Nationality Indian Name Rajendralal Mitra Ethnicity Bengali Hindu Role Author | Occupation Orientalist Died July 26, 1891, Kolkata Religion Hinduism | |
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Born 15 February 1824 ( 1824-02-15 ) Kolkata, Bengal, British India Books The Sanskrit Buddhist, Archaeology in India, Food and Drinks in Ancient In, On Human Sacrifices in Ancient, The Antiquities of Orissa | ||
Raja Rajendralal Mitra (15 February 1824 – 26 July 1891) was the first modern Indologist of Indian origin, and was a key figure in the Bengal Renaissance. He was pioneer in scientific study of history and contributed substantially in the field of archaeology. Eminent Historian Professor R.S. Sharma writes that he was: "A great lover of ancient heritage, he took a rational view of ancient society and produced a forceful tract to show that in ancient times people ate beef." He was the author of Antiquities of Orissa (1872). In 1846 he was appointed librarian of the Asiatic Society, and to that society the remainder of his life was devoted—as philological secretary, as vice-president, and as the first Indian president in 1885.
In 1876 the University of Calcutta honoured Mitra with a honorary doctorate degree.
Works
Apart from very numerous contributions to the society's journal, and to the series of Sanskrit texts entitled "Bibliotheca indica," he published four separate works: