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A. K. Narain
[[File:]] Prof. A.K. Narain at his office
Born	Gaya, India
Nationality (legal)	Indian
Alma mater	Banaras Hindu University
Known for	Research on the Indo-Greeks
Scientific career
Fields	Archaeology, History, Numismatics, Indology
Institutions	University of Wisconsin Madison USA, Banaras Hindu University

Professor A.K.Narain is an Indian historian and numismatist who has published extensively on the subject of Indian history, and especially the Indo-Greeks.[1] He is rather famous for his book "The Indo-Greeks" (published in 1956), in which he opposed the theses of British historian Sir William Woodthorpe Tarn, and a numismatical study "The coin types of the Indo-Greeks". His works have been analysed by scholars.[2][3]

Biography

EDUCATION

1954 : Ph.D. in History from School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, U.K. 1957 : M.A. in Ancient Indian History and Culture from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, with First position in First Division Field Archaeology : Training under the supervision of Sir Mortimer Wheeler, D.G. of the Archaeological Survey of India 1945 : B.A. from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, First Division, First position in Honours. 1941 : Matriculation (High School) from Northbrook School, Darbhanga, Bihar, India.

Career

(1) Present Position Founder-Director, Bhikkhu J. Kashyap Institute of Buddhist and Asian Studies, Sarnath, Varanasi, U.P., India. Emeritus Professor of History and South Asian Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. (2) Positions held in the past (in reverse order) : (i) At the University of Wisconsin, Madison : 1971-90 : Professor of History and South Asian Studies. 1966-67 : Visiting Professor of Indian Studies.

(ii) At the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India : 1980-81 : Manindra Chandra Nandi Professor of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology 1969-71 : Dean, Faculty of Arts (Humanities).

		1963-69	: 	Principal, College of Indology

1960-71 : Manindra Chandra Nandi Professor and Head of the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology 1959-71 : Director of Archaeological Excavations and Explorations Programme of Banaras Hindu University. 1960-71 : Director of Wisconsin College-Year-in-India Program. 1953-60 : Reader (Associate Professor) in AIHCA. 1947-53 : Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in AIHCA.

(iii) At other Places : 1994-95 : Visiting Fellow at the Columbia University in New York as well as at the New York University, New York. 1984-85 : Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, USA. 1977 : Visiting Professor at Visvabharati, Shantiniketan, W.B., India 1971 : Visiting Professor, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minn. USA. 1959-60 : Research Associate, School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London, London, U.K.

IV. SCHOLARSHIPS/FELLOWSHIPS AND OTHER FINANCIAL SUPPORTS :

1941-47 : Merit Scholarship all through college career. 1952-54 : Holkar Fellowship for Higher Studies Abroad, for going to UK to do Doctoral work at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. 1956 : A Rockefeller grant, at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, to participate in the preparatory seminars and the International Conference in Historical Writings in Asia. 1959-60 : Research Associateship at the SOAS, London. 1966-67 : Ford Foundation grant to work as Consultant for the editing of Special Lectures on Indian Civilization at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wi, USA. 1971-73 : Ford and Brittingham Foundation support for Research time as Professor at the U.W., Madison, Wi. USA. 1973-74 : Guggenheim Fellowship for Research. 1974 : Travel grant from the American Council of Learned Society. 1976 : Travel grant from the American Institute of Indian Studies. 1977 : Research Grant from American Philosophical Association. 1982 : Travel grant from the American Institute of Indian Studies. 1983-84 : Fellowship at the Institute of Research in Humanities, University of Wisconsin, Madison. 1984-85 : Fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. 1991 : Travel grant from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations, Govt. of India to participate in a Symposium on the Date of the Buddha on the occasion of the 10th-Conference of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, at UNESCO, Paris as well as for participation at the 34th Permanent International Conference of Altaistic Studies at Berlin.

