Ramesh Chandra Majumdar
| Ramesh Chandra Majumdar রমেশচন্দ্র মজুমদার |
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|---|---|
| Born | 4 December 1888 Khandapara, Faridpur, Bengal, British India |
| Died | 12 February 1980 (aged 91) Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Ethnicity | Bengali Hindu |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (Bengali: রমেশচন্দ্র মজুমদার) (December 4, 1888 – February 12, 1980) was an Indian historian of great repute. He is sometimes called "the dean of Indian historians" for his colossal contribution to the study of Indian history.[1][2][3]
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[edit] Early life and education
Born at Khandapara, in Faridpur District (now in Bangladesh), Majumdar passed his childhood in poverty. In 1905, he passed his Entrance Examination from Ravenshaw College, Cuttack. In 1907, he passed F.A. with first class scholarship from Ripon College (now Surendranath College) and joined Presidency College, Calcutta. Graduating in B.A.(Honours) in 1909, he won the Premchand-Roychand scholarship from the University of Calcutta for his research work in 1913.
[edit] Career
He started his teaching career as a Lecturer at Dacca Government Training College. Since 1914, he spent seven years as a professor of history at the University of Calcutta. He got his doctorate for his thesis "Corporate Life in Ancient India". In 1921, he joined the newly established Dacca University. After spending his days there as a Professor, then Departmental Head and then Provost, he became the Vice Chancellor of that university for five years from 1937–1942. From 1950, he was Principal of the College of Indology, Benares Hindu University. He was elected the General President of the Indian History Congress and also became the Vice President of the International Commission set up by the UNESCO for the history of mankind.
[edit] Works
He started his research on ancient India. After extensive travels to Southeast Asia and research, he wrote detailed histories of Champa (1927), Suvarnadvipa (1929) and Kambuja Desa. On the initiative of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, he took up the mantle of editing a multi-volume tome on Indian History. Starting in 1951, he toiled for twenty six long years to describe the history of the Indian people from the Vedic Period to the present day in eleven wonderful volumes. When the final volume of "The History and Culture of the Indian People" was published in 1977, he had turned eighty-eight. He also edited the three-volume history of Bengal published by Dacca University. His last book was "Jivaner Smritidvipe".
[edit] Views on the Indian independence movement
When the Government of India set up an editorial Committee to author a history of the freedom struggle of India, he was its principal member. But, following a conflict with the then Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad on the Sepoy Mutiny, he left the government job and published his own book: "The Sepoy Mutiny & Revolt of 1857". According to him the origins of India's freedom struggle lie in the English-educated Indian middle-class and the freedom struggle started with the Banga Bhanga movement in 1905. His views on the freedom struggle can be gone through in detail in his book "History of the Freedom Movement in India". He was also an admirer of Vivekananda and Ramakrishna.
[edit] Bibliography
- The Early History of Bengal, Dacca, 1924.
- Champa, Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East, Vol.I, Lahore, 1927. ISBN 0-8364-2802-1
- Suvarnadvipa, Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East, Vol.II, Calcutta,
- The History of Bengal, 1943. ISBN 81-7646-237-3
- Kambuja Desa Or An Ancient Hindu Colony In Cambodia, Madras, 1944
- An Advanced History of India. London, 1960. ISBN 0-333-90298-X
- The History and Culture of the Indian People, Bombay, 1951–1977 (in eleven volumes).
- Ancient India ISBN 81-208-0436-8
- History of the Freedom movement in India (in three volumes), Calcutta, ISBN 81-7102-099-2.
- Vakataka – Gupta Age Circa 200–550 A.D. ISBN 81-208-0026-5
- Main currents of Indian history ISBN 81-207-1654-X
- Classical accounts of India
- Hindu Colonies in the Far East, Calcutta, 1944, ISBN 99910-0-001-1
- India and South-East Asia, I.S.P.Q.S. History and Archaeology Series Vol. 6, 1979, ISBN 81-7018-046-5.
- The History of Ancient Lakshadweep, Culcutta, 1979
- Corporate Life in Ancient India, Calcutta.
