Barun De
Encyclopedia
Barun De (born October 30, 1932) is an India
n historian
whose main area of research is Modern India. He has specialised in the social and economic history of India in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Bengal Renaissance
, and British constitutional history.
family of Calcutta. His parents were Basanta Kumar De
, esq., the Chief of Traffics of the Bengal Nagpur Railway and an army major
and Pramila Dé (née Gupta). As a hostel student in the Brahmo Girls School, Calcutta
, and then in Bethune College, Calcutta
, his mother was involved with the Bengal Volunteers Movement led by Lila Ray and others, which under Subhas Chandra Bose's guidance formed a procession in military uniforms, that Bose led on horseback ahead of the procession of the Congress President, Motilal Nehru
to the pandal of the Calcutta Congress Session in Park Circus in 1928. This march has been seen as one of the origins of Bose's later formation of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment in the Indian National Army
.
His paternal grandfather was Brajendranath De
, esq. ICS, a long serving Magistrate and Collector
of Hooghly
and Commissioner
(offtg) of Burdwan Division in Bengal
. Some of his paternal uncles were Sir
Sarat Kumar Ghosh
, ICS, a former Chief Justice
of Rajasthan
, Jaipur
and Jammu and Kashmir
, Gurusaday Dutt
, esq., ICS, a former Secretary, Local Self Government and Public Health, Government of Bengal, and the founder of the Bratachari movement of Bengal, Col. Jyotish Chandra De
, IMS
, an eminent physician who became the 2nd Indian Principal of Calcutta Medical College and Dr. Pares Chandra Datta
, an eminent doctor, who was a former Director, Health Services, Government of West Bengal. His maternal granduncle was Amrita Lal Gupta, a well known Brahmo
preacher and writer from Dacca. Also, on his mother's side, he is a nephew of the eminent Bengali poet, Jibanananda Das
.
and Presidency College, Calcutta. In college he was a student of Professor Susobhan Chandra Sarkar
. After his graduation he went to St Catherine's Society, Oxford
to complete a second B.A. in History and later obtained an M.A. from the University of Oxford
. From 1957 to 1958 he taught as Lecturer
in history at the University of Calcutta
. He completed his D.Phil. in Indian history at Nuffield College, Oxford
in 1961. While he was completing his thesis he was a Tutor
at Nuffield College. His Oxford thesis, completed under the supervision of Dr. C.C.Davies, was entitled Henry Dundas and the Government of India, (1773–1801): A Study in Constitutional Ideas. He was Reader
in History at the University of Burdwan from 1961 to 1963. From 1965 to 1969 and then again from 1971 to 1973 he was Senior Professor
of Social and Economic History of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta
(IIM Calcutta). In the intervening period between 1969 and 1971 he was a Fellow
of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Simla
. From 1973 to 1993 he was Professor
of History at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
(CSSSC). He was the UGC
National Lecturer in 1981. From 1997 to 1998 he was the Maulana Azad Fellow at the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Calcutta. From 1998 to 2001 he was the India Chair
at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Tashkent, Uzbekistan. From 2010 to 2012 he will be the Government of India's Tagore Memorial Fellow at the Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta.
He has taught as Visiting Professor and Visiting Associate Professor and has held Directeurships at universities and institutes at Duke
, Paris
, Milan
, Sydney
and Tokyo
.
He has delivered a number of chaired lectures. Some of them are: Devraj Chanana Memorial Lecture (Delhi) (1974), UGC National Lectures (Burdwan, North Bengal University, Siliguri
, Jawaharlal Nehru University
, New Delhi
) (1979), D.D. Kosambi Memorial Lectures (Goa University
) (1993), Khuda Buksh Memorial Lecture (Khuda Buksh Memorial Library, Patna
) (2007), Heras Memorial Lecture (St. Xavier's College, Mumbai) (2008), The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Lecture (National Museum of Scotland
) (2009) and the Foundation Day Lecture of Presidency College, Calcutta (2010).
and Tennis Secretary of the Students' Union. In Oxford he became a member of the Socialist Club and was also elected as the Treasurer
, Secretary
and then the President
of the Oxford India Majlis.
At the IIM he was the first Indian Post-Graduate Programme Director, and contributed to the setting up of the management diploma course there. From 1973 to 1983 he was the First
-Director of the CSSSC
. He was the General Secretary
(from 1973 to 1975) and the General
President
(1988) of the Indian History Congress, Dharwar Session. He was the Honorary Director, Eastern Regional Centre, Calcutta from 1973 to 1983. From 1979 to 1983 he was State Editor
of the West Bengal
District Gazetteers. From 1993 to 1997 he was the First
-Director of the MAKAIAS. He was also Chairman of the West Bengal State Archives, Calcutta and the Gurusaday Dutt Folk Art Society, Calcutta. He is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Directorate of Archeology, Government of West Bengal. He was Chairman of the West Bengal Heritage Commission (WBHC) from 2008 to 2011, which was a political appointment.
He is the Vice Chairman of the Centre for Archeology and Training, Eastern India, and is also a Vice President
of the Asiatic Society
, Calcutta. He was also the General Secretary of the Governing Body of Patha Bhavan, Kolkata
.
He has held memberships of numerous other organisations, such as the Karma Samity of Visva-Bharati University
, Santiniketan
, the Indian Council of Historical Research
, New Delhi
(from 1972 to 1978 and then again from 2004 to 2007) and several committees of the Indian Council for Social Science Research, New Delhi. He was a member of the West Bengal Commission
for the Planning of Higher Education. He was also a member of the Executive Council of the Centre for Development Studies
, Trivandrum and A.N.Sinha Institute of Social Sciences, Patna
. He was also a member of ICSSR Area Studies and International Collaboration Agreements Committees in the 1970s. He was a member of the Indo-Soviet Joint Commission on the Social Sciences in the mid-1980s. From 1993 to 1997 he was a member of the General Council of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations
, New Delhi. After his retirement he became a member of the Executive Council of the Indian Statistical Institute
, Calcutta. He is now a member of the Society of the MAKAIAS, the Board of Trustees of the Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta and the governing body of the Indian Museum, Calcutta. He was also a member of the Heritage Buildings' Conservation Committee
and the Road Renaming Committee of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
whose main area of research is Modern India. He has specialised in the social and economic history of India in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Bengal Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, and British constitutional history.
Background
He was born in a BrahmoBrahmo
A Brahmo is either an adherent of Brahmoism to the exclusion of all other religions, or a person with at least one Brahmo parent or guardian and who has never denied his faith...
family of Calcutta. His parents were Basanta Kumar De
Basanta Kumar De
-Background and education:He was born in Balasore, Orissa. He was born in a Brahmo family of Calcutta. He was the second son of Brajendranath De, Esq., ICS, a long serving Magistrate and Collector of Hooghly and Commissioner of Burdwan Division in Bengal and Nagendranandini De...
, esq., the Chief of Traffics of the Bengal Nagpur Railway and an army major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
and Pramila Dé (née Gupta). As a hostel student in the Brahmo Girls School, Calcutta
Brahmo Balika Shikshalaya
≥Brahmo Balika Shikshalaya, popularly called "Brahmo Girls School", located at 294 APC Roy Road, Kolkata 700009, is a Bengali-medium girls' school founded by the Brahmo Samaj...
, and then in Bethune College, Calcutta
Bethune College
Bethune College is a women's college in India. It was founded as a school in 1849 by John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune and in 1879 developed as the first women's college in India. It is located at 181, Bidhan Sarani, Kolkata -700006, just opposite the current campus of Scottish Church College,...
, his mother was involved with the Bengal Volunteers Movement led by Lila Ray and others, which under Subhas Chandra Bose's guidance formed a procession in military uniforms, that Bose led on horseback ahead of the procession of the Congress President, Motilal Nehru
Motilal Nehru
Motilal Nehru was an early Indian independence activist and leader of the Indian National Congress, who remained Congress President twice, and...
to the pandal of the Calcutta Congress Session in Park Circus in 1928. This march has been seen as one of the origins of Bose's later formation of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment in the Indian National Army
Indian National Army
The Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance...
.
His paternal grandfather was Brajendranath De
Brajendranath De
-In Calcutta and Lucknow:He was born at his maternal grandfather's home at 123, Manicktala Street, Calcutta. His father's family, originally from Uttar Rarh in Bengal, belonged to the newly emerging middle class of Calcutta. He describes them as Kayastha bhadraloks in his unpublished memoir...