Research contributions

ACADEMIC/PROFESSIONAL AWARDS/HONOURS/RECOGNITIONS, AND ROLES =

1947 : Dayaram Sahni Gold Medal for obtaining First position in M.A.in Ancient Indian History and Culture. 1956 : Invited under Rockefeller grant, for a period of six months, for the preparatory seminars the International Conference on Historical Writings on Asia at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. 1959-60 : Organised an InternatIonal Symposium on the Date of Kanishka, papers of which were later edited by A.L. Basham, and published by E.J. Brill, Leiden, 1968. 1961 : Chakravikrama Gold Medal awarded by the Numismatic Society of India for the best contribution to numismatic scholarship in a seven-year period. 1970 : General Secretary, and later Chairman, of the Numismatic Society of India. 1959-74 : Assistant Editor, Editor, and later Chief Editor, of the Journal of the Numismatic Society of India. 1963-70 : Editor, Bharati, Research Bulletin of the College of Indology/Indological Studies, BHU. 1965 : Government of India Cultural Exchange Scholar to the Academy of Sciences, U.S.S.R and also to Poland, Outer Mongolia and Afghanistan. 1967-70 : Founder General Secretary of Indian Archaeological Society. 1967-70 : Chief-Editor, Puratattva, Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of India. 1968 : President, Ancient India Section of the Indian History Congress. 1970-71 : Appointed by the Govt. of India, as one of the Members of the Committee headed by Justice Khosla to review the activities of the three national Akademies-Sahitya Akadami. Lalit Kala Akadami, Sangit-Natak Akadami-and the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. 1971 : Member of the Govt. of India delegation to the 28th International Congress of Orientalists, Canberra, Australia. 1973- : Founder Member of the Executive Committee of the Epigraphical Society of India. 1974-77 : Chairman, Buddhist Studies Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison. 1976-86 : Founder-General Secretary, International Association of Buddhist Studies. 1976-86 : Editor-in-chief of the Journal of International Association of Buddhist Studies. 1979 : Member of the Selection Committee for the Bickford Chair in Art History at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass, USA. 1981 : Chairman, U.P. Coin Committee, Lucknow. 1982- : Elected Honorary Fellow of the Numismatic Society of India. 1983 : Visited the Peoples Republic of China, for a month, on invitation by the Academy of Social Sciences of PRC, under the Distinguished Scholars Exchange Program of the National Academy of Sciences, USA.

		1986	: 	General President of the Special Joint Conference of the Indian Archaeological Society, Indian Society of Pre-history and Quaeternary Studies, and the Indian history and culture Society, on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of the National Museum, New Delhi, Jan. 1986. 

1986 : President of the 50th International Conference of Buddhist Education Taipei, Taiwan. 1986-90 : Chairman of the International Association of Buddhist Studies. 1987- : Founder Director of the Bhikkhu J. Kashyap Institute of Buddhist and Asian Studies, Sarnath, Varanasi, India. 1989- : Editor-in-Chief, The Indian Journal of the Buddhist Studies. 1989-93 : Editor-in-Chief, The Indian Journal of Asian Studies. 1990 : Organized a Workshop, with a theme paper, on the “Date of the Buddha” at the BJK Institute of Buddhist and Asian Studies. 1990 : President of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Taipei, Taiwan. 1990 : Honoured for scholarship in Ancient history and archaeology by the Bihar Puravid Parisad, Patna. 1991 : Elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 1991 : Organized a Workshop, with a theme paper, on “Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Buddhism and Social Change” at the BJK Institute of Buddhist and Asian Studies, Sarnath. Proceedings published in 1994. 1991 : Invited as one the three scholars (the other two being Professors Bechert of Gottingen and Gombrich of Oxford) to participate in a symposium on the Date of the Buddha at the 10th Conference of the International Association of Buddhist Studies held at UNESCO in Paris. 1991 : Presented a paper on “The Yuezhi-Kushan concept of Sovereignty in Inner Asia” at the 34th Meeting of the Permanent International Conference of Altaic Studies, held at Berlin. 1991 : Delivered the Inaugural Address at the 1st Conference of Archaeo-Metallurgy in India held at the Banaras Hindu University.

1991 : Delivered the Presidential Address for the 1st Conference of the Indian Society of Greek and Roman Studies at Bareilly, published in Society’s Journal, Yavanika, no. 2. 1993 : Delivered three lectures on The "Earliest Sakas of South Asia” as K.P. Jayaswal Memorial Lectures, at Patna. 1993 : Founder-Chairperson of the Indian Congress of Asian and Pacific Studies. 1993 : Delivered a Keynote Address at the Conference on Maritime Heritage of India held at Bhuvanesvar. 1993 : Presided at a 3-day Workshop on Dating in Indian Archaeology, held in Mysore. 1994 : Read a paper entitled, “A Case-Study of the Soma-drinking Sakas : their Central Asian and Vedic linkages” in the panel on Language, Anthropology and Archaeology at the World Archaeology Congress-3 held at New Delhi 1994. 1994 : As Chief Editor brought out the first issue of the Asia-Prashant, the Journal of the Indian Congress of Asian and Pacific Studies. 1995 : Delivered the General presidential Address at the First Conference of the Indian Congress of Asian and Pacific Studies, held at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. 1996 : General President for the Joint Session in New Delhi of the Indian Archaeological Society, Indian Society for Pre-historic and Quarternary Studies and the Indian History and Culture Society.

