Born in 1955,  Purushottam Agrawal Is a renowned Kabir and bhakti scholar. He served as member, Union Public Service Commission of India (2007-2013). Before this, he served as Chairperson, Centre of Indian Languages, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has been a Visiting Professor at Faculty of Oriental Studies, Cambridge University (UK), and at El Colegio de Mexico. He is a well-known panelist on TV debates and hosted a unique show on books called 'Kitab' on Rajya Sabha TV. His definitive study of Kabir  and his times,   Akath Kahani Prem Ki : Kabir Ki Kavita Aur Unka Samay (2009) created a stir in Hindi literary circles and beyond. The South Asia conference in Madison, Wisconsin (USA), 2011, had a panel on this book. Its Telugu translation  has been published in 2015. His Gandhi Peace Foundation lecture 'Majbooti ka naam Mahatma Gandhi' ( 2005) articulates the issues of violence and power in a very refreshing manner. His 'Hindi Serai: Astrakhan via Yerevan ' ( 2013) - a research oriented travelogue-traces the history of the Indian traders settled in Russian city of Astrakhan during 16-18 centuries. He has recently turned to fiction writing and has already published seven short-stories in leading literary journals. His maiden novel, NACOHUS (2016 ) constructs a Kafkaesque fantasy around the politic of hurt sentiments. Its English and Marathi translations are due for publication this year. A 'Nehru Reader' prepared by Prof. Agrawal is also going to be published in a couple of months. His latest book is Padmavat: An Epic Love Story (Delhi, Rupa Publications, 2018).