, esq. ICS, a long serving Magistrate and Collector
Deputy Commissioner (India)
The deputy commissioner or district magistrate or district collector or district magistrate and collector is the head of the revenue administration of an Indian district. The DC is required to be an Indian Administrative Service officer who is in charge of governmental assets in his district of...
of Hooghly
Hooghly District
Hooghly district is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal in India. It can alternatively be spelt Hoogli or Hugli. The district is named after the Hooghly River.The headquarters of the district are at Chinsura...
and Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
(offtg) of Burdwan Division in Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
. Some of his paternal uncles were Sir
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Sarat Kumar Ghosh
Sarat Kumar Ghosh
-Background and education:He was the son of Rai Bahadur Tarini Kumar Ghosh, Inspector General of Registration of the Government of Bengal. He was a student of Mitra Institution, Calcutta and Presidency College, Calcutta, and then went to study in Trinity College, Cambridge. He entered the ICS in 1903...
, ICS, a former Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
and Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
, Gurusaday Dutt
Gurusaday Dutt
Gurusaday Dutt was a civil servant, politician, folklorist, and writer.-Early Life and education:He was the son of the Ramkrishna Dutt Chaudhuri and Anandamayee Debi...
, esq., ICS, a former Secretary, Local Self Government and Public Health, Government of Bengal, and the founder of the Bratachari movement of Bengal, Col. Jyotish Chandra De
Jyotish Chandra De
Colonel Jyotish Chandra De IMS was a doctor in the Indian army, a civil servant and an eminent practitioner of modern medicine.-Education:After completing his FRCS examinations in London, he joined the Indian Medical Service.-Career:...
, IMS
Indian Medical Service
The Indian Medical Service was one of the military medical services, which also had some civilian functions, in British India. It served during the two world wars, and was in existence until the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947...
, an eminent physician who became the 2nd Indian Principal of Calcutta Medical College and Dr. Pares Chandra Datta
Pares Chandra Datta
Pares Chandra Datta Esq. was a physician and civil servant. He specialised in surgery.-Background and education:He was born in Silchar in the district of Cachar in Assam . His family owned substantial tracts of land in Lakhai, presently in Bangladesh, for several centuries...
, an eminent doctor, who was a former Director, Health Services, Government of West Bengal. His maternal granduncle was Amrita Lal Gupta, a well known Brahmo
Brahmo
A Brahmo is either an adherent of Brahmoism to the exclusion of all other religions, or a person with at least one Brahmo parent or guardian and who has never denied his faith...
preacher and writer from Dacca. Also, on his mother's side, he is a nephew of the eminent Bengali poet, Jibanananda Das
Jibanananda Das
Jibanananda Das was a noted Bengali poet. He is considered one of the precursors who introduced modernist poetry to Bengali Literature, at a period when it was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore's Romantic poetry....
.
Academic
He studied at St. Xavier's Collegiate School, CalcuttaSt. Xavier's Collegiate School
St. Xavier's Collegiate School was established in 1860 in Kolkata, India by missionaries of the Society of Jesus. The school is named after St. Francis Xavier...
and Presidency College, Calcutta. In college he was a student of Professor Susobhan Chandra Sarkar
Susobhan Sarkar
-Background and education:Sarkar was born into a Brahmo family of Dhaka. After attending Dhaka Collegiate School and then studying history at Presidency College, Calcutta, he continued his studies at Jesus College, Oxford from 1923 to 1925. His daughter was Sipra Sarkar, a brilliant student of...
. After his graduation he went to St Catherine's Society, Oxford
St Catherine's College, Oxford
St Catherine's College, often called Catz, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its motto is Nova et Vetera...
to complete a second B.A. in History and later obtained an M.A. from the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. From 1957 to 1958 he taught as Lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
in history at the University of Calcutta
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta is a public university located in the city of Kolkata , India, founded on 24 January 1857...
. He completed his D.Phil. in Indian history at Nuffield College, Oxford
Nuffield College, Oxford
Nuffield College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is an all-graduate college and primarily a research establishment, specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. It is a research centre in the social sciences...
in 1961. While he was completing his thesis he was a Tutor
Tutor
A tutor is a person employed in the education of others, either individually or in groups. To tutor is to perform the functions of a tutor.-Teaching assistance:...
at Nuffield College. His Oxford thesis, completed under the supervision of Dr. C.C.Davies, was entitled Henry Dundas and the Government of India, (1773–1801): A Study in Constitutional Ideas. He was Reader
Reader (academic rank)
The title of Reader in the United Kingdom and some universities in the Commonwealth nations like Australia and New Zealand denotes an appointment for a senior academic with a distinguished international reputation in research or scholarship...
in History at the University of Burdwan from 1961 to 1963. From 1965 to 1969 and then again from 1971 to 1973 he was Senior Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Social and Economic History of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta
Indian Institute of Management Calcutta
The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta is an institute of management located in Kolkata , India giving diplomas in management...
