Name Barun De Role Historian | ||
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Alma mater St. Xaviers Collegiate SchoolPresidency College, CalcuttaSt Catherine's College, OxfordNuffield College, Oxford Books Secularism at Bay: Uzbekistan at the Turn of the Century Education Nuffield College, Oxford, Presidency University, Kolkata, St Catherine's College, Oxford Died 16 July 2013 (aged 80) Calcutta, West Bengal Born 30 October 1932 (age 80), Calcutta, Bengal Notable students Sumit Sarkar, Dipesh Chakrabarty, Rudrangshu Mukherjee Nationality Indian | ||
Historian Barun dey passes away: Historians mourn his death
Barun De (30 October 1932 – 16 July 2013) was an Indian historian. He served as First-Professor of History and Director of the Post-Graduate Training Program of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, and then as the First-Director of the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta and also of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Calcutta. He was also the (Honorary) State Editor for the West Bengal District Gazetteers. He was also Chairman of the West Bengal Heritage Commission.
Contents
- Historian Barun dey passes away Historians mourn his death
- Early life and education
- Career
- Research
- Awards
- Death
- Posthumous
- Publications
- References
Early life and education
De was born into an illustrious Brahmo family. His father, Basanta Kumar De, was a high ranking official of the Bengal Nagpur Railways. His grandfather was Brajendranath De, ICS. He studied at St. Xavier's Collegiate School, Calcutta. He completed his higher studies at Presidency College, Calcutta, where he was a student of Professor Susobhan Chandra Sarkar and later at St. Catherine's Society, Oxford and Nuffield College, Oxford, where he was awarded the Curzon Memorial Prize for his essay "Macaulay and India", before completing his D.Phil. thesis on "Henry Dundas and the Government of India, 1784-1801" under the supervision of Dr. C.C. Davies. He was a president of the Oxford India Majlis.
He formed a lasting friendship with S. Nurul Hasan, the historian and Governor of West Bengal.
Career
De held various positions at various times, including a senior professorship at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, the founder-directorship of the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta and the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, a membership, held for three terms, of the Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi, and the role of honorary state editor of the West Bengal District Gazetteers. He taught and worked abroad, among other places, at Duke University as a visiting associate professor, the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla, as a senior fellow, Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme, Paris as a directeur, University of Sydney and University of Milan as a visiting professor, and the University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Tashkent as the India Chair for three years, with attachment to the Indian Embassy of Uzbekistan,. He was secretary and president of the Indian History Congress.
In his post-retirement years, he was chairman of the West Bengal State Archives, Calcutta, a vice president of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, and a member of the Heritage Conservation Committee of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, in which capacity he was among several people who prepared a list of heritage buildings of West Bengal. The Times of India has described him as "a pioneer of the heritage movement of West Bengal", From 2008-2011 he was honorary chairman of the West Bengal Heritage Commission, of which he was a member from 2001-2008. In 2004, he was appointed to a membership of the NCERT textbook review committee.
He was a Tagore National Fellow at the Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta.
Research
De's research spanned from early- to late-modern periods of Indian history. In the earlier part of his career he wrote on Henry Dundas and the conquest of India, while later on he addressed the Marxist critique of the colonial context of the Bengal renaissance. He was also concerned with the national movement: his popular textbook book, Freedom Struggle, co-authored with Bipan Chandra and Amalesh Tripathi, was censored by the new Central government that came to power in India in 1977. It has been translated into Bengali by Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya.
Awards
Death
De died due to renal failure in Kolkata on 16 July 2013 aged 80.
Posthumous
The Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Calcutta has instituted a Barun De Memorial Lecture.