Tapan Raychaudhuri

2026-04-30T04:44:02Z

209.43.2.130: minor cleanup

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2019}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2015}}
{{Short description|British-Indian historian (1926–2014)}}

{{Infobox scientist
| name = Tapan Raychaudhuri
| image = Tapan RayChaudhuri 2009 Dhaka.JPG
| caption = Raychaudhuri in November 2009
| birth_date = 8 May 1926
| birth_place = Kirtipasha, [[Barisal District]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = 26 November 2014 (aged 88)
| death_place = [[Oxford]], [[England]]
| fields = [[History]]
| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|
* [[Barisal Zilla School]], [[Barisal]]
* [[Scottish Church College, Calcutta]]
* [[Presidency College, Calcutta]]
* [[Balliol College, Oxford]]
* [[Delhi School of Economics]]
* [[St. Antony's College, Oxford]]
}}
| doctoral_advisors = Dr. C. C. Davies<br />[[Jadunath Sarkar]]
| notable_students = [[Gyanendra Pandey (historian)|Gyanendra Pandey]], [[Gowher Rizvi]], [[Rudrangshu Mukherjee]]
| awards = [[Watumull Prize]]
}}
'''Tapan Raychaudhuri''' (8 May 1926 – 26 November 2014) was a British-Indian [[historian]] specializing in [[British Raj|British Indian history]], [[Economic history of India|Indian economic history]] and the [[History of Bengal]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Amin |first=Shahid |date=2014-12-06 |title=A Man of Many Parts |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/a-man-of-many-parts/ |access-date=2026-01-25 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.epw.in/journal/2014/48/glimpses-past-web-exclusives/historical-roots-mass-poverty-south-asia.html|title=Tapan Raychaudhuri (1926-2014)| publisher=[[Economic and Political Weekly]]}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
He was the son of Prativa and Amiya Kumar Raychaudhuri, the last ''[[zamindar]]'' of [[Kirtipasha Zamindar Bari|Kirtipasha]] in Barisal district of eastern Bengal. He came from a well-known [[Bengalis|Bengali]] [[Baidya]] family. He was a nephew of [[Kiran Shankar Roy]]<ref name="ksr">[http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Roy,_Kiron_Sankar Banglapedia: Kiron Shakar Roy]</ref> and [[Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri]], through his paternal aunts.<ref name="kd">Sen Sharma, Tribhanga Mohan (1942). ''Kuladarpanam'', Behrampore: New Art Press. p.369</ref>

He was a student of [[Ballygunge Government High School]], [[Calcutta]] and [[Barishal Zilla School|Barisal Zilla School]],<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Audio {{!}} Oral history interview with Tapan Raychaudhuri {{!}} ID: 4m90f5423 {{!}} Tufts Digital Library |url=https://dl.tufts.edu/concern/audios/4m90f5423/transcriptonly |access-date=2026-01-25 |website=dl.tufts.edu}}</ref> [[Scottish Church College, Calcutta]], where he completed his I.A. and finally [[Presidency College, Calcutta]], where he completed his B.A. (Hons.) in history with a high first class.<ref name=":1" /> He completed his first [[Ph.D|D.Phil.]] in History at [[Calcutta University]] on ''Bengal Under Akbar and Jahangir''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sengupta |first=Shuddhabrata |date=2014-12-30 |title=On “Scandalmongering of the Senile” – Ruminations on Tapan Raychaudhuri, Historian: Ahona Panda |url=https://kafila.online/2014/12/30/on-scandalmongering-of-the-senile-ruminations-on-tapan-raychaudhuri-historian-ahona-panda/ |access-date=2026-01-25 |website=KAFILA - COLLECTIVE EXPLORATIONS SINCE 2006 |language=en}}</ref> under the supervision of [[Sir]] [[Jadunath Sarkar]], who was his Additional Supervisor and his second D.Phil. at [[Balliol College, Oxford]], under the supervision of Major (Dr.) C.C. Davies on the trading activities of the Dutch East India Company, which was later published as ''Jan Company in Coromandel.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Datta-Ray |first=Sunanda K. |date=2014-12-04 |title=In Praise of a Renaissance Mind |url=https://openthemagazine.com/essays/open-essay/in-praise-of-a-renaissance-mind |access-date=2026-01-25 |website=Open Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

==Career==
He started his career as a lecturer at the Department of Islamic History and Culture, Calcutta University. After his return from Britain, he became a deputy director of the [[National Archives of India]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roy |first=Tirthankar |date=2014-12-01 |title=Problem of the Past |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/problem-of-the-past/ |access-date=2026-01-25 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> He was a reader and then professor of history and director of the [[Delhi School of Economics]] and professor and the head of the department of history of [[Delhi University]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economics/laureates/1998/sen-autobio.html |title=Amartya Sen - Biographical |website=Nobelprize.org}}</ref> He was a key figure in setting up the journal, ''Indian Economic and Social History Review.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mukherjee |first=Rudrangshu |date=28 November 2014 |title=An Indian scholar dies in Oxford |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/an-indian-scholar-dies-in-oxford/cid/1601157 |url-status= |access-date=25 January 2026 |website=Telegraph}}</ref>

He was a reader in modern South Asian history from 1973 to 1993 and then ad hominem professor of Indian history and civilization and fellow of [[St. Antony's College, Oxford]], from 1992 to 1993.<ref name=":0" /> He was an emeritus fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford, after retirement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/page/861/raychaudhuri-bio.htm |title=Professor Tapan Kumar Raychaudhuri DPhil, DLitt, Bio |website=Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, Cambridge University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002121633/http://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/page/861/raychaudhuri-bio.htm |archive-date=2 October 2013 |access-date=18 July 2013}}</ref> He also served on the inaugural Social Sciences jury for the [[Infosys Prize]] in 2009.