(IIM Calcutta). In the intervening period between 1969 and 1971 he was a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Simla
Shimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
. From 1973 to 1993 he was Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of History at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
The Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta is an autonomous research centre devoted to the research and advancement of the social sciences in South Asia...
(CSSSC). He was the UGC
University Grants Commission (India)
The University Grants Commission of India is a statutory organisation set up by Union government in 1956, for the coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of university education. It provides recognition for universities in India, and provides funds for government-recognised...
National Lecturer in 1981. From 1997 to 1998 he was the Maulana Azad Fellow at the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Calcutta. From 1998 to 2001 he was the India Chair
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Tashkent, Uzbekistan. From 2010 to 2012 he will be the Government of India's Tagore Memorial Fellow at the Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta.
He has taught as Visiting Professor and Visiting Associate Professor and has held Directeurships at universities and institutes at Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
He has delivered a number of chaired lectures. Some of them are: Devraj Chanana Memorial Lecture (Delhi) (1974), UGC National Lectures (Burdwan, North Bengal University, Siliguri
Siliguri
Siliguri is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located in the Siliguri Corridor or Chicken's Neck - a very narrow strip of land linking mainland India to its north-eastern states. It is also the transit point for air, road and rail traffic to the neighbouring countries of Nepal,...
, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University, also known as JNU, is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. It is mainly a research oriented postgraduate University with approximately 5,500 students and a faculty strength of around 550.-History:...
, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
) (1979), D.D. Kosambi Memorial Lectures (Goa University
Goa University
Goa University was established in 1985 and merged with the Centre for Post Graduate Instruction and Research of the University of Bombay that functioned at state-capital Panaji or Panjim. Goa University offers both graduate and post-graduate studies and research programmes...
) (1993), Khuda Buksh Memorial Lecture (Khuda Buksh Memorial Library, Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
) (2007), Heras Memorial Lecture (St. Xavier's College, Mumbai) (2008), The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Lecture (National Museum of Scotland
National Museum of Scotland
The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the Royal Museum next door, with collections covering science and technology, natural history, and world...
) (2009) and the Foundation Day Lecture of Presidency College, Calcutta (2010).
Administrative
As a student in Presidency College he was a Debate SecretarySecretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
and Tennis Secretary of the Students' Union. In Oxford he became a member of the Socialist Club and was also elected as the Treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
, Secretary
Secretary
A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
and then the President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the Oxford India Majlis.
At the IIM he was the first Indian Post-Graduate Programme Director, and contributed to the setting up of the management diploma course there. From 1973 to 1983 he was the First
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
-Director of the CSSSC
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
The Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta is an autonomous research centre devoted to the research and advancement of the social sciences in South Asia...
. He was the General Secretary
General Secretary
The office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
(from 1973 to 1975) and the General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
(1988) of the Indian History Congress, Dharwar Session. He was the Honorary Director, Eastern Regional Centre, Calcutta from 1973 to 1983. From 1979 to 1983 he was State Editor
Literary editor
A literary editor is an editor in a newspaper, magazine or similar publication who deals with aspects concerning literature and books, especially reviews. A literary editor may also help with editing books themselves, by providing services such as proof reading, copy-editing, and literary...
of the West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
District Gazetteers. From 1993 to 1997 he was the First
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
-Director of the MAKAIAS. He was also Chairman of the West Bengal State Archives, Calcutta and the Gurusaday Dutt Folk Art Society, Calcutta. He is the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Directorate of Archeology, Government of West Bengal. He was Chairman of the West Bengal Heritage Commission (WBHC) from 2008 to 2011, which was a political appointment.
He is the Vice Chairman of the Centre for Archeology and Training, Eastern India, and is also a Vice President
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
of the Asiatic Society
Asiatic Society
The Asiatic Society was founded by Sir William Jones on January 15, 1784 in a meeting presided over by Sir Robert Chambers, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at the Fort William in Calcutta, then capital of the British Raj, to enhance and further the cause of Oriental research. At the time of...
