M B Rajani

Associate Professor

School

School of Humanities

Programme

Heritage Science and Society

Phone

080 22185176

E-mail

mbrajani@nias.res.in

Room no

Faculty Block S-19

Department

Faculty

MB Rajani's research has two inter-related facets: analysing cultural landscapes using geospatial data to identify new features of archaeological interest and advancing the usage of such analysis towards preservation of built heritage in the face of rapid urbanization. Her primary scientific contribution has been to develop a methodology for detecting tell-tale signs of past human activities on landscapes from satellite imagery and integrating these findings with other spatial data to generate new inferences and novel hypotheses about the past. Her work has therefore expanded the field of archaeology to include the study of human impact on landscapes.

Her recent book Patterns in Past Settlements (2021) aims at imparting this knowledge to larger research and academic communities.

She is a member of Indian National Young Academy of Science 2018-2022, a Young Affiliate 2019-2023 of The World Academy of Sciences and recipient of Rachapudi Kamakshi Memorial Young Geospatial Scientist Award 2011 and P.R. Pisharoty Memorial award 2019 awarded by the Indian Society of Remote Sensing

Publications

Regulation boundaries for preservation of Cultural Heritage sites

Landscape Morphology and Spatial Patterning of Archaeological Signatures When Viewed from Above.

Geospatial Analysis of Historical Cartographic Data of Kollam Fort

Historical Coastal Maps: Importance and Challenges in Their Use in Studying Coastal Geomorphology

Riverfront Gardens and City Walls of Mughal Agra: A Study of Their Locations, Extent and Subsequent Transformations Using Remote Sensing and GIS

Patterns in past settlements: Geospatial analysis of imprints of cultural heritage on landscapes.

Potential of geospatial technologies as a cognitive and spatio-visual tool for mapping the past.

Remote sensing investigation of the Buddhist archaeological landscape around Sannati, India

Nalanda: A tale in the twist.

The Significance of Ancient Water Systems and the Sacred Groves in the Landscape of Badami, Karnataka: A Geospatial Study

Archaeological Remains at Nalanda: A Spatial Comparison of Nineteenth Century Observations and the Protected World Heritage Site

The Significance of Ancient Water Systems and the Sacred Groves in the Landscape of Badami, Karnataka: A Geospatial Study

Where Was Odantapuri Located? Archaeological Evidence Using Remote Sensing, GIS and Photogrammetry.

A Geospatial Study of Archaeological Remains at Halebidu: An Integrative Approach to Identify Unexplored Features.

Radiocarbon dating of historical bricks: exploring the unprotected archaeological mounds in the environs of excavated site of Nalanda

Exploring the forest and mapping its archaeology: Bandhavgarh National Park and Tiger Reserve, India

Hydrological maps as a tool for the exploration of historical water systems at Badami, Karnataka, India

A geospatial study of the layout and extent of the eighteenth-century walled city of Hyderabad

Improved geospatial analysis of shoreline modification using a weighted-average-based novel formulation

Mapping Archaeological Remains of 14th Century Fort of Jahanpanah Using Geospatial Analysis

Tracing Ancient Itinerants and Early Medieval Rulers in the Forests of Bandhavgarh

Archaeological landscape of Thotlakonda and Bavikonda near Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh: insights from remote sensing and GIS analysis

Ancient Valabhi: A Remote Sensing Perspective

M B Rajani
Heritage Science and Society
Patterns in past settlements: Geospatial analysis of imprints of cultural heritage on landscapes.
Singapore: Springer.
2021

	M B Rajani co-authored Heritage Science and Society Mapping Archaeological Remains of 14th Century Fort of Jahanpanah Using Geospatial Analysis Pal, G.K., Rajani, M.B. (2022). In: Mudenagudi, U., Nigam, A., Sarvadevabhatla, R.K., Choudhary, A. (eds) Proceedings of the Satellite Workshops of ICVGIP 2021. Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, vol 924. Springer, Singapore. 2022
	M B Rajani Heritage Science and Society The Significance of Ancient Water Systems and the Sacred Groves in the Landscape of Badami, Karnataka: A Geospatial Study Suganya, K., Harshavardhan, M., Rajani, M.B. (2022). The Significance of Ancient Water Systems and the Sacred Groves in the Landscape of Badami, Karnataka: A Geospatial Study. In: Blue-Green Infrastructure Across Asian Countries. Springer, Singapore 2022
	M B Rajani Heritage Science and Society Landscape Morphology and Spatial Patterning of Archaeological Signatures When Viewed from Above. Rajani, M.B. (2021). Landscape Morphology and Spatial Patterning of Archaeological Signatures When Viewed from Above. In: Patterns in Past Settlements: Geospatial Analysis of Imprints of Cultural Heritage on Landscapes. Springer Remote 2020
	M B Rajani Heritage Science and Society Archaeological Remains at Nalanda: A Spatial Comparison of Nineteenth Century Observations and the Protected World Heritage Site MB Rajani and Sonia Das. In:Anjana Sharma (ed.) Records, Recoveries, Remnants and Inter-Asian Interconnections: Decoding Cultural Heritage, ISEAS, Singapore, 2018, pp.239-256 2018