He became a [[National Research Professor]] in India in 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/economic-historian-tapan-raychaudhuri-passes-away/story-UvEiXpbR6eXdMSAQarhp8M.html|title=Economic historian Tapan Raychaudhuri passes away| publisher=[[Hindustan Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/smriti-irani-picks-three-professors-with-saffron-tinge-for-national-research-professorship-scheme-230822-2014-12-11|title=Smriti Irani picks three professors with saffron tinge for National Research Professorship scheme| publisher=[[India Today]]}}</ref>

==Awards==
* Watumull Prize awarded by the [[American Historical Association]], 1982. (jointly with [[Irfan Habib]]) for the ''Cambridge Economic History of India''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historians.org/prizes/AWARDED/DefunctWinner.htm |title=AHA Award Recipients |website=American Historical Association}}</ref>
* [[DLitt|Doctor of Letters]] 1993, [[University of Oxford]]
* [[DLitt|Doctor of Letters]] ''honoris causa'' by the [[University of Calcutta]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.caluniv.ac.in/convocation-2012/hony_degrees.htm |title=Annual Convocation |website=[[University of Calcutta]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528004638/http://caluniv.ac.in/convocation-2012/hony_degrees.htm |archive-date=28 May 2012}}</ref>
* [[DLitt|Doctor of Letters]] ''honoris causa'' by the [[University of Burdwan]]{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}
* [[Padma Bhushan]] in 2007 in recognition to his contributions to history.<ref>{{cite news |date=27 January 2007 |title=Padma Vibhushan for Bhagwati, V. Krishnamurthy |url=http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/27/stories/2007012705931300.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211231638/http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/27/stories/2007012705931300.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 February 2007 |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |page=1}}</ref><ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web |url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |title=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India |date=2016 |access-date=3 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref>

==Death==
He died at home in Oxford (England) on 26 November 2014, after suffering a stroke.<ref name="death">{{cite news |date=27 November 2014 |title=Historian Tapan Raychaudhuri dies |url=http://bdnews24.com/neighbours/2014/11/27/historian-tapan-raychaudhuri-dies |newspaper=bdnews24.com}}</ref>

==Publications==

===Books===
* {{cite book |last=Raychaudhuri |first=Tapan |author-mask=2 |date=1953 |title=Bengal Under Akbar and Jahangir: An Introductory Study in Social History |publisher=A. Mukherjee & Co. |location=Calcutta |oclc=906328391}}
* {{cite book |last=Raychaudhuri |first=Tapan |author-mask=2 |date=1962 |title=Jan Company in Coromandel, 1605-1690 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff |location='s-Gravenhage |oclc=450671}}<ref>{{cite journal |last=Neale |first=Walter C. |date=February 1964 |title=Review |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |publisher=Association for Asian Studies |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=318–320 |doi=10.2307/2050166 |jstor=2050166 }}</ref>
* {{cite book |date=1982 |editor1-last=Raychaudhuri |editor1-first=Tapan |editor2-last=Habib |editor2-first=Irfan |title=The Cambridge Economic History of India |volume=I, c. 1200-c. 1750 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, England |isbn=978-0-521-22802-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Raychaudhuri |first=Tapan |author-mask=2 |date= 1988 |title=Europe Reconsidered: Perceptions of the West in Nineteenth Century Bengal |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-0-19-562066-5}}<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sarkar |first=Tanika |date=1990 |title=Book Reviews |journal=Indian Economic & Social History Review |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=370–372 |doi=10.1177/001946469002700314|s2cid=145407547 }}</ref>
* {{cite book |last=Raychaudhuri |first=Tapan |author-mask=2 |date=1993|title=Romanthan Athoba Bhimrotiprapter Paracharitcharcha |script-title=bn:রোমন্থন অথবা ভীমরতিপ্রাপ্তর পরচরিতচর্চা |language=bn |publisher=Ananda |location=Kolkata |isbn=978-8177563481}}
* {{cite book |last=Raychaudhuri |first=Tapan |author-mask=2 |date=2005 |title=Perceptions, Emotions, Sensibilities: Essays on India's Colonial and Post-colonial Experiences |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New Delhi |isbn=978-0-19-567894-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Raychaudhuri |first=Tapan |author-mask=2 |date=2007 |title=Bangalanama |publisher=Ananda |location=Kolkata |isbn=978-8177566697}}
* {{cite book |last=Raychaudhuri |first=Tapan |author-mask=2 |date=2011 |title=The world in our time: a memoir |publisher=Harper Collins Publishers India |location=Noida |isbn=978-9350291320}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Authority control}}
{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2000–09}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raychaudhuri, Tapan}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Jhalokati Sadar Upazila]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian historians]]
[[Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Scottish Church College alumni]]
[[Category:Presidency University, Kolkata alumni]]
[[Category:Bengali historians]]
[[Category:Bengali zamindars]]
[[Category:Economic historians]]
[[Category:Fellows of St Antony's College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Harvard University staff]]
[[Category:Historians of South Asia]]
[[Category:Indian autobiographers]]
[[Category:People associated with Santiniketan]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:Scholars from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Calcutta]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Delhi University]]
[[Category:University of California, Berkeley staff]]
[[Category:University of Pennsylvania staff]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British people of Bengali descent]]
[[Category:British autobiographers]]
[[Category:British male autobiographers]]
[[Category:20th-century British historians]]
[[Category:Barishal Zilla School alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Jhalokati District]]
[[Category:Academics from Barisal Division]]

Bharatpedia - User contributions [en]

Tapan Raychaudhuri