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Saiyid Nurul Hasan

2022-03-20T03:15:41Z

2402:3A80:1CD5:D3F9:678:5634:1232:5476: Citations given

{{short description|Indian politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2021}}{{for|the Bangladesh cricketer|Nurul Hasan (cricketer)}}

{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Saiyid Nurul Hasan
|image = Saiyid Nurul Hasan 16.jpg
|alt =
|caption =
|office1 = [[Government of India|9th Union]] [[Minister of Education (India) | Minister of Education]], [[Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment | Social Welfare]] and [[Ministry of Culture (India) | Culture]]
|term_start1 = 24 March 1972
|term_end1 = 24 March 1977
|predecessor1 = [[Siddhartha Shankar Ray]]
|successor1 = [[Pratap Chandra Chunder]]
|office2 = 12th [[Ambassador to the Soviet Union]]
|term_start2 = 1983
|term_end2 = 1986
|predecessor2 = V.K. Ahuja
|successor2 = [[T.N. Kaul]]
|office3 = [[List of Governors of West Bengal|13th Governor of West Bengal]]
|term_start3 = 12 August 1986
|term_end3 = 1 March 1989
|predecessor3 = [[Uma Shankar Dikshit]]
|successor3 = [[T. V. Rajeswar]]
|office4 = [[List of Governors of Odisha|32nd Governor of Odisha]]
|term_start4 = 20 November 1988
|term_end4 = 6 February 1990
|predecessor4 = [[Bishambhar Nath Pande]]
|successor4 = [[Yagya Datt Sharma]]
|office5 = [[List of Governors of West Bengal|Governor of West Bengal]]
|term_start5 = 6 February 1990
|term_end5 = 12 July 1993
|predecessor5 = [[T. V. Rajeswar]]
|successor5 = [[B. Satya Narayan Reddy]]
|office6 = [[List of Governors of Odisha|34th Governor of Odisha]]
|term_start6 = 1 February 1993
|term_end6 = 31 May 1993
|predecessor6 = [[Yagya Datt Sharma]]
|successor6 = [[B. Satya Narayan Reddy]]
|birth_date = {{birth date|1921|12|26|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Lucknow]], [[United Provinces of British India|United Provinces]], [[British India]]
|death_date = {{death date and age|1993|07|12|1921|12|26|df=y}}
|death_place = [[Calcutta]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]
|occupation = Historian, politician, diplomat
|spouse = Nawabzadi Khurshid Laqa Begum Sahiba
}}

'''[[Sayyid|Saiyid]] Nurul Hasan''' (26 December 1921 – 12 July 1993) was an Indian historian and an elder statesman in the [[Government of India]]. A member of the Rajya Sabha, he was the Union Minister of State (with Independent Charges) of [[Minister of Education (India) | Education]], [[Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment | Social Welfare]] and [[Ministry of Culture (India) | Culture]] Government of India (1971-1977) and the [[List of Governors of West Bengal | Governor of West Bengal]] and [[List of Governors of Odisha|Odisha]] (1986-1993).<ref>{{cite web |url= http://ws.ori.nic.in/ola/govv.htm |title=BIO - DATA OF GOVERNORS OF Odisha |work=ws.ori.nic.in |year=2006 |quote=SHRI M. M. RAJENDRAN |accessdate=23 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ws.ori.nic.in/ola/brief.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070109172223/http://ws.ori.nic.in/ola/brief.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 January 2007 |title=Brief History of Odisha Legislative Assembly Since 1937 |work=ws.ori.nic.in |year=2011 |quote=NAME OF THE GOVERNORS OF Odisha |accessdate=24 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/orissaannualreference/OR-Annual-2009/pdf/405-418.pdf |title=Odisha Government Portal |publisher=Orissa.gov.in |accessdate=2016-08-29 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219030651/http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/orissaannualreference/OR-Annual-2009/pdf/405-418.pdf |archivedate=19 December 2013}}</ref>

==Background and education==

Hasan was born in [[Lucknow]], India. He belonged to a ''[[taluqdari]]'' (''madad-i ma'ash'') family of the United Provinces. He was the son of [[Saiyid]] Abdul Hasan and Nur Fatima Begum. His father was a district settlement officer and later president of the [[Court of Wards (India)|Court of Wards]] in the United Provinces. His maternal grandfather was [[Sir]] [[Syed Wazir Hasan]], chief justice of the Court of Oudh and a well known president of the Muslim League, who had called for [[Hindu-Muslim unity]] in 1936. His maternal uncles were [[Syed]] [[Sajjad Zaheer]], a barrister and an eminent Marxist thinker and [[Syed Ali Zaheer]], a barrister who became the law minister of Uttar Pradesh and India's ambassador to Iran. Hasan was married to Nawabzadi Khurshid Laqa Begum Sahiba, the eldest daughter of [[Nawab]] [[Raza Ali Khan of Rampur]], a 15 Gun Salute State in the former United Provinces.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} They have two children, Sayyid Sirajul Hasan, an eminent physicist, who retired as director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore and Sayyida Talat Fatima Hasan, who is a very successful entrepreneur in the USA.<ref name="indianprincelystates">[http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/r/rampur.html ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181735/http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/r/rampur.html |date=3 March 2016 }}</ref>

