Rao Bahadur __NOTOC__ Rao may refer to: Geography * Rao, West Sumatra, one of the districts of West Sumatra, Indonesia * Råö, a locality in Kungsbacka Municipality, Halland County, Sweden Transport * Dr. Leite Lopes–Ribeirão Preto State Airport , IAT ...

Kashinath Narayan Dikshit (21 October 1889 – 12 August 1946) was an Indian archaeologist who served as

Director-general A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...

of 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) from 1937 to 1944.

Early life and education

Dikshit was born on 21 October 1889 in a

Karhade Brahmin Karhaḍe Brahmins (also spelled as Karada Brahmins or Karad Brahmins) are a Hindu Brahmin sub-caste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra, but are also distributed in states of Goa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Classification Along wi ...

family of

Pandharpur Pandharpur (Pronunciation: əɳɖʱəɾpuːɾ is a well known pilgrimage town, on the banks of Candrabhagā River, near Solapur city in Solapur District, Maharashtra, India. Its administrative area is one of eleven tehsils in the District, ...

in the then

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

(now

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Career

Dikshit worked as Superintendent of Archaeology in the

Indian Museum The Indian Museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India, also referred to as the Imperial Museum at Calcutta in colonial-era texts, is the ninth oldest museum in the world, the oldest and largest museum in India as well as in Asia. It has rare ...

before joining the Archaeological Survey. In the ASI, he served as Government Epigraphist and as Deputy Director-General. He was a part of

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...

's team which excavated

Mohenjodaro Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men';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 ...

to excavate the site of Bangarh in

South Dinajpur Dakshin Dinajpur () or South Dinajpur is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. It was created on 1 April 1992 by the division of the erstwhile West Dinajpur District. The Headquarter (sadar) of the district is at Balurghat. It ...

. Between 1940-44,. the ASI conducted large-scale excavations at Ahicchatra near

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...

. Dikshit retired in 1944 and was succeeded by

Sir Mortimer Wheeler Sir Robert Eric Mortimer Wheeler CH CIE MC TD (10 September 1890 – 22 July 1976) was a British archaeologist and officer in the British Army. Over the course of his career, he served as Director of both the National Museum of Wales a ...

References

* {{authority control 1889 births 1944 deaths 20th-century Indian archaeologists Directors General of the Archaeological Survey of India People from Solapur district Scientists from Maharashtra Indian institute directors