Ramaprasad Chanda (15 August 1873 – 28 May 1942) was an Indian anthropologist, historian and archaeologist from Bengal. A pioneer in his field in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

, Chanda's lasting legacy is the

Varendra Research Museum Varendra Museum ( bn, বরেন্দ্র জাদুঘর) is a museum, research centre, and popular visitor attraction at the heart of Rajshahi and maintained by Rajshahi University in Bangladesh. It is considered the oldest museum i ...

, he established in Rajshahi (located in present-day

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 ...

), a leading institute for research on the history of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

.He was the first head of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Calcutta from 1920- 1921.He was also a professional archaeologist and worked in the Archaeological Survey of India. Chanda was one of the founders the Indian Anthropological Institute and was its president during 1938–1942. He represented India in the first International Congress of Anthropology held in London in 1934.He had done original research on the somatic characters of Indian populations by using ancient Indian literature and challenged H.H.Risley's (the first Census Commissioner of India) theory on Indian races.

Publications

* ''Gaudarajmala'', Rajshahi: Varendra Research Society (1912) * ''Indo Aryan Races'', Rajshahi: Varendra Research Society (1916) * ''Letters and Documents Relating to the Life of Raja Rammohan Roy''

References

* Bengali historians Scottish Church College alumni University of Calcutta alumni University of Calcutta faculty 1873 births 1942 deaths {{india-academic-bio-stub