Hasan attended the [[Sultan ul Madaris]], [[Lucknow]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sultanulmadaris.org/admin.html |title=:- Welcome to the Sultanul Madaris, Lucknow |publisher=Sultanulmadaris.org |accessdate=2016-08-29 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075649/http://www.sultanulmadaris.org/admin.html |archivedate=4 March 2016}}</ref> Then he went to the [[La Martiniere Calcutta|La Martiniere Boys' College]] in [[Kolkata]],.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geocities.com/agarodia/lamartiniere/lmcmain.html |title=La Martiniere Boys' College, Calcutta, website |accessdate=2010-10-10 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027050331/http://geocities.com/agarodia/lamartiniere/lmcmain.html |archivedate=27 October 2009}}</ref> He completed his graduation from [[Muir Central College]], [[Allahabad]], where he was a student of Professor R.P. Tripathi. Later he went to [[New College, Oxford|New College]], [[Oxford]], where he completed an [[Master of Arts (Oxbridge and Dublin)|M.A.]] and [[Doctorate of Philosophy|D.Phil.]] in Indian history. In Oxford, he was president of the Oxford India Majlis.<ref name="memoriesofarollingstone">[https://www.amazon.com/Memories-Rolling-Stone-Mazumdar/dp/8189884522# Veena Majumdar, Memories of a Rolling Stone, Zubaan Books, Delhi, 2010]</ref>

==Career==

===Academic===

He began his academic career as a [[Lecturer]] in History at the [[School of Oriental and African Studies]], [[London]]. He was appointed as [[Professor]] in the Department of History at [[Aligarh Muslim University]], of which he was a Chairperson as well. He contributed greatly to the growth of the History department in Aligarh in its initial years. Later he became the General Secretary and then the President of the Indian History Congress. He was a Fellow of the [[Royal Historical Society]] and the [[Royal Asiatic Society]] in London.

===Political===

A secularist with an abiding faith in leftism, Hasan was a member of the [[Rajya Sabha]] from 1969 to 1978. From 1971 to 1977, he was the Union Minister of State (with independent charge) for Education, Social Welfare & Culture in the Government of India. As India's education minister, he founded the [[Indian Council of Historical Research]], [[New Delhi]]. He was also the architect behind the setting up of 27 social science research institutes in India under the aegis of the [[Indian Council of Social Science Research]] (ICSSR), New Delhi, such as the [[Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta]] (1973).<ref name="csssc">{{cite web|url=http://cssscal.org/ |title=Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta |publisher=Cssscal.org |date=2016-08-11 |accessdate=2016-08-29}}</ref> When he was a minister, under an act of the parliament, the funding and management of the [[Rampur Raza Library]] was given to the Government of India. From 1977 to 1980 he was Vice President of the [[Council of Scientific and Industrial Research]] (CSIR), New Delhi.<ref name="csir">[http://www.csir.res.in/careeraward/prize-winner-indexchronological Council of Scientific & Industrial Research]</ref>

He was instrumental in improving the career advancement scheme of many leftist college and university teachers in India, impacting political neutrality of education. He was also instrumental in starting the 10+2+3 system of education at the High School, Junior College and undergraduate levels. He played a major role in tabling "Towards Equality: The Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in India (1974-5)" in parliament, which was submitted by a committee appointed by the Government of India.<ref name="thehindu">[http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/rolling-stone-who-anchored-the-womens-movement/article4766709.ece ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608160906/http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/rolling-stone-who-anchored-the-womens-movement/article4766709.ece |date=8 June 2013 }}</ref> The findings of this report formed the basis for the establishment of the [[Centre for Women's Development Studies]], Delhi. He served as [[Ambassador of India to the Soviet Union]] from 1983 to 1986.<ref name="ussrambassador">{{cite web|url=http://www.indianembassy.ru/index.php/en/embassy/indian-ambassadors-to-russia |title=Indian Ambassadors to USSR |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002195229/http://www.indianembassy.ru/index.php/en/embassy/indian-ambassadors-to-russia |archivedate=2 October 2013 }}</ref> He was the Governor of [[West Bengal]] from 1986 to 1989 and then again from 1989 to 1993. He was the Governor of [[Odisha]] in 1989. As the Governor of West Bengal, he founded the [[Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Calcutta]] (1993). He was the first President of the institute's Society.<ref name="makaias">{{cite web |url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=99996 |title=Chairman, Maulana Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata}}</ref>

==Death==
He died of [[renal failure]] in [[Calcutta]], [[West Bengal]] in 1993, aged 71, while continuing in office as the Governor.

==Legacy==
The Nurul Hasan Education Foundation is named after him.<ref name="nurulhasanfoundation">{{cite web|url=http://wewit.in/content/talat-hasan |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131015075458/http://wewit.in/content/talat-hasan |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-10-15 |title=Nurul Hasan Foundation }}</ref> The Nurul Hasan Chair Professorship of the Department of History of the University of Calcutta is named after him.

==Publications==
*''Religion, State, and Society in Medieval India : Collected Works of S. Nurul Hasan'' (Satish Chandra, editor). New Delhi : Oxford University Press, 2005. - viii, 335 S. : Kt. {{ISBN|0-19-566765-4}} / 978-019566765-3
*''Sufis, Sultans and Feudal Orders : Professor Nurul Hasan Commemoration Volume'' (Mansura Haidar, editor), 2004.
* ''Studies in archaeology and history: commemoration volume of Prof. S. Nurul Hasan'', Publisher: [[Rampur Raza Library]], 2003. {{ISBN|81-87113-57-X}}.

