Devadatta Ramakrishna Bhandarkar ( mr, देवदत्त रामकृष्ण भांडारकर; 19 November 1875 – 13 May 1950) was an Indian archaeologist and

epigraphist Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

who worked with the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...

(ASI). Born in Marathi

Gaud Saraswat Brahmin Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) (also Goud or Gawd) are a Hindu Brahmin community of the north. The Konkani speaking Gaud Saraswat of Goa and southern India claim to be descendents of these Gaud Saraswat Brahmins of the north that migrated to ...

family, he was the son of eminent

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is o ...

R. G. Bhandarkar Sir Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar ( mr, रामकृष्ण गोपाळ भांडारकर) (6 July 1837 – 24 August 1925) was an Indian scholar, orientalist, and social reformer. Early life Ramakrishna Bhandarkar was b ...

Early life

Bhandarkar was born on 19 November 1875. On graduating in history, Bhandarkar joined the ASI and was posted to the western circle as an assistant to Henry Cousin. As Assistant Superintendent, Bhandarkar worked in the then

Rajputana Rājputana, meaning "Land of the Rajputs", was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan, as well as parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and some adjoining areas of Sindh in modern-day ...

, excavating the city of Nagari in

Chittorgarh district Chittorgarh district is one of the 33 districts of Rajasthan state in western India. The historic city of Chittaurgarh is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district was established on 1 August 1948 by integrating portions of ...

in 1915–16. He succeeded

George Thibaut George Frederick William Thibaut (March 20, 1848 – 1914) was an Indologist notable for his contributions to the understanding of ancient Indian mathematics and astronomy. Life Thibaut was born in Germany, worked briefly in England, and then in ...

as the

Carmichael Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture The Carmichael Chair of Ancient Indian History and Culture is a history professorship in the University of Calcutta, India; its holder is known as Carmichael Professor. The post was created by Ashutosh Mukherjee in 1912 after Baron Carmichael the ...

in the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

and held the post from 1917 to 1936. Gandhiji met Dr. Bhandarkar in 1915 at

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

, Bombay Presidency in regards to the South African Indian question.Gandhi (1940)
Chapter "Poona And Madaras".
As Superintending Archeologist of the Western Circle of ASI, he visited Mahenjodaro in 1911-12. He dismissed the ruins as only 200 years old, with 'bricks of a modern type' and 'a total lack of carved terra-cottas amidst the whole ruins'.

John Keay John Stanley Melville Keay FRGS is a British historian, journalist, radio presenter and lecturer specialising in popular histories of India, the Far East and China, often with a particular focus on their colonisation and exploration by Europe ...

had called his assessment as ''"''wrong in every detail, this statement must rank amongst archaeology's greatest gaffes''."''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhandarkar, Devadatta Ramakrishna 1875 births 1950 deaths 20th-century Indian archaeologists Marathi people University of Calcutta faculty Scientists from Pune 19th-century Indian archaeologists Indian epigraphers 20th-century Indian linguists Historians of South Asia