1996 : Delivered Professor H.D. Sankalia Lecturers in New Delhi, on the topic “From Ordos to to Oxus : The Tokharians and their Odyssey,”. 1998 : Delivered the inaugural address at a Seminar on at the Centre of Peace Studies, B.H.U. 1998 : Delivered the inaugural address on the concept of Values at the Malaviya Centre for the study of values

Internationally, his services in archaeology, and ancient history were commended through various prestigious honours and awards such as:

Publications

(i) BOOKS AND MONOGRAPHS

1. Dhammapad, (Pali text with Sanskrit rendering and Hindi translation), Mahabodhi Society, Sarnath, 1945-46 . 2. Coin-types of the Indo-Greek Kings, (Numismatic Notes and Monographs No. 1 of the Numismatic Society of India) Varanasi, India, 1954; reprinted by Argonaut & Co. Chicago, 1967. Third reprint. 1977. 3. The Indo-Greeks, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1957 Reprinted, 1962 and 1980 by OUP. 4. Coin-types of Saka-Pahlava Kings. Numismatic Notes and Monographs Series No. 4 of the Numismatic Society of India)jointly with G.K. Jenkins, Varanasi, 1957. 5. The Chronology of the Punch-marked Coins, edited jointly with L. Gopal, Varanasi. 1966. 6. Prahladpur, (Report of Archaeological Excavation,), jointly with T.N. Roy, Banaras Hind University, 1968. 7. Seminar papers on the local Coins of Northern India, Edited jointly with Banaras Hind University, Varanasi, 1968. 8. Prachina Lipishastra aur Abhilekhaki (A work in Hindi in Ancient Indian palaeography and Epigraphy), jointly with T.P. Verma, Varanasi, 1970. 9. Excavations at Rajghat, Part I & II, with T.N. Roy, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 1976-77. 10. Excavations at Rajghat, Part III, with P.Singh, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 1977. 11. Excavations at Rajghat, Part IV, with P.K. Agrawala, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 1978. 12. Studies in Pali and Buddhism, (Editor), B.R. Publishing Corp., New Delhi 1978. 13. Studies in the History of Buddhism, (Editor), B.R. Publishing Corp., New Delhi 1978. 14. Studies in Buddhist Art of South Asia, (Editor), Kanak Publishing House, New Delhi, 1985. 15. Dr.B.R. Ambedkar, Buddhism and Social Change, (Editor), B.R. Publishing, Corp. New Delhi, 1994. 16. Greek-Bhartiya or Yavan, (trans. into Hindi by Mrs. Usha Narain under ICHR sponsorship) Varanasi - 1996. 17. The Earliest Sakas of South Asia, (K.P. Jayaswal Lecture) Patna, 1998.

(ii) LIST OF SELECTED ARTICLES :