==See also==
•[[Prof Syed Nurul Hasan College]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box |
| title = [[Government of India|Union]] [[minister (government)|Minister]] of [[Education]], [[Social Welfare]] and [[Culture]]
| years = 1972–1977|
|before = [[Siddhartha Shankar Ray]]|
|after = [[Pratap Chandra Chunder]]|
}}
{{succession box |
| title = [[Ambassador]] to the Soviet Union|
| years = 1983–1986|
| before = [[V.K. Ahuja]]|
| after = [[T.N. Kaul]]|
}}
{{succession box |
| title = [[Governor of West Bengal]]|
| years = 1986–1989 (first term); 1990–1993 (second term)|
| before = [[Uma Shankar Dikshit]] (first term); [[T.V. Rajeswar]] (second term)|
| after = [[T.V. Rajeswar]] (first term); [[B. Satya Narayan Reddy]] (second term)|
}}
{{succession box |
| title = [[Governor of Odisha]]|
| years = 1988–1990 (first term); February 1993 – May 1993 (second term)|
| before = [[Bishambhar Nath Pande]] (first term); [[Yagya Dutt Sharma (Punjab politician)|Yagya Dutt Sharma]] (second term)|
| after = [[Yagya Dutt Sharma (Punjab politician)|Yagya Dutt Sharma]] (first term); [[B. Satya Narayan Reddy]] (second term)|
}}
{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Governors of West Bengal}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasan, Saiyid Nurul}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian historians]]
[[Category:Aligarh Muslim University faculty]]
[[Category:University of Allahabad alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of New College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of India to the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Education Ministers of India]]
[[Category:Deaths from kidney failure]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Historical Society]]
[[Category:Governors of Odisha]]
[[Category:Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Governors of West Bengal]]
[[Category:Historians of South Asia]]
[[Category:Indian Marxist historians]]
[[Category:Indian political writers]]
[[Category:Indian Shia Muslims]]
[[Category:La Martiniere Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha]]
[[Category:Politicians from Lucknow]]
[[Category:Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Writers from Lucknow]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian politicians]]

Gurusaday Dutt

2022-03-19T17:28:44Z

2402:3A80:1CD5:D3F9:678:5634:1232:5476:

{{short description|Indian writer, folk literature researcher and civil servant}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gurusaday Dutt
| image = Gurusaday Dutt photo.png
| image_size = 200px
| birth_date = {{birth-date|10 May 1882}}
| birth_place = Birasri, [[Karimganj district|Karimganj]], [[Assam]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{d-da|25 June 1941|10 May 1882}} (৬০)
| death_place = [[Calcutta]], India
| occupation = Civil servant, folklorist
| spouse = [[Saroj Nalini Dutt]] (সরোজ নলিনী দত্ত) (nee De) (দে)
| children = 1
}}

'''Gurusaday Dutt''' ({{lang-bn|'''গুরুসদয় দত্ত'''}}) (10 May, 1882– 25 June, 1941) ({{lang-bn|২৮ বৈশাখ, ১২৮৯- ১১ আষাঢ়, ১৩৪৮}})
was a civil servant, folklorist, and writer.<ref name="tapatidasgupta"> Tapati Dasgupta, 'Social Thought of Rabindranath Tagore: A Historical Analysis, (Calcutta, Abhinav Publications, 1993), p. 138</ref> He was the founder of the [[Bratachari movement|''Bratachari'' Movement]] in the 1930s.<ref name="southasiajournal"> Sayantani Adhikary, The Bratachari Movement and the Invention of a 'Folk Tradition', in South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, Vol.: 38, 2015, Issue 4, pp. 656-670</ref>

==Early life and education==
Dutt, born to Ramkrishna Dutta Chaudhuri (রামকৃষ্ণ দত্ত চৌধূরী) and Anandamayee Debi (আনন্দময়ী দেবী) was a member of the ''zamindari'' family of Birasri (বীরশ্রি) village in Karimganj (করিমগঞ্জ) sub-division of Sylhet (শ্রীহট্ট), in eastern Bengal (present day [[Bangladesh]]). Members of his family were followers of the Vaishnavite sect.

After completing his Entrance examination at Government College, Sylhet, in 1898, Dutt completed his F.A. examination from Presidency College, Calcutta in 1901. He obtained a scholarship raised by the Sylhet Union to study in Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He passed the Open Competitive Service examination in 1905. Subsequently, he was called to the Bar by the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn.

He was married to [[Saroj Nalini Dutt]] and they had one son.<ref name="tapatidasgupta"/>

==Career and political views==
His first posting, in 1905, was as assistant magistrate and assistant collector of Arrah in Bihar. He served in the judicial wing of the ICS from 1911 to 1915. In 1916 he was appointed as the district collector of Birbhum. In 1923, he was appointed as secretary of agriculture and industries.<ref name="bratacharisportsfederation"/>

In 1928, he was sent to Howrah as its district magistrate. Here, in connection with the Bamangachi Firing case, he condemned the firing on a crowd of protesters by the police led by a British officer. The matter was raised in the House of Lords in London and as a punitive measure he was transferred to Mymensingh. In Mymensingh he refused to take action against those who were protesting against the government's Salt Act.<ref name="bratacharisportsfederation"> Bratachari Sports Federation at https://www.martialyogaarts.com</ref> This led to his transfer to Birbhum in 1931.<ref name="speakingwithpictures"> Roma Chatterjee, 'Speaking with Pictures: Folk Art and the Narrative Tradition in India', New Delhi: Routledge, 2012)</ref>

From 1930 to 1933, he was the chief whip in the Bengal Legislative Council and a member of the Council of States of the [[Central Legislative Assembly]]. In the last few years of career he was appointed as secretary, Local Self Government and Public Health, Government of Bengal.<ref name="colonialismandthetransnationalpsychiatry"> Waltraud Ernest, 'Colonialism and the Transnational Psychiatry: The Development of an Indian Mental Hospital', (London: Anthem Press, 2013), p. 243</ref>

==Social, cultural and artistic contributions==

===Social===
Dutt's social work for the development of villages and improvement of agriculture led to the foundation of the first Rural Reconstruction Movement in India in Birbhum in 1918, extending the movement to several districts, such as Bankura, Howrah and Mymensingh. In 1922, he started a society for co-operative irrigation in Bankura, which he later extended to Mymensingh and Birbhum. In 1924, he headed an Indian delegation to a meeting of the Agricultural Institute in Rome. In December, 1929, he started ''Gramer Daak'' ('গ্রামের ডাক')that dealt with agrarian and rural matters.

