Bipan Chandra

Bipan Chandra (born 1928) is an Indian historian, specialising in economic and political history of modern India.

Chandra has been associated with the "Marxist school" of Indian historiography. Presently, he is the Chairman of the National Book Trust, New Delhi He was a member of the University Grants Commission, New Delhi. He was also a Chairperson of CHS, JNU.

Biography

Chandra was born in Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh. His original surname is Sud, but he decided to exclude it from his said name, in order to uphold his ideologies based on egalitarianism. Incidentally, Chandra married into a prominent Sud family.

Education

He was educated at Forman Christian College, Lahore, Stanford University, USA and the University of Delhi, where he completed his Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Bishweshwar Prasad.

Career

Academic

He taught for many years as Lecturer at Hindu College, Delhi. He was the UGC National Lecturer in 1973-74. He was a Reader in the History Department of Delhi University, before becoming the Professor of History at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, soon after the university was founded. He was one the earliest members of the Centre for Historical Studies (CHS), JNU and helped in setting it up. He is presently an Emeritus Professor at the CHS. He was also a Visiting Professor at the Colegio de Mexico.

He was the General President of the Indian History Congress in 1985. He set up the journal Enquiry and was a member of its editorial board for a long time.

He has delivered several chaired lectures, such as Kosambi Memorial Lecture, K.P.Jayswant Memorial Lecture, V.D.Mahajan Memorial Lecture, Heras Memorial Lecture, and the inaugural lecture of the first E.M.S. Namboodiripad Memorial Seminar.

Administration

Presently, he is the Chairman of the National Book Trust, New Delhi He was a member of the University Grants Commission, New Delhi. He was also a Chairperson of CHS, JNU.

Ideological Beliefs

He has been at the forefront of the pro-communist struggle in India since independence.

The historians with impeccable academic credentials, and international renown like R.S. Sharma, Romila Thapar, Bipan Chandra, Satish Chandra and Arjun Dev whose text books had been prescribed in schools for a long time were under virulent attack from communalists.

Publications

• Communalism: A Primer, (New Delhi, 2004)
• In the Name of Democracy: The JP Movement and the Emergency, (New Delhi, 2003)
• Essays on Colonialism, (New Delhi, 1999)
• India After Independence, (jointly with Mridula Mukherjee and Aditya Mukherjee), (New Delhi, 1999)
• Ideology and Politics in Modern India, (New Delhi, 1994)
• Essays on Indian Nationalism, (New Delhi, 1993)
• Essays on Contemporary India, (New Delhi, 1993)
• The Epic Struggle, (New Delhi, 1992)
• India's Struggle for Independence, 1857-1947, (New Delhi, 1989)
• Indian National Movement: The Long Term Dynamics, (New Delhi, 1988)
• Communalism in Modern India, (New Delhi, 1984)
• The Indian Left: Critical Appraisal, (New Delhi, 1983)
• Nationalism and Colonialism in Modern India, (New Delhi, 1979)
• Freedom Struggle, (jointly with Amalesh Tripathi and Barun De), (New Delhi, 1972))
• The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India: Economic Policies of Indian National Leadership, 1880-1905, (New Delhi, 1966)

See also

• Marxist historiography

External links

• Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• National Book Trust, New Delhi
• http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1815/18150930.htm
• http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1809/18090880.htm
• "Delhi Historians Group's Publication "Communalization of Education: The History Textbooks Controversy", A report in 2002, New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University, India