Daud Ali
Daud Ali (born 1964) is an American historian of Indian descent. Early life
Daud Ali was born in Calcutta, India, to a Bengali father and an American mother. Career
Daud Ali's Bengali father and his own interest in Indian philosophy led him to study South Asian history in college. He went on to study Sanskrit, Tamil and Indian philosophy. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and religious studies at the College of William & Mary and then obtained a Master of Arts degree in the history of religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School where he was a student of Ron Inden. His thesis on medieval South Indian history led him to a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, after which he taught history of ancient India for 14 years at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Since 2009, he has been an Associate Professor in the Department of South Asia Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2021 he was appointed Editor of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 