His contribution to the empowerment of mostly rural women was evident in the establishment of the Saroj Nalini Dutt Memorial Association, as a Central Training Institute for training women, deprived of formal education, in the crafts and basic education in February, 1925. In October 1925, he started a monthly magazine entitled, ''Bangalakshmi'' ('বঙ্গলক্ষী') to give voice to village women.

===Cultural===
Dutt contributed immensely to the development of rural dance forms. In Mymensingh he started a Folk Dance Revival Society, which revived the secular ''Jaari'' ('জারি') dance. In 1930, he discovered the ''Raibeshe'' ('রায়বেশে') folk dance, a martial dance of un-divided Bengal, in Birbhum. Subsequently, he also revived the Kaathi (কাঠি), Dhamail (ধামায়েল), Baul (বাউল), Jhumur (ঝুমুর), Brata (ব্রত) and Dhali (ঢালি) dances from different parts of undivided Bengal. In 1931, after meeting Cecil Sharp, who had revived Morris dancing in England, he set up the Bangiya Palli Sampad Raksha Samiti (বঙ্গিয় পল্লি রক্ষা সমিতি) (Cultural Heritage Protection Society of Bengal).

All these efforts culminated in the founding of the Bratachari movement in 1932. In 1934, the Bangiya Palli Sampad Raksha Samiti was renamed as The Bengal Bratachari Society. In 1936, he started ''Banglar Shakti'' ('বাংলার শক্তি'), a journal on behalf of the Bengal Bratachari Society.

===Artistic===
Dutt was mostly known for his interest and contributions to Bengal's folk art, folk dance and folk music.<ref name="prideofbengal'sfolkart"> Kakoli Biswas, 'Pride of Bengal's Folk Art: Gurusaday Dutt', Karnavati University at http://karnavatiuniversity.edu.in</ref> He spent a lifetime collecting and studying art objects and handiwork from the remotest corners of undivided rural Bengal collecting items of folk art such as Kalighat paintings, ''patuas'' ('পটুয়া') scrolls,<ref name="speakingwithpictures"/> embroidered ''kanthas'' ('কাঁথা'), terracotta panels, stone sculptures, wooden carvings, dolls and toys, moulds used for making patterns on sweets or mango-paste etc.<ref name="championofbengal'sfolkart"> Soumyadeep Roy, Gurusaday Dutt: Champion of Bengal's Folk Art', 07 December, 2020 at https://www.livemintmyindia.com</ref> Gurusaday Dutt also wrote extensively on folk culture. Rabindranath Tagore and C.F. Andrews wrote in the foreword of the biography of his wife, Saroj Nalini Dutt, which he wrote. Gurusaday Dutt also wrote a good deal about the Bratachari movement.

==Organisations founded==
*Mymensingh Folk Dance and Folk Music Society (1929)
*Pallisampad Raksha Samiti (পল্লি রক্ষা সমিতি) (1931)
*Bratachari Loknritya Samiti (ব্রতচারি লোক নৃত্য সমিতি) (1932)
*South India Bratachari Society (1932)
*Sarbabharatiya Bratachari Society (সর্ব ভারতীয় ব্রতচারি সোসাইটি)
*Bratacharigram (ব্রতচারি গ্রাম) (1941)
*Bratachari Janashiksha Pratishthan (ব্রতচারি জনশিক্ষা প্রতিষ্ঠান) (1941)

==Awards==
* Scindia Gold Medal (1901)<ref name="bratacharisportsfederation"/>
*Kaiser-i-Hind Gold Medal (1938)<ref name="newyearshonourslist"> New Years Honours List, 1938 at https://www.hmoob.in </ref>

==Publications==
*''Agricultural Organisation and Rural Reconstruction in Bengal'' (1919)
*''Bhajar Banshi'' (ভজার বাঁশি) (1922)
*''Palli Sangskar'' (পল্লী সংস্কার) (1925)
*''Village Reconstruction'' (1925)
*''Ganer Saji'' (গানের সাজি) (1932)
*''Indian Folk Dance and Folklore Movement'' (1933)
*''Bratachari Synthesis'' (in Bengali) (1937)
*''Patuya Sangit'' (পটুয়া সঙ্গীত) (1939)
*''Bratacharir Marmakatha'' (ব্রতচারি মর্মকথা) (1940)
*''A Woman of India'' (1941)
*''Bratachari: Its Aim and Meaning'' (1942)
*''The Folk Dances of Bengal'' (1954)
*''Shrihatter Lokasangit'' (শ্রীহট্টের লোকসঙ্গীত) (1966)
*''Folk Arts and Crafts of Bengal'' (1990)<ref name="publications">[http://www.seagullindia.com/books/default.asp/ Publications of G.S.Dutt]</ref>
*''Art of Kantha'' (1995)
*''Banglar Lokashilpa o Lokanritya'' (বাংলার লোকশিল্প ও লোকনৃত্য) (Calcutta: Chatim Books, 2008)
*''Goraey Golod'' (গোরায় গলত)
*''Gramer Kaajer ka kha Ga'' (গ্রামের কাজের ক, খ, গ)
*''Saroj Nalini''
*''Palli Sanskar O Sangathan'' (পল্লী সংস্কার ও সংগঠন)
*''Paaglamir Puthi'' (পাগলামির পুঁথি)
*''Purir Mahathwa'' (পুরির মাহাত্ম্য)
*''Banglar Samrik Krira'' (বাংলার শ্মরিক ক্রীড়া)
*''Chaander Buri'' (চাঁদের বুড়ি)
*''Bratachari Shakhaa'' (ব্রতচারি শাখা)
*''Bratachari Parichoy'' (ব্রতচারি পরিচয়)
*''Banglar Bir Jodha Raebeshe'' (বাংলার বীর যদ্ধা রায়বেশে)

==Legacy==
A road in Calcutta, a gold medal and a cash prize, awarded to the first ranked student of geography of Calcutta University and a scholarship given by the Sylhet Union (Srihatta Sammilani) (শ্রীহট্ট সম্মিলনী) are named after him. His portrait hangs on a wall of [[Mahajati Sadan]], Calcutta.

