Meera Nanda (born 1954) is an Indian writer and historian of science,[1] who has authored several works critiquing the influence of Hindutva, postcolonialism and postmodernism on science, and the flourishing of pseudoscience and vedic science. In 2019–2020, she was a Guest Faculty in Humanities and Social Sciences at IISER Pune.[2][3] In 2023 she became a fellow with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.[4]
Meera Nanda | |
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Born | 1954 (age 69–70) India |
Occupation | Writer, academic |
Nanda was educated in science and philosophy with a PhD in biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and a PhD in science studies from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.[5][6]
She was a John Templeton Foundation Fellow in Religion and Science (2005–2007).[1][7] In January 2009, she was a Fellow at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute for Advanced Study, in the Jawaharlal Nehru University for research in Science, Post-Modernism and Culture.[8] She was also a visiting faculty of history and philosophy of science at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali from 2010 to 15 May 2017. She was a visiting faculty member of the department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IISER Pune[9] in 2019 and 2020.
Nanda has authored several works on religion, most notably Prophets Facing Backward: Postmodern Critiques of Science and Hindu Nationalism in India (2004),[10] and her 2009 book The God Market which examined how India is experiencing a rising tide of popular Hinduism, including government financing of Hinduism despite the nation's secular characteristic. The book was reviewed by William Dalrymple in Outlook Magazine.[11][12]