Bipan Chandra (24 May 1928 – 30 August 2014) was an Indian Marxist

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

, specialising in

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

and

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

history of

modern India Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Modern age, Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century ...

. An emeritus professor of modern history at

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

, he specialized on the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

and is considered a leading scholar on

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

. He authored several books, including ''The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism''.

Early life and education

Chandra was born in Kangra in Punjab, British India (now in

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

). He graduated from Forman Christian College,

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

in 1946 after which the Partition forced him to leave. Thereafter, he went to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

where he studied at the

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He established relationships with Communists in the United States; later, he was forced to leave the country as the anti-Communist crusade of

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...

hit a fever pitch. Back in Delhi in the early 1950s, Bipan Chandra was appointed lecturer in history at Hindu College, Delhi. He would go on to complete his PhD from

Delhi University The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

in 1959.

Career

Chandra taught for many years as

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

and then as reader at Hindu College. He moved to

when it was established in 1969, and established the Centre for Historical Studies, alongside colleagues including

Romila Thapar Romila Thapar (born 30 November 1931) is an Indian historian. Her principal area of study is ancient India, a field in which she is pre-eminent. Quotr: "The pre-eminent interpreter of ancient Indian history today. ... " Thapar is a Professor ...

Sarvepalli Gopal Sarvepalli Gopal (23 April 1923 – 20 April 2002) was a well-known Indian historian. He was the son of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the first Vice-President and the second President of India. He was the author of the ''Radhakrishnan: A Biography ...

, and Satish Chandra. He founded the journal ''Enquiry'' with his colleague Randhir Singh at Delhi University. Chandra was a sectional president and then the general president of the Indian History Congress at

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

in 1985. He became a member of the University Grants Commission in 1993. He was the

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the National Book Trust,

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

from 2004 to 2012. As Chairman of National Book Trust, India, he started many new series such as Popular Social Science, Autobiography, Afro-Asian Countries series, Indian Diaspora Studies etc. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

conferred the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') 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 Januar ...

on Chandra in 2010 for his distinct contribution in the fields of literature and education.

Research

Chandra was at the forefront of the communist movement in India since Independence. His co-authored book, ''Freedom Struggle'', was censored by the new central government that came to power in India in 1977. He collaborated with many historians, including

Nurul Hasan Saiyid Nurul Hasan Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, FRHistS,Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, FRAS (26 December 1921 – 12 July 1993) was an Indian historian and an elder statesman in the Government of India. A member of the Ra ...

Ram Sharan Sharma Ram Sharan Sharma (26 November 1919 – 20 August 2011) was an Indian Marxist historian and Indologist who specialised in the history of Ancient and early Medieval India. He taught at Patna University and Delhi University (1973–85) and was ...

, Sarvapalli Gopal, Satish Chandra,

Irfan Habib Irfan Habib (born 10 August 1931) is an Indian historian of ancient and medieval India, following the methodology of Marxist historiography in his contributions to economic history. He is known for his strong stance against Hindutva. He has au ...

, Barun De and Arjun Dev and his students, such as Mridula Mukherjee, Aditya Mukherjee, Sucheta Mahajan and Vishalakshi Menon, some of whose textbooks have previously been prescribed in the history syllabi of schools in India.

Controversy

In April 2016, right-wing activist Dinanath Batra sought a ban on Chandra's '' India's Struggle for Independence'' because of a misunderstanding of the terminology used in it.

Death

After a prolonged illness, Chandra died on 30 August 2014 at the age of 86 at his home in

Gurgaon Gurgaon (), officially named Gurugram (), is a satellite city of Delhi and administrative headquarters of Gurgaon district, located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest ...

. JNU organised a commemorative event on his birth anniversary.

Publications

* * * * *''Communalism in Modern India'', (New Delhi, 1984) *''Indian National Movement: The Long Term Dynamics'', (New Delhi, 1988) *''India's Struggle for Independence, 1857-1947'', (New Delhi, 1989) *''The Epic Struggle'', (New Delhi, 1992) *''Essays on Contemporary India'', (New Delhi, 1993) *''Essays on Indian Nationalism'', (New Delhi, 1993) *''Ideology and Politics in Modern India'', (New Delhi, 1994) *''History of Modern India'', Orient Blackswan, 1990 *''Essays on Colonialism'', (New Delhi, 1999) *''India Since Independence'', (jointly with Mridula Mukherjee and Aditya Mukherjee), (New Delhi, 1999) *''The Making of Modern India: From Marx to Gandhi'', Orient Blackswan, 2000 *''In the Name of Democracy: The JP Movement and the Emergency'', (New Delhi, 2003) *''Communalism: A Primer'', (New Delhi, 2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandra, Bipan 1928 births 2014 deaths Historians of South Asia Historians of India Writers about Hindu nationalism Stanford University alumni Delhi University alumni Academic staff of Delhi University Academic staff of Jawaharlal Nehru University Forman Christian College alumni Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education Indian Marxist historians Indian political writers Writers from Himachal Pradesh 20th-century Indian historians People from Kangra, Himachal Pradesh Scholars from Himachal Pradesh People from Punjab Province (British India)