	M B Rajani, Arya Pradeep Ancient Valabhi: A Remote Sensing Perspective Pradeep, A.S., Rajani, M.B. Ancient Valabhi: A Remote Sensing Perspective. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 53, 1765–1783 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-024-02087-7 24 December 2024 Journal Articles
	M B Rajani Heritage Science and Society Archaeological landscape of Thotlakonda and Bavikonda near Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh: insights from remote sensing and GIS analysis CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 127, NO. 10 25 November 2024 Journal Articles
	M B Rajani Heritage Science and Society Tracing Ancient Itinerants and Early Medieval Rulers in the Forests of Bandhavgarh Lahiri, N., Rajani, M. B., Sanyal, D., Banerjee, S., & Tiwari, S. (2023). Tracing Ancient Itinerants and Early Medieval Rulers in the Forests of Bandhavgarh. South Asian Studies, 39(1), 76–99. 31 January 2023 Journal Articles
	M B Rajani co-authored Heritage Science and Society Improved geospatial analysis of shoreline modification using a weighted-average-based novel formulation Mohanty, A., Rajani, M. B., Majumdar, R., & Nayak, S. (2023). Improved geospatial analysis of shoreline modification using a weighted‐average‐based novel formulation. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 48(5), 863-886. 2 December 2022 Journal Articles
	M B Rajani co-authored Heritage Science and Society A geospatial study of the layout and extent of the eighteenth-century walled city of Hyderabad Pal, G. K., & Rajani, M. B. (2022). A geospatial study of the layout and extent of the eighteenth-century walled city of Hyderabad. Journal of Geomatics, 16(2), 187-196. 15 November 2022 Journal Articles
	M B Rajani co-authored Heritage Science and Society Hydrological maps as a tool for the exploration of historical water systems at Badami, Karnataka, India Suganya, K., Harshavardhan, M., & Rajani, M. B. (2022). Hydrological maps as a tool for the exploration of historical water systems at Badami, Karnataka, India. Water History, 14(3), 309-333. 28 October 2022 Journal Articles
	M B Rajani co-authored Heritage Science and Society Exploring the forest and mapping its archaeology: Bandhavgarh National Park and Tiger Reserve, India Lahiri, N., Rajani, M. B., Sanyal, D., & Banerjee, S. (2022). Exploring teh forest and mapping its archaeology: Bandhavgarh National Park and Tiger Reserve, India. Current Science, 123(6), 772-780. 25 September 2022 Journal Articles
	Kuili Suganya, Mythrayi Harshavardhan, M B Rajani Heritage Science and Society The Significance of Ancient Water Systems and the Sacred Groves in the Landscape of Badami, Karnataka: A Geospatial Study Dhyani, S., Basu, M., Santhanam, H., Dasgupta, R. (eds) Blue-Green Infrastructure Across Asian Countries. Springer, Singapore. 25 March 2022 Journal Articles
	M B Rajani, Viraj Kumar co-authored Heritage Science and Society Where Was Odantapuri Located? Archaeological Evidence Using Remote Sensing, GIS and Photogrammetry. Rajani, M. B., & Kumar, V. (2021). Where was Odantapuri located? Archaeological evidence using Remote Sensing, GIS and Photogrammetry. Resonance, 26, 1287-1304. 28 September 2021 Journal Articles
	M B Rajani co-authored Heritage Science and Society A Geospatial Study of Archaeological Remains at Halebidu: An Integrative Approach to Identify Unexplored Features. Das, S., Rajani, M.B. A Geospatial Study of Archaeological Remains at Halebidu: An Integrative Approach to Identify Unexplored Features. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 49, 1025–1034 (2021) 2 January 2021 Journal Articles
	M B Rajani co-authored Heritage Science and Society Potential of geospatial technologies as a cognitive and spatio-visual tool for mapping the past. Rajani, M. B., & Dixit, S. (2021). Potential of geospatial technologies as a cognitive and spatio-visual tool for mapping the past. National Security, Vivekananda International Foundation, 4(1), 63-80. 1 January 2021 Journal Articles
	M B Rajani Heritage Science and Society Geospatial Analysis of Historical Cartographic Data of Kollam Fort Gupta, E., Rajani, M.B. Geospatial Analysis of Historical Cartographic Data of Kollam Fort. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 48, 1567–1581 (2020). 24 September 2020 Journal Articles
	M B Rajani Heritage Science and Society Riverfront Gardens and City Walls of Mughal Agra: A Study of Their Locations, Extent and Subsequent Transformations Using Remote Sensing and GIS Suganya, K., & Rajani, M. B. (2020). Riverfront Gardens and City Walls of Mughal Agra: A Study of Their Locations, Extent and Subsequent Transformations Using Remote Sensing and GIS. South Asian Studies, 36(2), 139–165. 30 March 2020 Journal Articles
	M B Rajani, Ekta Gupta Heritage Science and Society Historical Coastal Maps: Importance and Challenges in Their Use in Studying Coastal Geomorphology Gupta, E., Rajani, M.B. Historical coastal maps: importance and challenges in their use in studying coastal geomorphology. J Coast Conserv 24, 24 (2020). 30 March 2020 Journal Articles
	M B Rajani co-authored Heritage Science and Society Nalanda: A tale in the twist. Rajani, M. B., & Kumar, V. (2019). Nalanda: A tale in the twist. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 78(4), 392-408. 1 December 2019 Journal Articles
	M B Rajani co-authored Heritage Science and Society Radiocarbon dating of historical bricks: exploring the unprotected archaeological mounds in the environs of excavated site of Nalanda 1Das, S., Kumar, P., Rajani, M. B., & Chopra, S. (2019). Radiocarbon dating of historical bricks: exploring the unprotected archaeological mounds in the environs of excavated site of Nalanda. In Proce of the Indian Science Academy (Vol.85(3), pp. 619-628 3 September 2019 Journal Articles
	M B Rajani co-authored Heritage Science and Society Remote sensing investigation of the Buddhist archaeological landscape around Sannati, India Gupta, E., Rajani, M. B., & Menon, S. (2019). Remote sensing investigation of the Buddhist archaeological landscape around Sannati, India. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 25, 294-307. 1 June 2019 Journal Articles

M B Rajani
Regulation boundaries for preservation of Cultural Heritage sites
(NIAS/HUM/HSS/U/PB/09/2021)
2021