== See also ==
*[[Bratachari movement]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.gurusadaymuseum.org/ Official Website of Gurusaday Museum]
*[[Gurusaday Museum]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutt, Gurusaday}}
[[Category:1882 births]]
[[Category:1941 deaths]]
[[Category:Presidency University, Kolkata alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Bengali politicians]]
[[Category:Indian barristers]]
[[Category:Indian civil servants]]
[[Category:Indian Civil Service (British India) officers]]
[[Category:Bengali writers]]
[[Category:Bengali people]]
[[Category:Bengali Hindus]]
[[Category:People from Karimganj district]]
[[Category:Museum founders]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:Members of Central Legislative Assembly of India]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:20th-century philanthropists]]

Saroj Nalini Dutt

2022-03-19T17:27:22Z

2402:3A80:1CD5:D3F9:678:5634:1232:5476:

{{distinguish|Saroj Dutta}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Saroj Nalini Dutt
| image = Saroj Nalini Dutt photo.jpg
| image_size = 175px
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1887|10|9|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Bandel]], [[Hooghly district|Hooghly]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1925|1|19|1887|10|9|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Calcutta]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]]
| spouse = [[Gurusaday Dutt]] ({{lang-bn|গুরুসদয় দত্ত}})
| children = 1
}}

'''Saroj Nalini Dutt''' (''née'' De) ({{lang-bn|'''সরোজ নলিনী দত্ত'''}}) MBE, (9 October 1887 – 19 January 1925) ({{lang-bn|২৩ আশ্বিন, ১২৯৪ - ৬ মাঘ, ১৩৩১}}) was an Indian social reformer and feminist.<ref name="womeninmodernindia">Geraldine Forbes, 'Women in Modern India', 'The New Cambridge History of India', Volume: IV.2, ,Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1996, pp.28-29</ref><ref name="sarojnalinidutt"> Jayati Gupta, 'Travel Culture, Travel Writing and Bengali Women, 1870-1940', 1st edition, (Routledge, India, 2020), chapter: Saroj Nalini Dutt (1887-1925)</ref>

==Background==
She was born in [[Bandel]], Hooghly in [[Bengal]] to [[Brajendranath De]] and Nagendranandini De. Home-schooled by her parents, she married [[Gurusaday Dutt]] in 1905.<ref name="womeninmodernindia"></ref> Her son, Birendrasaday Dutt (বীরেন্দ্রসদয় দত্ত), was born in 1909.<ref name="awomanofindia">Gurusaday Dutt, 'A Woman of India: Being the Life of Saroj Nalini (Founder of Women's Institute Movement in India' (with a foreword by Rabindranath Tagore), (Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 1941)</ref><ref "সরোজনলিনী">রাজীব কুন্ডু, 'সরোজ নলিনী: সংখিপ্ত জীবনি', (অবভাস, কলকাতা, ২০১৪) (Rajib Kundu, Saroj Nalini: Shankhipta Jibani, Ababhash, Kolkata, 2014)</ref>

==Social work==
She was a social reformer and a pioneer of the movement for the uplifting of women in Bengal.<ref name="sarojnalinidutta">'সরোজনলিনী দত্ত', in সুবোধ চন্দ্র সেনগুপ্ত এবং অঞ্জলি বসু, 'সংসদ বাঙালি চরিত্রবিধান', ১, (কলকাতা, শিশু সাহিত্য সংসদ, ২০০২), পৃ: ৫৬৫, ISBN=৮১-৮৫৬২৬-৬৫-০, ('Saroj Nalini Dutta' in Subodhchandra Sengupta and Anjali Basu, 'Samsad Bangali Charitrabidhan', Vol. 1, (Kolkata, Shishu Sahitya Samsad, 2002), p. 565, (Bibliographical Dictionary) ISBN=81-85626-65-0</ref> She pioneered the formation of Mahila Samitis (মহিলা সমিতি) (Women's Institute) in Bengal. She started the first Mahila Samiti in 1913 in Pabna (পাবনা) district with the object of developing friendly cooperation there among the ''purdahnashin'' ladies. Subsequently, she started Mahila Samitis in Birbhum (বীরভূম) (1916), Sultanpur (সুলতানপুর) (1917), and Rampurhat (রামপুরহাট) (1918) districts respectively.<ref name="women'sassociation">[https://ir.nbu.ac.in 'Women's Association of Bengal and it's Interaction with Other Sister Associations of India, Institutional Repository, North Bengal University, p. 245]</ref>

She was the secretary of the Indian Section of the Calcutta League of Women’s Workers (later Bengal Presidency Council of Women), member of the Council of the Nari Siksha Samity (নারী শিক্ষা সমিতি)(Women’s Educational League), and Member of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation’s committee which was to make suitable arrangements for allowing women to elect councillors. She was also the vice president of the Sylhet Union, an association set up for the promotion of female education in Sylhet district.<ref name="socialthoughtsofrabindranathtagore"> Tapati Das Gupta, 'Social Thoughts of Rabindranath Tagore: A Historical Analysis', (Calcutta, 1993)</ref>

==Awards==
*Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE), 1918.