1. “Some New Ephthalite Coins,” JNSI, XI, Pt. 1 1949). pp. 41 ff. 2. “Some interesting Coins of Sophytes and the Problems of His Identification,” JNSI, XI, Pt. 11 (1949). pp. 93 ff. 3. “Some Rare Coins of the Indo-Bactrians.” JNSI, XIII, Pt. 1 (1949), pp. 100 ff. 4. “Coins of Ramgupta: (see the same title under P.L. Gupta).” JNSI, XIII, Pt. 1 (1950), pp. 112fff. 5. “Unique Inscribed Buddha Image of Mathura School of Sculpture,” Journal of Bihar Research Society, Patna (India), XXXVI, Pt. 1 and 11 (1950), pp. 51 ff. 6. “Buddhagupta and His Gold Coins,” JNSI, XII, Pt. 11 (1950), pp. 157 ff. 7. “A New Coin of Rudrasena, Son of Swami Jivadaman.” JNSI, XII, Pt. 11 (1950), pp. 167 ff. 8. “A Rare Silver Plated Coin of Kumaragupta 1,” JNSI, XIII, Pt. 1 (1951), pp. 76 ff. 9. “Remarkable Discovery of Some Indo-Greek Victory Madallians,” JNSI, XV, Pt. 11 (1953), pp. 213 ff. 10. “Some New Attic Tetradrachms of the Indo-Greeks,” JNSI, XVI, Pt. 11 (1954), pp. 183 ff. 11. “Notes on Chronology of the Punch-Marked Coins,” JNSI, XVI, Pt. 11 (1957), pp. 99 ff. 12. “Appolodotus and His Coins,” JNSI, XIX, Pt. 11 (1957), pp. 121 ff. 13. “A Note on Karshapana,” JNSI, XIX, Pt. 11 (1957), pp. 181 ff. 14. “A Unique Gold and Two Silver Coins of Huvishka,” JNSI, XXII, pp. 97 ff. 15. “Numismatists and Historical Writing,” in Historians of India, Pakistan and Ceylon ed. by C.H. Philips, Oxford 1961, Rep. 1962), pp. 94 ff. 16. “Coins of Toramana andMihirkula,” ,” JNSI, XXXIV, Pt. 1-11 (1962), pp. 42 ff. 17. A New Coin of Vasisthiputra Pulumavi,” ,” JNSI, (1962), pp. 42 ff. 18. “Ahraura Inscription of Ashoka,” Bharati, Bulletin of the College of Indology, V. Pt. 1 (1961-62), pp. 97 ff. 19. “Writing a New History of Ancient India, a Study of Problems, Sources and Methods,” Bharati, Bulletin of the College of Indology, VI, Pt. 11 (1962-1963), pp. 12 ff. Also Published in Problems of Historical Writing in India, Proceedings of the seminar held at the India International Centre, New Delhi (1963), pp. 1 ff. 20. “A Note on Some Coins of Toramana and Mihirakula,” Bharati, Bulletin of the College of Indology, V Pt. 1 (1962-1963), pp. 132 ff. 21. “A Summary Account of Archaeological Explorations in East U.P. 1961-1962,” (jointly with P.C. Pant), Bharati, Bulletin of the College of Indology, Vol. 8 (1964-1965), pp. 115-35. 22. “Alexander and India,” Greece and Rome, XII (1965), pp. 155 ff. 23. “The Date of Kanishka,” in Papers on the Date of kanishka, ed. by A.L. Basham, Leiden (1968), pp. 206 ff. 24. “A Postscript on the Date of Kanishka,” papers on the Date of Kanishka, ed. A.L. Basham (1968), pp. 240 ff. 25. “Presidential Address, Ancient Indian Section, Indian History Congress. 30th Session,” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 30th Session, Patna (1969), pp. 23 ff. 26. “the Early Movement of the Sakas and the Pahlavas,” Studies in Asian History (Proceedings of Asian History Congress, 1961), Delhi, (1969), pp. 62 ff. 27. “The Two Hindu Divinities on the Coins of Agothocles from Ai-Khanum,” JNSI, XXXV (1973), pp. 73 ff. 28. “On the Greek Epigraphs from Ai-Khanum,” Purabhilekha Patriak, Journal of the Epigraphical Society , 1 (1974), pp. 97 ff. 29. “Presidential Address, Diamond Jubilee Session of the Numismatic Society of India, 1973,” JNSI, XXXVI, (1974), pp. 1980-91. 30. “On the Earliest Ganesha,” pranavitana Commemoration Volume, E.J. Brill, Leiden, (1977-1978). 31. “Our Buddha in an Ashokan Inscription,” in The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Vol. I (1978), pp. 57-64. 32. “Towards A New History of Buddhism,” in Studies in History of Buddhism ed. by A.K. Narain, New Delhi, (1979). 33. “The Kushana State : A Preliminary Study,” in The Study of the State, ed. by Claessen and Skalnik Mouton, The Hague/New York (1981). 34. “Religious Policy and Toleration in the Gupta Age,” in Essays in the Gupta Civlization, ed. by Bardwell L. Smith, New Delhi (1982) pp. 17-51. 35. “the five Yabghus and the Yueh-Chih,” in India : History and Thought, ed. by S. Mukherji, Calcutta (1982), pp. 174-185. 36. “Ganesa on Hermaens, coin,” Numismatic Digest, Bombay Vol. VI (1982) pp. 26-29. 