Hetukar Jha (5 March 1944-19 August 2017) was an Indian author, professor, researcher, and Fulbright Scholar. He was an honorary managing trustee of the Maharajadhiraja Kameshwar Singh Kalyani Foundation.
Early life and family
Jha was born on 5 March 1944 in Sarisav Pahi village, Madhubani district, Bihar. His father was Babu Chemkar Jha, also known as Baldeo Jha, and his mother was Mohini Devi. He studied in the village school.
Jha married Indira Singh Jha in 1960 and they had three sons. He donated all of his family heirlooms to the Chandradhari Mithila State Museum, Darbhanga to create a gallery on the name of his father.
He attended Patna Science College and went on to Post Graduate work at Patna University. He gained his B.A. Hons. in Sociology at Patna College in 1965, his M.A. in Sociology at Patna University in 1967, and his PhD in Sociology at Patna University in 1980.
He joined Patna University as a Lecturer on Sociology in 1968 and retired as Professor and Head of the Department of Sociology in January 2004.
In 1984–85 he was on the interview-board of Fulbright Scholarship offered by USEFI. He also had a two-year stint as Director of Shulabh Institute of Social Sciences.
Beginning in 1968, he did research on the societies and cultures of Bihar. Among his conclusions is that: A basic problem is the break down of the traditional village community as a functioning whole.
He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 1972 by the US Educational Foundation in India.
Jha died on 19 August 2017 in Patna, Bihar at the age 73. He was survived by his wife and sons.
Among the publications of Hetukar Jha, are the following:
Man in Indian Tradition: Vidyapati’s Discourse on Purush, Aryan Books International, New Delhi, 2002, ISBN 978-81-7305-217-0.Perspectives on Indian Society and History: A Critique, edited, Manohar, New Delhi, 2002, ISBN 978-81-7304-422-9.Mithila in the Nineteenth Century : Aina-i-Tirhut of Biharilal ‘Fitrat’, edited, Kameshwar Singh Bihar Heritage Series – 5, M.K.S.K.Foundation, Darbhanga,2001.Amaranatha Jha, Makers of Indian Literature Series, Sahitya Akademy, New Delhi, 1997, ISBN 978-81-260-0294-8.A Glimpse of Tirhut in the second Half of the Nineteenth Century: Riaz-I-Tirhut of Ayhodhya Prasad ‘Bahar’, edited, Kameshwar Singh Bihar Heritage Series – 3, M.K.S.K.Foundation, Darbhanga, 1997.Ganganatha Jha, Makers of Indian Literature series, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1992, OCLC 30810275.Social Structures of Indian villages: A Study of Rural Bihar Sage Publications India, New Delhi, 1991, ISBN 978-0-8039-9687-8.Upnivesh Kalin Mithilaka Gam O Gamak Nimna Varga (in Mithilli), Maithili Academy, Government of Bihar, Patna, 1988. This book discusses the condition of the lower classes of the region of Mithila (north Bihar) during the colonial period.Colonial Context of Higher Education in India, Usha Publications, New Delhi, 1985.Social Structures and Alignments: A Study of Rural Bihar, (with J.B.P.Sinha, Surendra Gopal and K.M. Tiwary) Usha Publications, New Delhi, 1985.Autobiographical Notes Of Mahamahopadhyaya Dr. Sir Ganganatha Jha (edited), Ganganatha Jha Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Allahabad, 1976.Tirhut in Early Twentieth Century: Mithila Darpan of Ras Bihari Lal Das, edited, Kameshwar Singh Bihar Heritage Series – 8, M.K.S.K.Foundation, Darbhanga, 2005.Courage and Benevolence : Maharajadhiraja Kameshwar Singh (1907–1962), (edited) Kameshwar Singh Bihar Heritage Series – 10, M.K.S.K.Foundation, Darbhanga, 2007.India : Some Crucial Questions, (edited) Kameshwar Singh Bihar Heritage Series – 12, M.K.S.K.Foundation, Darbhanga, 2007.Reflections on History, Society and Social Change in India Hetukar Jha ed., Daanish Books, 2012, ISBN 978-93-81144-25-1.Articles
Jha, Hetukar (1977). "Lower-Caste Peasants and Upper-Caste Zamindars in Bihar (1921–1925): An Analysis of Sanskritization and Contradiction between the Two Groups". The Indian Economic and Social History Review. 14 (4): 549–559. doi:10.1177/001946467701400404. Jha, Hetukar (1980). "Permanent Settlement in Bihar". Social Scientist. 9 (1): 53–57. JSTOR 3517142. Jha, Hetukar (1994). "Tradition, Violence and Modernisation: Understanding the Legitimation Crisis of Indian Political Order". The Eastern Anthropologist. 47 (4): 327–340. 