Manu S Pillai is an Indian writer and historian. Author of five books, his first, The Ivory Throne (2015) won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar, awarded by India’s National Academy of Letters to writers under 35. His latest work is Gods, Guns & Missionaries: The Making of the Modern Hindu Identity (2024)–a study of colonialism and religious evolution. Manu is a regular contributor to various national publications in India, and holds a PhD in history from King’s College London.