Barun De (30 October 1932 – 16 July 2013) was an Indian historian. He served as the first professor of social and economic history of the
Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, founder-director of the
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta (CSSSC) is a social science and humanities research and teaching institute in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
History
Established in 1973 jointly by the Indian Council of Social Science Research and ...
and the
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies is an autonomous research institute based in Kolkata. It is funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India. It was founded on 4 January 1993. The foundation stone of the institute ...
, Kolkata and as the honorary state editor for the West Bengal District Gazetteers. He was chairman of the West Bengal Heritage Commission.
Early life and education
De was born into an illustrious Bengali
Brahmo
Bengali Brahmos are those who adhere to Brahmoism, the philosophy of Brahmo Samaj which was founded by Raja Rammohan Roy. A recent publication describes the disproportionate influence of Brahmos on India's development post-19th Century as unpar ...
family.
His father, Major (Honourary) Basanta Kumar De, was a high ranking officer of the
BNR.
["Historian and Administrator" - Aniruddha Ray](_blank)
Retrieved 2015-03-03 His grandfather was
Brajendranath De
Brajendranath Dey (23 December 1852 – 20 September 1932) was an early Indian member of the Indian Civil Service.
Early life and education
De studied at Hare School, Calcutta, and then Canning Collegiate School and Canning College, Lucknow. ...
,
Esq.
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman a ...
ICS.
[Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, 'Obituary' in the ''Victoria Memorial Newsletter'', 2014](_blank)
/ref> One of his eight paternal aunts was Saroj Nalini Dutt
Saroj Nalini Dutt (''née'' De) MBE (9 October 1887 – 19 January 1925) was an Indian feminist and social reformer. Background
She was born in her father, Brajendranath De’s, country house in Bandel, near Hooghly, in Bengal Province. Sh ...
, M.B.E. Uma Bose and Subrata Mitra
Subrata Mitra (12 October 1930 – 7 December 2001) was an Indian cinematographer. Acclaimed for his work in ''The Apu Trilogy'' (1955–1959), Mitra often is considered one of the greatest Indian cinematographers.
Early life and educati ...
, both older than him, were his niece and nephew on the paternal side of his family
He studied at European School, Adra and St. Xavier's Collegiate School, Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
. He completed his higher studies at Presidency College, Calcutta
Presidency University, Kolkata (formerly known as Presidency College, Kolkata) is a second major public state aided research university located in College Street, Kolkata. Considered as one of best colleges when Presidency College was affili ...
, where he was a student of Professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
Susobhan Chandra Sarkar.
He was Debate Secretary of Presidency College's Student Union.
He went to St. Catherine's Society, Oxford where he completed his 2nd B.A. (Honours School). He was awarded the Curzon Memorial Prize for his essay "Macaulay and India". He completed his D.Phil.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
thesis on "Henry Dundas and the Government of India, 1784–1801" under the supervision of Major (Dr.) C.C. Davies.[
] on a Beit studentship at Nuffield College, Oxford
Nuffield College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college and specialises in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. Nuffield is one of Oxford's newer co ...
. As the holder of this scholarship he taught students of the college. He was Secretary, Treasurer and President of the Oxford India Majlis.["Historian Barun De dead" - The Statesman, 18 July 2013](_blank)
Retrieved 2015-03-05.
He formed a lasting friendship with Professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
S. Nurul Hasan
Saiyid Nurul Hasan (26 December 1921 – 12 July 1993) was an Indian historian and an elder statesman in the Government of India. A member of the Rajya Sabha, he was the Union Minister of State (with Independent Charges) of Education, So ...
, the historian and Governor of West Bengal.
Career
De, who became a full professor at the age of 33, held various positions at various times, including a senior professorship of social and economic history and programme directorship of the Post-Graduate Training Programme of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, the founder-directorship of the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta and the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, a membership, held for three terms, of the Indian Council of Historical Research
The Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) is a captive body of the Ministry of Education, Government of India established by an Administrative Order. The body has provided financial assistance to historians and scholars through fellowshi ...
, New Delhi, a membership of the West Bengal Higher Education Commission and an honorary state editorship of the West Bengal District Gazetteers.["Professor Barun De (1932-2013)" - Sabyasachi Bhattacharya](_blank)
Indian Historical Review. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
He taught and worked abroad, among other places, at Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
as a visiting associate professor
Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''.
