Thesis Title
Recasting Zangs dkar: The religio-political history of 10th to 15th century Zangskar
Supervisor
Professor Ulrike Roesler
Biography
Shuchita Grover is a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford, researching the religio-political history of Zangskar from the 10th to 15th centuries. Her doctoral project investigates why the theocratic model of governance found in regions like Tibet and Bhutan did not take root in Zangskar, drawing on textual, art historical, and epigraphic sources to reconstruct the region’s distinctive religious and political trajectory.
She holds an MPhil in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies from Oxford, where her dissertation focused on The Life and Legacy of Changsem Sherab Zangpo, a 15th-century disciple of Jé Tsongkhapa from Ladakh. Prior to that, she completed an MA in Buddhist Studies at SOAS, University of London, with a focus on the Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya. Her academic work is shaped by extensive field research in Ladakh and Zangskar, where she has built strong relationships with local monastic and scholarly communities.
In addition to her research, Shuchita is a type designer specialising in Indian scripts, including Gurmukhi, Kannada, Tibetan, and Devanagari.
Educational Background
MPhil in Tibetan and Himalayan Studies, University of Oxford
MA in Buddhist Studies, SOAS, University of London
Research Interests
Western Himalayan history, religion and culture
Buddhist early phyi dar period
Recent Publications
Grover, Shuchita (forthcoming). The Kings of Bzang-la: Genealogy of a royal house in Zangskar, Western Himalayas. In Proceedings of the 7th International Seminar of Young Tibetologists.
