Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri ( bn, হেম চন্দ্র রায়চৌধুরী) (8 April 1892 – 4 May 1957
[Raychaudhuri, Hemchandra (1972). ''Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty'', Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 7th edition, pp. iv-vi]) was an Indian historian, known for his studies on ancient India.
Early life and education
He came from a
Baidya family. He was the son of Manoranjan Raychaudhuri, the ''Zamindar'' of Ponabalia in the present-day
Jhalokati District
Jhalokati, also spelled Jhalokathi, ( bn, ঝালকাঠি) is a district in southern Bangladesh. It is located in the Barisal Division and covers an area of 758.06 km2 It is bounded by Barisal district to the north and east, Barguna dis ...
in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
, and his wife Tarangini Devi. He completed his schooling at
Brajamohan Institution in
Barisal
Barisal ( or ; bn, বরিশাল, ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal Dist ...
. He passed the University of Calcutta's entrance examination in 1907, standing first. He then joined
Scottish Church College, Calcutta and after that
Presidency College, Calcutta, standing First in the First Class in his B.A. (Hons.) examination in 1911. For his outstanding achievements in this examination he was awarded the Eshan Scholarship. He again stood First in the First Class in his M.A. examination in 1913 and was awarded the Griffith Prize in 1919.
His nephews were
Tapan Kumar Raychaudhuri and
Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri.
Career
He taught as a lecturer in
Bangabasi College, Calcutta (1913–14). Soon after he joined the Bengal Education Service and was posted at
Presidency College, Calcutta from (1914–16). In 1916 he was transferred to
Chittagong College. Around this time
Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee offered him a Lecturership at the Department of Ancient History and Culture,
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 ...
in 1917. He was awarded a Ph.D. in Ancient Indian history from Calcutta University in 1921. In 1928 he acted as Reader in the Department of History of the
University of Dacca. In 1936 he succeeded
D. R. Bhandarkar
Devadatta Ramakrishna Bhandarkar ( mr, देवदत्त रामकृष्ण भांडारकर; 19 November 1875 – 13 May 1950) was an Indian archaeologist and epigraphist who worked with the Archaeological Survey of India (AS ...
as the
Carmichael Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture at Calcutta University from where he retired in 1952.
[M.M. Rahman, ''Encyclopedia of Historiography'', (2006), p. 357](_blank)
/ref>
Works
* ''Materials for the Study of the Early History of the Vaishnava Sect'', Calcutta: University of Calcutta (1920)
* ''Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty'', Calcutta: University of Calcutta (1923)
* ''Studies in Indian Antiquities'', Calcutta: University of Calcutta (1932)
* ''Vikramaditya in History and Legend'', Vikrama-volume, Scindia Oriental Institute (1948)
* ''An Advanced History of India
''An Advanced History of India'' is a book on Indian history written by R.C. Majumdar, Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri, H.C. Raychaudhuri and Kalikinkar Datta, first published in 1946.
This renowned book consists of two parts. And similarly, according ...
'' (Madras, 1946; last reprint in 1981) (authored with R.C. Majumdar
Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (known as R. C. Majumdar; 4 December 1888 – 11 February 1980) was a historian and professor of History of India, Indian history. Majumdar is a noted historian of modern India. He was a former Sheriff of Kolkata.
Early ...
and Kalikinkar Datta)
References
Further reading
* Panda, Harihar (2007). ''Prof. H.C. Raychaudhuri: as a Historian'', New Delhi:Northern Book Centre,
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raychaudhuri, Hem Chandra
Scholars from Kolkata
Scottish Church College alumni
Presidency University, Kolkata alumni
University of Calcutta alumni
People from Barisal District
Bengali historians
Bengali people
Bengali zamindars
Presidency University, Kolkata faculty
University of Calcutta faculty
Historians of South Asia
20th-century Indian historians
1957 deaths
1892 births
People from Jhalokati district