Ayesha Jalal is a leading historian on South Asia. She is a MacArthur Fellow and a professor at Tufts University. Her work primarily centers on the conception of modern Muslim identities in South Asia and the examination of the creation of the Pakistan state and its struggle to achieve democracy.
Dr. Jalal has been an Associate Professor at Columbia University (1991-1999), Visiting Associate Professor at Harvard University (1998-1999), Fellow of the MacArthur Foundation (1998-2003); Member Editorial Board, Third World Quarterly; Member International Advisory Committee, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Lahore School of Management Sciences (LUMS).
Her publications concentrate on the themes of decolonization, problems of sovereignty, identity, citizenship and democracy, Islam and Women. She has authored several books which include Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia (2008), Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia: A Comparative and Historical Perspective, The State of Martial Rule: The Origins of Pakistan’s Political Economy of Defense (1990), The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan (1985).