Emory historian Ruby Lal named 2027 Kluge Chair by Library of Congress

Ruby Lal, Emory University professor and acclaimed historian of India, has been appointed as the 2027 Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the South in the John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress. The four-month appointment begins in January 2027 when Lal will be in residence in Washington, D.C. 

The Kluge Center annually brings top scholars and researchers into residence at the Library of Congress to pursue research from the library’s rich resources and to interact with policymakers and the public. One of five Kluge Chairs established in the founding documents of The John W. Kluge Center, the chair in Countries and Cultures of the South is “occupied by scholars of great accomplishment chosen for their intellectual and communicative abilities,” as described by the Library of Congress. 

“I am delighted and honored to have been selected as the 2027 Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the South at the Library of Congress. I look forward greatly to carrying out my public and intellectual duties attached to this role,” says Lal, professor of Middle Eastern and South Asian studies in Emory College of Arts and Sciences. 

Lal will spend her tenure working on her seventh book. “The Genius of Mughals, A Magisterial History of the Taj Mahal” will build on her previous research detailing the extraordinary history of the magnificent Mughal Empire of India, during which time the Taj Mahal, one of the world’s most astonishing historical buildings, was created. 

“My book will present the first complete, narrative-driven human history of the Taj Mahal that focuses lands, rivers, a diverse set of historic characters — the Queen in whose memory this mausoleum was built, visionary architects, the brilliant calligrapher, thousands of masons and stone cutters, the Raja who gave his tract of land to build the Taj — and their vision in the design and construction of the building.

“In writing this book, I stand as a witness to those who were witnessing the Taj, a wonder of the world, as it was coming into being,” Lal says. 

Lal is the author of several critically acclaimed books. Her most recent book, “Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan,” was shortlisted for the James Tait Prize and a finalist for the Georgia Author of the Year award. 

Her previous book “Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan” was winner of the Georgia Author of the Year Award in Biography and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2018. In spring 2025, she published “Tiger-Slayer,” an illustrated remix of “Empress” for young adults. Among the top two picks of the New York Public Library’s 2025 nonfiction YA selection, it was finalist for the Atta Galatta Bangalore Literature Prize and nominated for the Georgia Author of the Year Award.