Right folks there". 2021-01-07. Archived from the original on 2022-12-02.
  41. ↑ Mohammed Zubair (9 Jan 2021), Fact check: Were the men who waved the Indian flag at the Capitol supporters of the Congress party?, Scroll.in
  42. ↑ Leidig, Eviane; Ganesh, Bharath; Bright, Jonathan (January 2022). "New forms of cultural nationalism? American and British Indians in the Trump and Brexit Twittersphere". Nations and Nationalism. 28 (1): 302–321. doi:10.1111/nana.12781. hdl:11250/3053021. ISSN 1354-5078. S2CID 244443494.
  43. ↑ Vikram Zutshi, The curious case of controversial historian Audrey Truschke, The Hindu, 12 March 2021.
  44. ↑ "Hindu American Foundation files defamation suit against Hindu rights nonprofit". Religion News Service. 20 May 2021.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 Sircar, Anisha (24 May 2021). "Explained: The Hindu American Foundation's defamation case against Hindus for Human Rights founders". Scroll.in.
  46. ↑ Scroll Staff (2022-12-21). "US court dismisses Hindutva group's defamation case against academic Audrey Truschke, four activists". Scroll.in.
  47. ↑ "Over 300 Writers, Academics and Scholars Repudiate HAF's Attempt to Silence Hindus for Human Rights". Hindus for Human Rights. 20 May 2021.
  48. ↑ "Pedagogy & the Pandemic: Professor Audrey Truschke Meets the Moment". Rutgers SASN. Retrieved 2021-09-18.

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