Name: Dr.K.Mavali Rajan Designation: Associate Professor Phone: 04366-277230 Email:mavalirajan@cutn.ac.in
Biographic Sketch:
Dr. K. Mavali Rajan (1973) is presently an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, from April 2024. He worked as an Associate Professor and Head in the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture, and Archaeology, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal, from 2019 to 2024 and as an Assistant Professor in the same department from 2007 to 2019. He completed his Ph.D. research on “Socio-Economic Conditions of Agrestic Slaves of Medieval Tamil Country” from Madurai Kamaraj University (2007) under the guidance of Prof. S. Manickam. He also completed a course on Epigraphy from the Archaeological Department of the Tamil Nadu Government in 2000. He is the author/editor of five books. As a content writer, Dr. Rajan contributed e-content for 12 modules for the subject Indian Culture, epg-pathshala, a UGC/MHRD project under the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NME-ICT), 2014-2016. He has participated as a resource person and delivered invited lectures in various academic forums. He received Dadhi Mahanta Memorial Social Science National Award for 2020 from Mahan Chandra Mahanta Adhyayan Gibesona Kendra (A Social Science Research Centre established in collaboration with Cinnamara College), Cinnamara, Jorhat, Assam and received Best Researcher Award for the Contribution to the field of Education from the PG and Research Department of History, Arignar Anna Government Arts College, Musiri, Tamil Nadu for 2024.He has published several research papers on agrarian history, temple institutions, social and economic history and cultural history of South India in different academic journals, conference proceedings and several edited volumes.
Research Highlights :
His area of specialization is agrarian history, agrestic slavery, and the socio-economic history of early and early medieval south India. Further, he has been working on the social, economic, and cultural history of Early Medieval India. His current research focuses on the Buddhist culture of early Tamilakam, agrarian patterns, and practices in the early medieval Tamil country, as well as the history and culture of marginalized communities. He contributed modules for the subject of Indian culture in epg-pathashala, an HRD ministry project for the Government of India.
Recent Publications :
Published Books
Medieval Tamil Society and Agrarian Slavery, Maha Bodhi Book Agency, Kolkata, 2014 (ISBN No. 978-93-80336-82-4).
Temple and Society in South India (Edited Book), Kaveri Books, New Delhi, 2016 (ISBN No. 978-81-7479-188-7).
Facets of Temple Culture: Perspectives on Religious and Social Traditions in Early Medieval India, (Edited Book with co-editors), Kaveri Books, New Delhi, 2018 (ISBN No. 978-93-86463-06-7).
Land and Society in Medieval South India: Perspectives on Socio-economic and Cultural Traditions, (Edited Book with V. Palanichamy), Kalpaz Publications, New Delhi, 2021 (ISBN No. 978-93-5324-316-6).
Contours of Culture: India and Beyond Essays on Culture, Tradition and Religion in South Asia and South-East Asia, (Edited with Binay Barman), Mittal Publications, New Delhi, 2021 (ISBN No.978-93-90692-83-5).
Book Chapters
‘Ecology, Agriculture and Irrigation: Patterns and Practices of Cultivation in Early and Medieval Tamil Country’ in K. Mavali Rajan and V. Palanichamy (eds.), Land and Society in Medieval South India: Perspectives on Socio-economic and Cultural Traditions, Kalpaz Publications, New Delhi, 2021, pp.141-182 (ISBN No. 978-93-5324-316-6).
‘South India and South-East Asia: The Chola’s Political and Cultural Links with the Srivijaya Kingdom’, in K. Mavali Rajan and Binay Barman (eds.), Contours of Culture: India and Beyond Essays on Culture, Tradition and Religion in South Asia and South-East Asia, Mittal Publications, New Delhi, 2021, pp.209-226 (ISBN No.978-93-90692-83-5).
‘Agricultural Laborers and Wages in Medieval Tamil Country’ in S. Jeevanandam, et.al. (eds.), Recent Trends in History: Essays in Honour of Prof. Rekha Pande, Literary Circle, Jaipur, 2022, pp. 300-319 (ISBN No. 978-81-956793-6-2).
‘Caste Movements and Social Change: A Study of Social Mobilization in South India’ in P. Chenna Reddy (ed.), Revisiting India’s Past (Commemoration Volume to Prof. Vijay Kumar Thakur), BlueRose Publishers, New Delhi, 2022, pp.294-312 (ISBN No. 978-93-5704-856-9).
‘Interior Landscape and Exciting Culture of Ancient Tamils: A Close Reading of Tolkappiyam’, in Senthil Prakash S. (ed.), Glimpses of Tolkappiyam (c. 300 BCE)-The Classical Tamil Grammatical Text, Kaveri Books, New Delhi, 2023, pp.64-95.(ISBN No. 978-93-86463-30-2).
Published Articles in Peer-reviewed /UGC Listed Journal:
“Vishvakarma Community: Manifestation of Artisans and Craftsmen in Early and Medieval South India”, Journal of the Asiatic Society, Vol. LXV, No. 1, April 2023, pp.45-68 (ISSN No. 0368-3308).
“Ritual Servants of the Temples: Gleaning from Epigraphic Records of the Chola Period”, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 80th Session, Kannur University, Kerala, December 2019 (Published in 2022), pp.78-86 (ISSN No. 2249-1937).
“Facets of Saivism in the Kamata-Kuchbehar Region of North Bengal”, Journal of Bengal Art, (The Annual, Peer-Reviewed, International Journal), Vol.26, 2021, pp.199-214 (ISSN No. 1607-1344.)with co-author.
“Early Buddhist Sites in the East Coast of Tamil Nadu”, Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology, Vol.8.2, 2020, pp.175-192 (ISSN No.2347-5463)with co-author.
“Temple and Artisan Communities in Medieval Tamil Country”, South Indian History Congress Fortieth Annual Session Proceedings, Organized by Department of History, Annamalai University, Chidambaram on 31st January-2nd February 2020, pp.413-418 (ISSN No. 2229-3671)
