Sukumar Sen (16 January 1900 – 3 March 1992) was an Indian

linguist 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 ...

and historian of the

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 ...

, who was also well versed in

Pāli Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

and

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 ...

Life

Sen was born in 1900 to Harendra Nath Sen, a lawyer and Nabanalini Devi. His hometown was

Gotan Gotan is a village in Raina II CD block in Bardhaman Sadar South subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Urbanisation 95.54% of the population of Bardhaman Sadar South subdivision live in the ru ...

, near

Shyamsundar Shyamsundar is a village in Raina I CD block in Bardhaman Sadar South subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India. History Earlier, the village was called ‘Ahar Belma’ and the village was renamed after the d ...

in the

Purba Bardhaman district Purba Bardhaman district is in West Bengal. Its headquarters is in Bardhaman. It was formed on 7 April 2017 after the division of the previous Bardhaman district. Great revolutionary Rash Behari Bose was born in village Subaldaha in the district ...

. Sen was educated at the Burdwan Municipal High School, Burdwan, 1917. He obtained an F.A. in 1919 from Burdwan Raj College, then affiliated with 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 ...

. He received a divisional scholarship and earned first class honours in

from the Government

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 ...

in 1921. He studied

Comparative Philology Comparative linguistics, or comparative-historical linguistics (formerly comparative philology) is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness. Genetic relatedness i ...

in Kolkata, scoring the highest marks in 1923. Linguists

Suniti Kumar Chatterji Bhashacharya Acharya Suniti Kumar Chatterjee (26 November 1890 – 29 May 1977) was an Indian linguist, educationist and litterateur. He was a recipient of the second-highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Vibhushan. Life Childhood Chatterji ...

and Irach Jehangir Sorabji Taraporewala were his teachers. He received a Premchand Roychand Scholarship and a PhD degree.1984 – Professor Sukumar Sen
Royal Asiatic SocietyNancy Charley (25 May 2018
Silk Road Culture and More Gold Medallists
Royal Asiatic Society Sen retired from the university in 1964.

Work

He joined the University of Calcutta as a lecturer in 1930, where he served as a professor for thirty four years. He became the second Khaira Professor in the Department of Comparative Philology after his mentor,

, in 1954. After assuming this title, the department attracted many scholars from India and abroad to study and conduct research. Sen was the first scholar to explore the Old Indo-Aryan syntax in his book, ''Use of Cases in Vedic Prose'' (1928), and ''Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit'' (1928). He later analysed the syntax of

Middle Indo-Aryan The Middle Indo-Aryan languages (or Middle Indic languages, sometimes conflated with the Prakrits, which are a stage of Middle Indic) are a historical group of languages of the Indo-Aryan family. They are the descendants of Old Indo-Aryan (OIA; ...

in ''An Outline of Syntax of Middle Indo-Aryan'' (1950). He contributed significantly to Bengali literature, addressing themes ranging from

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

, the

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

and crime to horror. Sen's crime stories were compiled in the book ''Galpa Samgraha'' (2009). He published numerous significant articles and research papers. These include the Bangla Sahityer Itihas (5 Vol 1939, 1991), Bhashar Itibritta (1939, 1993), A History of Brajabuli Literature (1935), A Comparative Grammar of Middle Indo-Aryan (1960), Ramkathar Prak Itihas (1977), Bangla Sthannaam (1982), Bharat Kathar Granthimochan (1981), Bharatiya Arya Sahityer Itihas (1963, 1992) and Women's Dialect in Bengali (1923). Bhashar Itibritta is the first book in the Bengali language on Indo-Aryan and Indo-European historical linguistics. In this book, he postulated

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...

i as the fifth dialect of the Bengali language. His book ''Bangala Sahitye Gadya'' (1934) remains the best example of a systematic, stylistic description of the literary dialect of the language. The Etymological Dictionary of Bengali (in two volumes, 1971) is one of the largest works on historical

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

in any Indian language. ''Bangala Sahityer Itihas'' was also a monumental contribution.

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

commended the book and wrote the preface. The English edition was published by the

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

in 1960. Pandit

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

wrote the foreword for this book. His autobiography was "Diner Pore Din Je Gelo" (The Days Pass By).

Recognition

The

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...

of London honoured him with a Jubilee Gold Medal in 1984, making him the first

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

to receive the prize. Other prizes include the Rabindra Puraskar (1963), Ananda Puraskar (1966, 1984), Vidyasagar Puraskar (1981), Desikottam (1982), and the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

(1990). The Asiatic Society, Calcutta, awarded him the

Jadunath Sarkar Sir Jadunath Sarkar (10 December 1870 – 19 May 1958) was a prominent Indian historian and a specialist on the Mughal dynasty. Academic career Sarkar was born in Karachmaria village in Natore, Bengal to Rajkumar Sarkar, the local Zamindar ...

Medal. He was elected as an honorary fellow of

in 1973. He received the prestigious Ashutosh Memorial Gold Medal and Griffith Memorial prize twice. He was also awarded the University Gold medal and Sarojini medal. A college in Gotan was named in his honour.

Books

*Bhashar Itibritta ভাষার ইতিবৃত্ত (বাংলা ভাষাতত্ত্বের একটি পূর্ণাঙ্গ আলোচনা) *Women's Dialect in Bengali (বাংলা মেয়েলি ভাষা নিয়ে গবেষণামূলক রচনা) *Bangla sthan nam বাংলা স্থাননাম (বাংলা স্থাননাম নিয়ে ভাষাতাত্ত্বিক ও ঐতিহাসিক বিশ্লেষণ) *Ram kathar prak itihas রামকথার প্রাক্-ইতিহাস (রামায়ণ-সংক্রান্ত তুলনামূলক পুরাণতাত্ত্বিক আলোচনা) *Bharat kathar granthi mochan ভারত-কথার গ্রন্থিমোচন (মহাভারত-সংক্রান্ত তুলনামূলক পুরাণতাত্ত্বিক আলোচনা) *A History of Brajabuli Literature (ব্রজবুলি সাহিত্যের ইতিহাস) *Bangla sahityer itihas বাঙ্গালা সাহিত্যের ইতিহাস (৫ খণ্ডে, সুকুমার সেনের সবচেয়ে বিখ্যাত বই, বাংলা সাহিত্যের একটি পূর্ণাঙ্গ ও সামগ্রিক ইতিহাস) *Bangla sahityer katha বাঙ্গালা সাহিত্যের কথা * Bangla sahitye gadya বাঙ্গালা সাহিত্যে গদ্য *Banga bhumika বঙ্গভূমিকা (বাংলার আদি-ইতিহাস সংক্রান্ত গ্রন্থ) *Bangla Islami sahitya বাংলা ইসলামি সাহিত্য *Diner pare din je gelo দিনের পরে দিন যে গেল ( আত্মজীবনীমূলক রচনা )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sen, Sukumar 1900 births 1992 deaths Bengali writers Bengali detective fiction writers 20th-century Indian linguists 20th-century Bengalis Bengali Hindus Linguists from Bengal Recipients of the Ananda Purashkar Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education University of Calcutta alumni University of Calcutta faculty People from Purba Bardhaman district Scholars from West Bengal Linguists of Bengali Linguists of Indo-Aryan languages Scholars from Kolkata Bengali historians