, Calcutta. He was also the General Secretary of the Governing Body of Patha Bhavan, Kolkata
Patha Bhavan, Kolkata
Patha Bhavan ' is a private co-educational school in Kolkata, India. The school was established on June 28th, 1965.-History:The school was named after the university school of Visva-Bharati University . It was inspired by the education system started by the poet Rabindranath Tagore as well as the...
.
He has held memberships of numerous other organisations, such as the Karma Samity of Visva-Bharati University
Visva-Bharati University
Visva Bharati University is a Central University for research and teaching in India, located in the twin towns of Santiniketan and Sriniketan in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India...
, Santiniketan
Santiniketan
Santiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, approximately 180 kilometres north of Kolkata . It was made famous by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a university town that attracts thousands of visitors each year...
, the Indian Council of Historical Research
Indian Council of Historical Research
The Indian Council of Historical Research is a Society . The ICHR is registered under Societies registration Act 1860 with the Department of Industries of Delhi Government, Delhi.Role...
, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
(from 1972 to 1978 and then again from 2004 to 2007) and several committees of the Indian Council for Social Science Research, New Delhi. He was a member of the West Bengal Commission
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
for the Planning of Higher Education. He was also a member of the Executive Council of the Centre for Development Studies
Centre for Development Studies
The Centre for Development Studies , Trivandrum, Kerala, India is a premier social science research institution. Over the years it has established a tradition of interdisciplinary research on development problems in India. Its main objective is to promote research, teaching and training in...
, Trivandrum and A.N.Sinha Institute of Social Sciences, Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
. He was also a member of ICSSR Area Studies and International Collaboration Agreements Committees in the 1970s. He was a member of the Indo-Soviet Joint Commission on the Social Sciences in the mid-1980s. From 1993 to 1997 he was a member of the General Council of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations
Indian Council for Cultural Relations
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations , is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India’s external cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their peoples...
, New Delhi. After his retirement he became a member of the Executive Council of the Indian Statistical Institute
Indian Statistical Institute
Indian Statistical Institute is a public research institute and university in Kolkata's northern outskirt of Baranagar, India founded by Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in 1931...
, Calcutta. He is now a member of the Society of the MAKAIAS, the Board of Trustees of the Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta and the governing body of the Indian Museum, Calcutta. He was also a member of the Heritage Buildings' Conservation Committee
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
and the Road Renaming Committee of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation.
Ideology
He is considered to be a Marxist and secular historian. In 2004 he was appointed by the Government of India to review history textbooks published previously by the NCERT. Being a committed Marxist historian since the 1950s, he has openly opposed the newly installed ultra right-wing Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal.Awards and honours
- Gopimohan Deb Scholarship, Presidency College, Calcutta 1953–54
- Curzon Memorial Essay Prize, Oxford, 1957
- Beit Senior Research Scholarship, Nuffield College, Oxford, 1958–61
- Doctor of LettersDoctor of LettersDoctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...
, Honoris Causa by North Bengal University, 2000 - Banga Samman Award, 2008–09
Books
- Secularism at Bay: Uzbekistan at the Turn of the Century (New Delhi, 2006)
- (ed.) State, Development and Political Culture: Bangladesh and India, (New Delhi, 1997) (Co-edited with Ranabir Samaddar)
- (ed.) Mukti Sangrame Banglar Chatro-Chamaj (Students of Bengal in the Struggle of Liberation) (in Bengali), (Calcutta: Paschim Banga Itihas Samsad, 1992)
- (ed.) West Bengal District Gazetteers, 24 Parganas, (Calcutta, 1983)
- (ed.) West Bengal District Gazetteers, Darjeeling, (Calcutta, 198?)
- (ed.) Perspectives in Social Sciences, 1: Historical Dimensions (New Delhi, 1977)
- (ed.) Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, (Calcutta: Jadavpur Session, 1974)
- (ed.) Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, (Aligarh: Aligarh Session, 1975)
- (et al. eds.) Essays in Honour of Professor Sushobhan Chandra Sarkar (New Delhi, 1975)
- Freedom Struggle (New Delhi, 1972), (Co-authored with Bipan Chandra and Amalesh Tripathi)