Memorial Lectures & Events

10th Professor Abidi Memorial Lecture

The French at the court of the Nawabs of Awadh

Delivered by eminent historian and author Ira Mukhoty (author of The Lion and The Lily: The Rise and Fall of Awadh).

Presided by Dr. Farhat Hasan, Professor of History, Delhi University. The occasion was graced by the presence of Dr. Fariduddin Faridasr, Cultural Counsellor, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Director, Iran Culture House, and Dr. Qahrman Sulaimani, Director, Persian Research Centre, Iran Culture House.

The invited audience spent an illuminating evening exploring the forgotten interactions between Awadh Court and the French through rare archival sources of Jean Baptiste Gentile and Antoine Polier. The speaker highlighted how the courtly worlds of the Awadh were interpreted by French envoys, travelers, and officials, and how these shaped Indo-French cultural memory.

Delivered on Saturday, 1st November 2025 at Iran Culture House, New Delhi.

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9th Professor Abidi Memorial Lecture

The Delhi College and the indigenous roots of colonial modernity

Delivered by the eminent historian and foremost Chronicler of Delhi, Dr. Swapna Liddle.

The lecture was presided by Prof. Shahid Amin, retired Professor of History at the University of Delhi. Dr. Fariduddin Faridasr, Cultural Counsellor, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Dr. Qahrman Sulaimani, Director, Persian Research Centre, Iran Culture House graced the occasion.

The large number of guests were treated to an exciting evening exploring the cultural history of 19th century Delhi through its oldest college now known as Dr. Zakir Hussain College.

The Delhi College was set up by the East India Company’s government in Delhi in 1825. It sought to bring an ‘enlightened’. ‘modern’, and by implication a Western education to the population of Delhi and the surrounding areas. In the next three decades or so, before the destruction wreaked on it by the revolt of 1857, it was seen as bringing significant cultural as well as educational change to the city.

The talk examined developments within and connected to the Delhi College in the period between 1825 and 1857, including the lives and work of some of its prominent teachers and alumni. It discusses the nature of the changes this institution brought about, and in particular the role of indigenous learning in giving it a particular shape. While doing so, it also examines the process and agents at work in the formation of what we may call colonial modernity.

Delivered on Saturday, 8th February 2025 at Iran Culture House, New Delhi.

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8th Professor Abidi Memorial Lecture

Historian's Craft: The Erasure of India’s Great Mughal Women

Delivered by Dr. Ruby Lal, Professor of South Asian history at Emory University and author of Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan.

Delivered on Sunday, 10th December 2023 at Iran Culture Centre, New Delhi.

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