37. “Urban Settlements and Culture in Delhi and its environs in ancient times,” in Delhi, by R.E. Frykenberg, Oxford University Press (1985), pp. 3-17. 38. “The Earliest Brahmi Inscription Outside India,” Journal of the American Oriental Society (1986), pp. 797-801. 39. “The Greek Monogram and Ai-Khanum-the Bactrian Greek City,” Numismatic Digest, Bombay, Vol. X (1986), pp. 4-15. 40. “On the Chinese Homeland of the First Indo-Europeans,” (paper read at the 31st International Congress of Human Sciences in Asia and North Africa, Tokyo, 1983, and published in Man and Environment, Bombay (1987), pp. 1-14. 41. “On the problem of the Identity of Saka Hanumavarga and Amyrgioi,” Bulletin of the Asia Institute, Vol. I, Detroit (1987). 42. “On Some Greek Inscriptions from Ai-Khanum,” in Annali, Vol. 47 (Institute Universitario Orientale) Naples, (1987) pp. 269 ff. 43. “On the Foundation and Chronology of Ai Khanum : A Greek-Bactrian City” in India and the Ancient World: History, Trade and Culture before A.D. 650. ed. G. Pollet, Leuven (1987). 44. “From Pre-History to History,” The General Presidential Address at the Joint Session of the Indian History And Culture Society, Indian Archaeological Society and the Indian Society of Pre-History and Quarternary Studies, New Delhi, 3rd Jan. 1986, Published in 1987. 45. “Notes on some Inscriptions from Ai-Khanum Afganistan,” in Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Bonn 69 (1987), pp. 277-282. 46. “Iconographic Origins of Ganesa and Evidence of the Indo-Greek Coinage,” in Orientalia Iosephi Tucci Memoraia Dicota, ed. by G. Gnoli and L. Lanciotti, Rome (1988), pp. 1007-1019. 47. “The Greek of Bactira,” Chapter 11 of Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. VIII, ed.by Walbank and Austin, Cambridge, (1989). 48. “Indo-Europeans in inner Asia,” chapter VI in Cambridgte Ancient of Inner Asia ed. by Denis Sinor, 89/90. 49. “A Political History of Ancient India, the old and the New,” in Writing of Political History of Ancient India: New Trends and Prospects, ed. by S.R. Goyal, Meerut, 1990. 50. “Ganesa: A protohistory of the idea and the icon,” in Ganesh Studies of an Asian God, Ed. by Robert L. Brown, State University of New York, 1991, Indian Edition by Manohar, Delhi, 1992. 51. “A Review of Klaus Kartttunen’s India in Early Greek Literature, Helsinki, 1989,” in The Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1992-1993. 52. “Presidential Address for the First Conference of the Indian society of Graeco-roman Studis,” Ruhelkhand University, Bareilly, November 29-30, 1991, published in Yavanika, The Journal of the Graeco-Roman Studies, No. 2, 1992-1993. 53. “A clinching Evidence on the Date of Gotama and Buddha,” in Professor Tsukamoto Felicitation Volume, Sendai, Japan, 1993. 54. “The date of Gotama Bddha’s Parinirvana, in The Dating of the Historical Buddha; Die Datierung des historichen Buddha, Part II Ed. by Bechert, Gottingen, 1993. 55. Ambedkar, Buddha and Social Change: More questions than Answers,” in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Buddhism and Social Change, 1994.

(iii) CONTRIBUTION TO ENCYCLOPAEDIAS, DICTIONARIES ETC.

1. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2. Oxford Classical Dictionary 3. Visvakosh (In Hindi) 4. Encyclopaedia of Asian History

(iv) SEVERAL REVIEW ARTICLES AND NOTES IN VARIOUS PERIODICALS e.g. 1. Journal of Asian History 2. Journal of the Numismatic Society of India 3. Puratattva, Bulletin of the Indian Archaeological Society 4. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 5. Indian Journal of Buddhist Studies 6. Indian Journal of Asian Studies 7. Asia-Prashant, the Journal of the Indian Congress of Asian and Pacific Studies 8. Journal of the American Oriental Society 9. Pacific Affairs

External links

A. K. Narain is an Indian historian and numismatist who has published extensively on the subject of Indian history, and especially the Indo-Greeks. He is rather famous for his book "The Indo-Greeks" (published in 1956), in which he opposed the theses of British historian Sir William Woodthorpe Tarn, and a numismatical study "The coin types of the Indo-Greeks". His works have been analysed by scholars.

External links

• Hellenistic India, by Rachel Mairs