Overview
In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...
, the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies
The Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) is a research institute located in Shimla, India. It was set up by the Ministry of Education, Government of India in 1964 and started functioning from 20 October 1965.
History and establishment
The ...
, Shimla
Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...
, as a senior fellow, Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme, Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
as a directeur
A ''directeur sportif'' ( French for sporting director, although the original French term is often used in English-language media; plural ''directeurs sportifs'') is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is ...
, University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
and University of Milan
The University of Milan ( it, Università degli Studi di Milano; la, Universitas Studiorum Mediolanensis), known colloquially as UniMi or Statale, is a public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe ...
as a visiting professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
, and the University of World Economy and Diplomacy
The University of World Economy and Diplomacy is located in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. It was founded on September 23, 1992, by the decree of the President (government title), President Islam Karimov, Karimov to train future leaders of ...
, Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...
as the India Chair (in the rank of minister-counsellor) for three years, with attachment to the Indian Embassy of Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
,.["Historian Barun De dies at 80" - Business Standard](_blank)
Retrieved 2015-03-06. He was secretary (1974–76), sectional president (1972) and general president (1988) of the Indian History Congress.
In 2004, he was appointed to a membership of the NCERT
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India which was established in 1961 as a literary, scientific and charitable Society under the Societies Registration Act. Its head ...
textbook review committee.
In his post-retirement years, he was chairman of the West Bengal State Archives, Calcutta, a vice president of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
a member of the Board of Trustees of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, and a member of the Heritage Conservation Committee of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, in which capacity he was among the several people who prepared a list of heritage buildings of West Bengal. ''The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' has described him as "a pioneer of the heritage movement of West Bengal",["The Times of India" - Staff Reporter](_blank)
Retrieved 2015-02-27. From 2008 to 2011 he was honorary chairman (in the rank of minister-of-state) of the West Bengal Heritage Commission, of which he was a member from 2001 to 2008.
He was appointed as a Tagore National Fellow by the Government of India, which he held at the Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta (2011–2013).["Obituary" in the ''Victoria Memorial Newsletter'' - Sabyasachi Bhattacharya](_blank)
Retrieved 2015-0317.
Research
De's research spanned from early- to late-modern periods of Indian history. In the earlier part of his career he wrote on Henry Dundas and the conquest of India, while later on he addressed the Marxist critique of the colonial context of the Bengal renaissance. He was also concerned with the national movement: his popular textbook book, ''Freedom Struggle'', co-authored with Bipan Chandra
Bipan Chandra (24 May 1928 – 30 August 2014) was an Indian historian, specialising in economic and political history of modern India. An emeritus professor of modern history at Jawaharlal Nehru University, he specialized on the Indian ind ...
and Amalesh Tripathi, was censored by the new Central government that came to power in India in 1977. It has been translated into Bengali by Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya. In 1975 he edited a thick volume in honour of Prof. Susobhan Sarkar in which he wrote the main essay on his teacher which reveals his preference for objectivity and critical analysis.[Irfan Habib, "Professor Barun De (1932-2013)" in ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress'', Volume 73, 2012, p. 1554](_blank)
/ref> He was the editor of 24 Parganas and Darjeeling ''District Gazetteers''.[Irfan Habib, "Professor Barun De (1932-2013)" in ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress'', Volume 73, 2012, pp. 1553-1555](_blank)
/ref> He contributed to the editing of the Jalpaiguri District Gazetteers.[Abani Mohan Kusari, West Bengal District GazetteersL Jalpaiguri, Gazetteer of India, Calcutta, Barun De, Honorary State Editor, West Bengal District Gazetteers, Calcutta, 1981 in Michael Lampert, Discipline and Debate: The Language of Violence in Tibetan Buddhist Monastery, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012](_blank)
Views
De was well known for his criticism of the emergency of 1975–77.[Irfan Habib, "Professor Barun De (1932-2013)" in ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress'', Vol. 73, 2012, p. 1554](_blank)
/ref>
Awards
*D.Litt. (''Honouris Causa''), North Bengal University, 2000.[Akanksha Sharma, 'Barun De, The Renowned Historian and Academician Passed Away at 80' in ''Jagran Josh'', 17 July 2013](_blank)
/ref>
*Banga Samman, 2008–09
Death and legacy
De died due to renal failure
Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...
in Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
on 16 July 2013 aged 80.
The Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Calcutta has instituted a Barun De Memorial Lecture. Barun De Auditorium of Jadunath Bhavan Museum and Resource Centre, the museum of the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, is named after him.[Barun De Auditorium, CSSSC](_blank)
/ref>
Publications
*''Secularism at Bay: Uzbekistan at the Turn of the Century'' (New Delhi, 2006)
*(ed.) ''State, Development and Political Culture: Bangladesh and India'', (New Delhi, 1997) (co-edited with Ranabir Samaddar)
*(ed.) ''Mukti Sangrame Banglar Chatra-Samaj'' (''Students of Bengal in the Struggle of Liberation'') (in Bengali), (Calcutta: Paschim Banga Itihas Samsad, 1992)
*(ed.) ''West Bengal District Gazetteers, 24 Parganas'', (Calcutta, 1983)
*(ed.) ''West Bengal District Gazetteers, Jalpaiguri'', (Calcutta, 1981) (co-edited with Abani Mohan Kusari).
*(ed.) ''West Bengal District Gazetteers, Darjeeling'', (Calcutta, 1980)
*''The Dialectics Between Response to Exogenous and Autochthonous Innovation in India in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, with Special Reference to Modern Bengal'', (Tokyo: United Nations University, 1979)[The Dialectics Between Response to Exogenous and Autochthonous Innovation in India in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, with Special Reference to Modern Bengal - Barun De](_blank)
Retrieved 2018-01-12.
*(ed.) ''Perspectives in Social Sciences, 1: Historical Dimensions'' (New Delhi, 1977)[David L.Curley (reviewer), ''Perspectives in Social Sciences I: Historical Dimension'', in ''The Journal of Asian Studies'', Vol. 40, No. 1, (Nov. 1980), pp. 158–60](_blank)
/ref>[Chandak Sengoopta, ''The Rays before Satyajit: Creativity and Modernity in Colonial India'', (New Delhi, Oxford, 2016)](_blank)
/ref>
* "A Biographical Perspective on the Political and Economic Ideas of Rammohun Ray", in V.C.Joshi, (ed.), ''Rammohun Roy and the Process of Modernisation in India'', New Delhi, 1975[Amiya P. Sen, "Rammohan Roy", in Mahendra Prasad Singh and Himanshu Roy, ''Indian Political Thought: Themes and Thinkers'', (Delhi, Pearson, 2011), p. 68](_blank)
/ref>
*(ed.) ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress'', (Calcutta: Jadavpur Session, 1974)
*(ed.) ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress'', (Aligarh: Aligarh Session, 1975)
*(et al. eds.) ''Essays in Honour of Professor Sushobhan Chandra Sarkar'' (New Delhi, 1975)
*''Freedom Struggle'' (New Delhi, 1972), (co-authored with Bipan Chandra
Bipan Chandra (24 May 1928 – 30 August 2014) was an Indian historian, specialising in economic and political history of modern India. An emeritus professor of modern history at Jawaharlal Nehru University, he specialized on the Indian ind ...
and Amalesh Tripathi)"Freedom Struggle" - Bipan Chandra, Amalesh Tripathi and Barun De
Retrieved 2015-02-18.
See also
*NCERT textbook controversies
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an apex resource organisation set up by the Government of India to assist and advise the central and state governments on academic matters related to school education.
The model ...
References
External links
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Calcutta
Lives Less Forgotten: Barun De
{{DEFAULTSORT:De, Barun
1932 births
2013 deaths
20th-century Bengalis
Bengali Hindus
Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford
Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford
Bengali historians
Indian historians
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20th-century Indian historians
20th-century Indian writers
20th-century Indian male writers
20th-century Indian scholars
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20th-century Indian educators
Brahmos
Deaths from kidney failure
Economic historians
Historians of South Asia
Indian civil servants
Indian Marxist historians
Indian Institute of Management Calcutta faculty
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Presidency University, Kolkata alumni
Scientists from Kolkata
University of Calcutta faculty
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