Khudiram Das (9 October 1916 – 28 April 2002) was an Indian scholar, educationist, critic, litterateur, an authority on Rabindra literature and

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

expert.

Early life and family

Khudiram Das was born in

Beliatore Beliatore is a Census Town and a Gram Panchayat in the Barjora CD block in the Bankura Sadar subdivision of the Bankura district in the state of West Bengal, India. Beliatore is the birthplace of artist Jamini Roy. History Binoy Ghosh visite ...

situated in

Bankura Bankura () is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura district. Etymology In the Mahabharata, Bankura was described as Suhmobhumi. The word or (in Nagari: rāḍh) was introduced af ...

District,

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

to Satish Chandra Das and Kaminibala Devi. He studied in Middle English School in

till Sixth standard and passed the Matric Examination in 1933 with Letter marks in Bengali and Sanskrit and I.A. Examination in 1935 from

Bankura Zilla School Bankura Zilla School is one of the oldest and Best schools of Bankura District, West Bengal. Established in 1840 this school is popularly known as Zilla School. The main language of instruction used is Bengali. History Bankura Zilla School was ...

, achieving 1st Division in both examinations. He graduated in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

with Honours from

Bankura Christian College Bankura Christian College, established in 1903, is the oldest college in Bankura district in India. It offers undergraduate courses in arts and sciences. It is affiliated with the Bankura University. History Bankura Christian College was esta ...

attaining 1st Class Third position in the year 1937. He then moved to

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 ...

(then Calcutta) for higher studies. He completed his Master’s (M.A.) in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

from

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 ...

attaining 1st Class 1st position with the then record marks of 72.6%. He was endowed with the Calcutta University Gold Medal and 5 endowment Gold Medals and Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee Silver Medal for standing First in Class in M.A Bengali. He was also awarded with Kavya Tirtha and Kavya Ratna for his excellence in

. He passed B.T. examination in 1941.

Research degree

He was awarded the

D.Litt. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

degree of

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, C ...

in 1962 which was the first Doctor of Literature awarded in

Bengali Literature Bengali literature ( bn, বাংলা সাহিত্য, Bangla Sahityô) denotes the body of writings in the Bengali language and which covers Old Bengali, Middle- Bengali and Modern Bengali with the changes through the passage of time ...

. ''Rabindra Pratibhar Parichay'', his first book on Tagore's poetical genius, won him this award.

Career

He started his career as a School Inspector in 1941 and continued in that post for a few months. He taught at the Calcutta Women’s College and

Scottish Church College Scottish Church College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co-educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in A ...

from 1941 to 1944, Presidency College from 1945 to 1955, Cooch Behar Raj College in 1955, Krishnagar Government College from 1955 to 1959,

Maulana Azad College Maulana Azad College, formerly Islamia College, is a public institute of liberal arts, commerce and science in India, located in central Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The college is fully government-administered. It is located near the junction of R ...

(then Central Calcutta College) from 1959 to 1973,

Hooghly Mohsin College Hooghly Mohsin College (HMC) began on 1 August 1836 as the New Hooghly College. It was established by Muhammad Mohsin, who also started other colleges. On its 100th anniversary it was renamed Hooghly Mohsin College. It became affiliated to Univer ...

in 1973, and as a Part Time Lecturer at

Rabindra Bharati University Rabindra Bharati University is a public research university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on May 8, 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. ...

from 1969 to 1973. He taught at the

Ramtanu Lahiri Ramtanu Lahiri (1813–1898) was a Young Bengal leader, a teacher and a social reformer. Peary Chand Mitra wrote about him, "There are few persons in whom the milk of kindness flows so abundantly. He was never wanting in appreciation of what ...

Professor of Bengali & Head of the Department of Modern Indian Languages from 1973 to 1981. He retired from government service in the rank of West Bengal Government Senior Education Service. He was engaged with many organizations and held important positions. He was the President of Bangiya Sanskrita Siksha Parishad, Govt. of West Bengal, Member of Calcutta University Senate Arts Faculty and Ph. D committee,

Bangiya Sahitya Parishad Bangiya Sahitya Parishat is a literary society in Maniktala of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Established during the time of the British Raj, its goal is to promote Bengali literature, both by translating works in other languages to Bengali and ...

, Paschimbanga Bangla Academy,

Rabindra Sadan Rabindra Sadan is a cultural centre and theatre in Kolkata, located close to the St. Paul's Cathedral on Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road in South Kolkata. It is noted for its large stage which is a prime venue for Bengali theatre and Kolk ...

Committee, and Editorial Board of ''Rabindra Rachanabali Publication Committee'' (Govt. Of W.B.). After his retirement from active career, he was the Chief Editor of a project of West Bengal State Book Board on a linguistic dictionary of current Bengali words, titled "Bengali Linguistic Dictionary for both Bengalis and Non-Bengalis", from 1982 to 1994.

Lectures

He was invited by the

to deliver the D.L. Roy Lecture and the Vidyasagar Lecture.