==Legacy==
An association for the upliftment of helpless and needy women, founded in 1925,<ref name="sarojnaliniduttmemorialassociation">[http://www.sarojnaliniduttmemorialassociation.com/ Saroj Nalini Dutt Memorial Association]</ref> and a primary teachers training institute, both set up in Calcutta, are named after her.<ref name="sarojnaliniptti">[https://www.wbptti.in Saroj Nalini Primary Teachers Training Institute, Calcutta]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.sarojnaliniduttmemorialassociation.com/ Saroj Nalini Dutt Memorial Association]
*[http://sarojnalini.wbptti.in Saroj Nalini Primary Teachers Training Institute, Department of School Education, Government of West Bengal]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutta, Saroj Nalini}}
[[Category:1887 births]]
[[Category:1925 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian women]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian people]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian educational theorists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women scientists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian scientists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian social scientists]]
[[Category:Indian feminists]]
[[Category:Indian women educational theorists]]
[[Category:Indian women social workers]]
[[Category:Bengali people]]
[[Category:Bengali Hindus]]
[[Category:People from Hooghly district]]
[[Category:Scholars from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Women scientists from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Women educators from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Educators from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Social workers from West Bengal]]
[[Category:20th-century women educators]]

Brajendranath De

2022-03-19T16:29:31Z

2402:3A80:1CD5:D3F9:678:5634:1232:5476: Citations given

{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Brajendranath De
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption =
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1852|12|23}}
| birth_place = [[Calcutta]], [[Bengal]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1932|09|20|1852|12|23}} ({{lang-bn|৮০}})
| death_place = [[Calcutta]], [[Bengal]], [[British India]]
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation = Civil Servant
| years_active = 1873-1910
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| spouse = Nagendranandini De ({{lang-bn|নগেন্দ্রনন্দিনী দে}}) (nee Bose) ({{lang-bn|বসু}}) 
| children = 12
}}

'''Brajendranath De''' ({{lang-bn|'''ব্রজেন্দ্রনাথ দে'''}}) (23 December, 1852 – 20 September, 1932) ({{lang-bn|১০ পৌষ, ১২৫৯ - ০৪ আশ্বিন, ১৩৩৯}}) was an early Indian member of the Indian Civil Service.<ref name="indiasagawhoswho">[http://indiansaga.com/whoswho/brajendra.html Indiasaga Who's Who]</ref>

==Early life and education==
De, a member of a Kayastha (কায়স্থ)-Brahmo (ব্রাহ্ম) family of Calcutta, was born to Durgadas De (দূর্গাদাস দে), an early student of Hindu College, Calcutta (later renamed Presidency University) and Trailokyamohini Debi (ত্রৈলোক্যমোহিনী দেবী). He studied at [[Hare School]], [[Calcutta]], and then Canning Collegiate School and Canning College, Lucknow,<ref name="Full Text of 'Tabaqat-i-Akbari'">[https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.116007/2015.116007.The-Tabaqat-i-akbari-Of-Khwajah-Nizamuddin-Ahmad-Voliii_djvu.txt Full Text of 'Tabaqat-i-Akbari']</ref> where he was a pupil of Saiyid Husain Bilgrami.

Later, he travelled to England for his higher studies, joining University College, London to appear in the Open Competitive Services examination. He joined the ICS in 1873,<ref>{{cite book |last=India Office, Great Britain |date=1905 |title=The India List and India Office List 1905 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b2NPAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA447 |publisher=Harrison and Sons |page=447}}</ref> becoming the 8th Indian member of the steel frame.<ref name="womenofindia">Geraldine Forbes, 'Women in Modern India', The New Cambridge History of India, Volume IV.2, (Cambridge University Press, 1996), pp. 28–29</ref> Subsequently, he was called to the Bar by the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple on 7 June 1875.<ref>Renu Paul (in consultation with Mitra Sharafi), 'South Asians at the Inns of Court: Middle Temple, 1863-1944', compilation based on H. A. C. Sturgess, (eds.) Register of Admissions to the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple. From the Fifteenth Century to the Year 1944 (London: published for the Hon. Society of the Middle Temple by Butterworth & Co., 1949), volumes II (1782-1909) and III (1910-44), p. 2.</ref> He was admitted to St. Mary Hall, Oxford, where he spent one year, from 1874-1875, on a Boden Sanskrit Scholarship, attending lectures of Max Mueller and Monier-Williams.<ref name="oxforduniversitycalender">Oxford University Calendar, 1875, p. 366</ref><ref name="bkde'snote"> Note written by his third eldest son, Basanta Kumar De, on the occasion of his mother's 50th death anniversary in 1969.</ref>

His fifth eldest daughter was [[Saroj Nalini Dutt]]<ref name="womenofindia"/> and his third eldest son was [[Basanta Kumar De]], whose son was [[Barun De]].

==Career==
He took up his first posting in the civil service as assistant magistrate and collector of Arrah, Behar in 1875. After serving in a number of districts in Behar, he was posted in Raniganj, Bengal in 1881.<ref>[http://www.mocavo.com/The-New-Annual-Army-List-Militia-List-and-Indian-Civil-Service-List-1881-Volume-1881/393337/783 Military and ICS Manual]</ref> He officiated as the district magistrate and collector of Bankura, Burdwan and Faridpore. He served as the full district magistrate and collector of Khulna, where he was befriended by Dr. Krishnadhan Ghosh, the civil surgeon of the district, and the father of Aurobindo Ghosh.<ref name="sriaurobindo"> Peter Heehs, 'The Lives of Sri Aurobindo', (New York:
Columbia University Press, 2008), p. 33</ref><ref name="governmentnotifications">Government Notifications: Orders by the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, 6 August, 1893, in 'The Liberal and the New Dispensation', Volume XII, Issue 30, Calcutta, R.S. Bhattacharji, p. 9</ref> He became the magistrate and collector of [[Balasore district|Balasore]] in [[Orissa]] and then of [[Malda district|Malda]] and [[Hooghly district|Hooghly]].<ref name="Bengalee">"Mr. B. De", in ''Bengalee'', 7 September 1910; see also ''Indian Daily'' News, 3 September 1910</ref> He was the first Indian to be elected as chairman of the Hooghly Municipal Corporation. He was an (acting) commissioner of the Burdwan Division.<ref name="socialthoughtofrabindranathtagore">Tapati Dutta Gupta, 'Social Thought of Rabindranath Tagore: A Historical Analysis', Abhinav Publications, p. 122, 1993</ref><ref name="liberty">"Late Mr. B. De.: Passing Away of an Old Civilian" in ''Liberty'', Friday, 30 September 1932</ref>

