Prasannajit De Silva ((free)) Jun 2026

is an art historian, academic, and author whose research specializes in British visual culture of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries , specifically focusing on the complex identities shaped by the British Empire in India.

In 2018, Dr. de Silva published Colonial Self‑Fashioning in British India, c. 1785–1845: Visualising Identity and Difference through Cambridge Scholars Publishing. The book explores how British colonials in India used visual media—from portraiture and landscape painting to architecture and material culture—to construct and project their own identities. It examines the period between the consolidation of the East India Company’s territorial power and the high tide of Victorian imperialism, a time when British residents in India were actively “fashioning” a sense of themselves that was distinct both from the Indian societies around them and from their counterparts back in Britain. prasannajit de silva

Today, Prasannajit de Silva continues to be a respected voice in the development sector. His legacy is found in the robust programs he helped establish and the countless professionals he has mentored throughout his career. As the global landscape shifts toward more digitized and climate-conscious development, de Silva’s experience provides a vital bridge between traditional practices and modern innovation. is an art historian, academic, and author whose