Lakshman Kumar Mahapatra (29 October 1929 – 1 June 2020) was an Indian anthropologist born in

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sc ...

. He graduated in anthropology from the

University of Calcutta 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 ...

and received a doctorate from the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...

. He was Vice-Chancellor of

Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a Public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha district, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in Odisha, the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university. The pre ...

in 1986 and

Sambalpur University Sambalpur University is located in Burla town, of district Sambalpur, India, in the state of Odisha. Popularly known as Jyoti Vihar, it offers courses at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. The governor of Odisha is the chancellor of t ...

in 1989. While heading the anthropology department at Utkal University, he was the first academic in India to start a course on

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

in the regular curriculum at the university level in India. He became the first person from Odisha to receive the highest award for social sciences from the Indian

University Grant Commission A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', whic ...

. Mahapatra served as a consultant to the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

from 1985 to 1988 and again from 1995 to 1996 on rehabilitation of displaced populations of India. He served as the director of the

Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies The Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies is a public policy think-tank of the state of Odisha. It conducts research in the disciplines of Economics, Sociology and Social Anthropology. It is jointly funded by the Government of Indi ...

in Bhubaneswar, a social science research study centre set up by the

Government of Odisha The government of the Indian state of Odisha and its 30 districts consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Odisha, a judiciary, and a legislative branch. Like other states in India, the head of state of Odisha is the Governor, a ...

in collaboration with the

Indian Council of Social Science Research The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) is the national body overseeing research in the social sciences in India. It was established in New Delhi in 1969. Council The Council is currently chaired by Bhushan Patwardhan. Current ...

(ICSSR) from 2003 to 2006. He has been vice president of the Indian National Confederation and Academy of Anthropology, vice president of the Anthropological Association of India, and founder president of the Association for Friendship and Cultural Corporation With Indonesia. He was awarded the gold medal by the

Indian Anthropology Society Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South As ...

in 2004 for his lifelong contribution to anthropology. He was honoured by the Indian National Confederation and Academy of Anthropology in 2015. He died in Bhubaneswar on 1 June 2020 at the age of 90.

Life

Childhood

Mahapatra was born on 29 October 1929 in

Nilagiri Nilagiri is a town and a Notified Area Council in Balasore district in the Indian state of Odisha. History Nilgiri is a very small town but replete with rich history and heritage. Its history can be traced back to paleolithic age. Its ...

, a

Notified Area Council A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a Nagar Palika, municipality. An urban centre with mor ...

in Balasore district in the Indian state of

Education

He studied at the

Maharaja Krushna Chandra High School Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great Monarch, king" or "high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Em ...

Baripada Baripada () is a city and a municipality in Mayurbhanj district in the state of Odisha, India. Located along the east bank of the Budhabalanga river, Baripada is the cultural centre of north Odisha. In recent years, it has emerged as an e ...

University

He went to Ravenshaw

College A college ( Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

for his intermediate studies and later to the

for his BA and MA in Anthropology. He received a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper ''Piled Higher and Deeper'' (also known as ''PhD Comics''), is a newsp ...

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'' from the

in 1960.

Career

Mahapatra joined the

in 1964 where he headed the anthropology department from 1967 to 1989. He started teaching about Southeast Asia as a regular course in collaboration with the Department of Geography and History. This was the first time for a course on Southeast Asia to be taught at an Indian university. He also introduced specialities such as "Development Anthropology" and "Demographic Anthropology" at Utkal University which was also the first for an anthropology department in India. He was appointed as the vice-chancellor of Utkal University in 1986. He was later the vice-chancellor at

from 1989 to 1990. He served as a Consultant to the

for rehabilitation of displaced populations in India during 1985-1988 and later during 1995–96.

Bibliography

* ''Folklore of Orissa'', National Library of the Netherlands Sudoc

BES BES or Bes may refer to: * Bes, Egyptian deity * Bes (coin), Roman coin denomination * Bes (Marvel Comics), fictional character loosely based on the Egyptian deity Abbreviations * Bachelor of Environmental Studies, a degree * Banco Espírit ...

France Library of Congress/NACO * ''Gods, kings and the caste system in India & other essays'', Library of Congress/NACO (2013) * ''Knowledge for actions: a treatise in anthropology'', National Library of France * ''People and cultural traditions of Orissa : civilization, society & worldview'', NII (Japan) * ''Resettlement, impoverishment, and reconstruction in India : development for the deprived'', Sudoc

France Library of Congress/NACO * ''Science, culture, and development: Prof. L.K. Mahapatra felicitation volume'', NII (Japan) National Library of Israel Library of Congress/NACO * ''State, society and religion: cultural historical comparative perspectives of Southeast Asia'', Sudoc

France * ''The contours of social welfare'', National Library of Israel Library of Congress/NACO (1974) * ''Towards rethinking strategy of tribal development'', Library of Congress/NACO * ''Tribal development in India: myth and reality'' * ''Tribal transformation and cultural integration: India and Odisha''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahapatra, Lakshman Kumar 1929 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian anthropologists University of Calcutta alumni University of Hamburg alumni Academic staff of Utkal University People from Balasore district anthropologist Scholars from Odisha