As the district officer of Hooghly, he started the Duke Club there which was meant to be exclusively for Indians.<ref name="britishness">Mrinalini Sinha, 'Britishness, Clubbability, and the Colonial Public Sphere: The Genealogy of an Imperial Institution in Colonial India', in 'The Journal of British Studies', Volume 4, Issue 44, October 2001, pp. 489–521</ref> One of his commissioners once told him not to entertain the thought of wanting to join a British club in the district.<ref name="bodiesincontact">Tony Ballantyne, 'Bodies in Contact', Duke University Press, 2005, p.193</ref>

De retired from active service in 1910.

==Post-Retirement==
After retirement he remained involved in the work of the Calcutta Improvement Trust.<ref name="latemrbdepassingawayofanoldcivilian">'Late Mr. B.De: Passing Away of An Old Civilian' in ''Liberty'', Friday, 30 September 1932</ref><ref name="latemr.b.decalcuttacorporationtributes">"Late Mr. B. De, Calcutta Corporation Tributes", in ''Liberty'', Saturday, 1 October 1932</ref> He served as a vice-president of the council of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta.<ref name="birthcentenaryofbdecelebrated">"Birth Centenary of B.De Celebrated" in ''The Statesman'', Wednesday, 24 December 1952</ref><ref name="latemrbdecelebration">"He Rehabilitated Persian in Bengal: Tributes to Late B.De: Birthday Celebration" in ''Amrita Bazar Patrika'', Wednesday, 24 December 1952</ref>

==Academic==
De translated Kalidasa's 'Vikramorvasi' and 'Manichudabadana' from Sanskrit to English.<ref name="latemrbdepassingawayofanoldcivilian"/> He edited an English-Bengali dictionary<ref name="liberty"/> and published an article on inter dining in the Madras Social Reformer (1910).

He was the translator and editor, in two volumes, of [[Nizamuddin Ahmad]]'s '' The Tabaqat-i-Akbari''. The third volume, which he had left fully prepared, was posthumously published by Baini Prasad and M. Hidayat Hosain.<ref name="mr.b.dedeadretiredmemberofthecivilservice">"Mr.B.De Dead Retired Member of the Civil Service" in ''The Statesman'', 30 September 1932</ref><ref name="thestatusofmuslimwomeninmedievalindia">[https://books.google.com/books?id=yF4lDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT120&lpg=PT120&dq=Tabaqat+i+Akbari+-+Beni+Prasad&source=bl&ots=jpsDUeBIsE&sig=9Z1X7kHfL-B_-mTgLvZz8RuvAiU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJn-XwhNnOAhXLNo8KHV7XDlgQ6AEIITAB#v=onepage&q=Tabaqat%20i%20Akbari%20-%20Beni%20Prasad&f=false Sudha Sharma, ''Status of Muslim Women in Medieval India'', Allahabad]</ref><ref name="Full Text of 'Tabaqat-i-Akbari'"/>

==Legacy==
A road in Chinsura, the headquarter of Hooghly district<ref name="mapofchinsura">[https://www.google.com/maps/place/B.Dey+Rd,+Hooghly,+West+Bengal+712101/@22.9025053,88.3949378,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x39f893f96abb29e3:0x854c02d1d9d97a7d!8m2!3d22.9025053!4d88.3971265 Map of Chinsura, Hooghly, Bengal]</ref> and a hall in Malda, the headquarter of Malda district<ref name="mapofmalda"> [https://www.google.com/search?q=B.De+Hall%2C+Malda&oq=B.De+Hall%2C+Malda&aqs=chrome..69i57.15054j0j7&client=ms-android-samsung-gj-rev1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#istate=lrl:mlt&trex=m_r:1,m_t:gwp,rc_q:B.De%2520Hall%252C%2520Malda,rc_ui:1,ru_gwp:0%252C6,ru_q:B.De%2520Hall%252C%2520Malda,trex_id:A9QtDb Map of Malda, Bengal]</ref> are named after him.

