Born in 1955, Purushottam Agrawal served as member, UPSC from 2007 to 2013. Before this, he was Chairperson, Centre of Indian Languages, JNU. He has also been Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, Cambridge University and at El Colegio de Mexico. His books include Hindi Serai: Astrakhan via Yerevan, a travelogue which traces the history of Indian traders who settled in the Russian city of Astrakhan between the 16th and 18th centuries; Padmavat: An Epic Love Story, an English translation of and commentary on Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s epic poem; Who Is Bharat Mata?, a collection of writings by and on Jawaharlal Nehru; and Kabir, Kabir: The Life and Work of the Early Modern Poet- Philosopher, an English translation of his 2009 book Akath Kahani Prem Ki, widely acclaimed as a path-breaking study of Kabir and his work.
