The American Historical Association (AHA) awarded the 2024 John F. Richards Prize to Merchants of Virtue: Hindus, Muslims, and Untouchables in Eighteenth-Century India by Divya Cherian. The prize recognizes the best book in South Asian history, and it will be awarded at the AHA's 138th annual meeting in January 2025.

Merchants of Virtue was also a finalist for the 2024 Best First Book in the History of Religions, given by the American Academy of Religion.

Divya Cherian is Associate Professor of History.