Works

*''Rabindra Pratibhar Parichay'' (রবীন্দ্র প্রতিভার পরিচয়) (1953) *''Bangla Kavyer Rup o Riti'' (বাংলা কাব্যের রূপ ও রীতি) (1958) *''Chitra Gitamayi Rabindra Vani'' (চিত্র গীতময় রবীন্দ্র বানী) (1966) *''Vaishnava Rasa Prokash'' (বৈষ্ণব রস প্রকাশ) (1972) *''Samaj Pragati Rabindranath'' (সমাজ প্রগতি রবীন্দ্রনাথ) (1973) *''Rabindra Kalpanay Bigyaner Adhikar'' (রবীন্দ্র কল্পনায় বিজ্ঞানের অধিকার) (1984) *''Bangla Sahityer Adya Madhya'' - A History of Bengali Literature (বাংলা সাহিত্যের আদ্য মধ্য) (1985) *''Banan Bananor Bondore'' (বানান বানানোর বন্দরে) (1993) *''Choddosho Sal O Choloman Rabi'' (চদ্দোশো সাল ও চলমান রবি) (1993) *''Desh Kal Sahitya'' (দেশ কাল সাহিত্য) (1995) *''Santhali Bangla Samashabda Abhidhan'' (সাঁওতালি বাংলা সমশব্দ অভিধান) (1998) *''Bachai Prabandha'' (বাছাই প্রবন্ধ) (A collection of 14 essays, edited by Manas Majumdar) (2000) *''Pather Chhayachabite Adhyapak Khudiram Das'' (পথের ছায়াছবিতে অধ্যাপক ক্ষুদিরাম দাস) (edited by Manas Majumdar) (1996) He edited the ''Kavikankan Chandi'' by Mukundaram Chakrabarty in 1976. He also edited ''Rabindra Prasanga Bodh'', a book published by Govt. of West Bengal. He was the Chief Editor of a project of West Bengal State Book Board on a linguistic dictionary of current Bengali words, titled "Bengali Linguistic Dictionary for both Bengalis and Non-Bengalis", from 1982 to 1994. Some of his books are available in ebook format in his website the link to which is http://professorkhudiramdas.com/ebooks-by-professor-khudiram-das. মনীষয়া দীপ্যতি (Manishoya Dipyoti) was published by Dey's Publishing in 2016 commemorating 100 Years of Birth Anniversary of Dr. Das. Ebooks -
Shikkha Bhabna
(শিক্ষা ভাবনা)
Samaj Bhabna
(সমাজ ভাবনা)
Banan Bananor Bondore
(বানান বানানোর বন্দরে)
Amar Rabindranath
(আমার রবীন্দ্রনাথ)
Choloman Khudiram Das (চলমান ক্ষুদিরাম দাস)Bangla Sahityer Adyo-Modhyo (বাঙলা সাহিত্যের আদ্য-মধ্য)Prosongo Khudiram Das (্প্রসঙ্গ ক্ষুদিরাম দাস)Rabindranather Bigyan Boron (রবীন্দ্রনাথের বিজ্ঞান বরণ)Pratibadi Kobi Rabindranath
(প্রতিবাদী কবি রবীন্দ্রনাথ)

Honors

He was conferred the title of ''Kavya Tirtha'' and ''Kavya Ratna'' for his expertise in Sanskrit Language and the title of ''Adya Madhya'' in Sanskrit Grammar. He was endowed with the Calcutta University Gold Medal and 5 endowment Gold Medals and Sir Ashutosh Silver Medal for standing First in Class in M.A Bengali. Khudiram Das Bust

He was bestowed with many honors including. Pranotosh Ghatak Smriti Puraskar (1973) Vidyasagar Smriti Puraskar ( Govt. Of West Bengal) (1984) Sarojini Basu Gold Medal (

) (1987) Sahitya Ratna (Howrah Pandit Samaj) (1987) Rabindra Tattwacharya (Tagore Research Institute) (1992) Rabindra Smriti Puraskar ( Govt. Of West Bengal) (1994) Narayan Ganguli Smarak Puraskar (1995) Rabi Tirthankar (

Sanskrit College The Sanskrit College and University (erstwhile Sanskrit College) is a state university located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It focuses on liberal arts, offering both UG and PG degrees in Ancient Indian and world history, Bengali, English, Sa ...

) (1998) ''Khudiram Das Memorial Lecture'' is held every year in Department of Bengali Language and Literature,

in his memory. A bust of him was erected beside Rabindra Bhawan,

Krishnagar Krishnanagar (; also spelled Krishnagar) is a city and a municipality. in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarter of the Nadia district. History Krishnanagar municipality was established in 1864 and is one of the oldest municipali ...

on 9 October 2018 in association with

Municipality as a part of his birth centenary programme.

Memorial Prize

''Kshudiram Das Memorial Prize'' is awarded for highest proficiency in

Honours in B.A.Examination from

Bethune College Bethune College is a women's college located on Bidhan Sarani in Kolkata, India, and affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It is the oldest women's college in India. It was established as a girls' school in 1849, and as a college in 1879. ...

under

Death

He died on 28 April 2002 in

Nadia Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In Slavic, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope" in many Slavic languages: Uk ...

at the age of 85.

References

External links

Open Library Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Khudiram 1916 births 2002 deaths University of Calcutta alumni Rabindra Bharati University faculty Scottish Church College faculty University of Calcutta faculty Recipients of the Rabindra Puraskar Sanskrit scholars from Bengal Indian Sanskrit scholars Linguists from Bengal Bengali writers Bengali-language writers Presidency University, Kolkata faculty 20th-century Indian linguists Indian male writers Writers from West Bengal Indian lexicographers People from Bankura district People from West Bengal Indian literary critics Scholars from West Bengal People from Krishnagar 20th-century lexicographers Bengali Hindus People from Nadia district Educators from West Bengal