==Publications==

*(Ed. & tran.), Kālidāsa's play [[Vikramōrvaśīyam|Vikramorvasi]], Canto I., in ''[[Calcutta Review]]'', Oct. 1884, pp. 440–2.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Schuyler, Jr.|first=Montgomery|title=Bibliography of Kālidāsa's Mālavikāgnimitra and Vikramorvaçī|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|date=1902|volume=23|pages=93–101|jstor=592384|doi=10.2307/592384}}</ref>
* (Ed. & tran.), ''The Tabaqat-i-Akbari of Khwaja Nizamuddin Ahmad: A History of India from the Early Musalman Invasions to the Thirty-eighth year of the Reign of Akbar'' (in 3 Vols.), (Calcutta, reprint, 1973)<ref>[http://www.lppindia.com/servlet/lppgetbiblio?bno=000476 Tabaqat-i-Akbari by Khwaja Nizamuddin Ahmed]</ref>
* "Reminiscences of an Indian Member of the Indian Civil Service", in ''Calcutta Review'', (1953–5) (in 3 parts).<ref>[http://dspace.wbpublibnet.gov.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/10689/12810/10/Bibliography.pdf Reminiscences of an Indian Member of the Indian Civil Service' in the Calcutta Review]</ref><ref name="feministpostcolonialisttheory">[https://books.google.com/books?id=ccFuGe-hBt0C&pg=PA456&lpg=PA456&dq=Brajendranath+De+-+Presidency+College&source=bl&ots=K2kq_JjbhL&sig=V-I5vHvmGjlu79Vk2GPSfn-c9QY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiD0cvf8u7ZAhVMo48KHYq3CRU4ChDoAQgyMAM#v=onepage&q=Brajendranath%20De%20-%20Presidency%20College&f=false Mrinalini Sinha, "Reconfiguring Hiararchies: The Ilbert Bill Controversy, 1883-84", in Reina Lewis and Sarah Mills, ''Feminist Post-Colonialist Theory: A Reader'', New York and London, Routledge, 2003, p. 456]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.asiaticsocietycal.com/ The Asiatic Society, Calcutta]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:De, Brajendranath}}
[[Category:1852 births]]
[[Category:1932 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Bengalis]]
[[Category:20th-century Bengalis]]
[[Category:Alumni of St Mary Hall, Oxford]]
[[Category:Bengali historians]]
[[Category:Brahmos]]
[[Category:Hare School alumni]]
[[Category:Indian barristers]]
[[Category:Indian Civil Service (British India) officers]]
[[Category:Indian orientalists]]
[[Category:Members of the Middle Temple]]
[[Category:People from Hooghly district]]
[[Category:Persian–English translators]]
[[Category:Sanskrit–English translators]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:University of Lucknow alumni]]

Basanta Kumar De

2022-03-19T16:28:21Z

2402:3A80:1CD5:D3F9:678:5634:1232:5476: Citations given

{{Infobox person
| name = Basanta Kumar De
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption =
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1897|03|09}}
| birth_place = [[Balasore]], [[Orissa]], [[India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1975|08|31|1897|03|09}} ({{lang-bn|৭৯}})
| death_place = [[Calcutta]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation = Civil Servant
| years_active = 1921-1952
| known_for =
| notable_works =
| spouse = Pramila De ({{lang-bn|প্রমিলা দে}}) (née Gupta) ({{lang-bn|গুপ্ত}})
| children = 1
}}

'''Basanta Kumar De''' ({{lang-bn|'''বসন্ত কুমার দে'''}}) (9 March, 1897 - 31 August, 1975) ({{lang-bn|২৭ ফাল্গুন, ১৩০৩ - ১৪ ভাদ্র, ১৩৮২}}) was a senior officer of the [[Bengal Nagpur Railway|BNR]].<ref name="districtgazetteers">[https://www.jstor.org/stable/44156392?loggedin=true&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents Irfan Habib, "Professor Barun De (1932-2013)" in ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress'', Volume 73, 2012, pp. 1553-1555]</ref><ref name="frontline1"/>

==Early Life and education==
De, who was a member of a Kayastha (কায়স্থ)-Brahmo (ব্রাহ্ম) family of Calcutta, was the third son of [[Brajendranath De]] and Nagendranandini De (née Bose).
<ref name="awomanofindia">Gurusaday Dutt, 'A Woman of India: Being the Life of Saroj Nalini (Founder of Women's Institute Movement in India' (with a foreword by Rabindranath Tagore), (Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 1941)</ref><ref name="সরোজনলিনী">রাজীব কুন্ডু, 'সরোজনলিনী: সংখিপ্ত জীবনি', (অবভাস, কলকাতা, ২০১৪) (Rajib Kundu, 'Saroj Nalini: Shankhipta Jibani', Ababhash, Kolkata, 2014),</ref>He completed his education at [[Hare School|Hare School, Calcutta]] and Presidency College, Calcutta, where he completed his B.A. (Hons.) in English. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, where his moral tutor was James Drummond Anderson. Later, he was admitted to The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.<ref name="southasiansattheinnsofcourt"> Online list entitled 'South Asians at the Inns of Court -Middle Temple, 1863-1944', compiled by Renu Paul, in consultation with Mitra Sharafi. (Source: H.A.C. Sturgess, ed., Register of Admissions to the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple: From the Fifteenth Century to the Year 1944' (London: published for the Hon. Society of the Middle Temple by Butterworth & Co., 1949) volumes II (1782-1909) and III (1910-1944), p.82 at https://docplayer.net></ref> His son was [[Barun De]].<ref name="frontline1">[https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/obituary/historian-and-administrator/article4995294.ece Aniruddha Ray, "Historian and Administrator", 'Frontline', 2013] Retrieved 2015-03-03</ref><ref name="districtgazetteers"/>

==Career==
De was recruited into the Commercial Department of the BNR in London in 1921.<ref name="bdeletterfromloudenstreet"> Letter from Brajendranath De on 9th September, 1921 from 22, Louden Street, Calcutta to his son-in-law, Gurusaday Dutt, then living in London. Letter, from G.S. Dutt archive, is with his (Dutt's) grandson, Devsaday Dutt.</ref><ref name="oralhistory"/> His first posting was as assistant traffic superintendent.<ref name="reminiscencesofanindianmemberoftheindiancivilservice"> Brajendranath De, 'Reminiscences of an Indian Member of the Indian Civil Service', Calcutta, 1925-1929, pp.416-417. Memoir manuscript in the custody of Barun De's library.</ref> In that capacity, he played an important role in the building of the BNR Hotel in Puri. As a young officer posted in Kharagpore he witnessed the first railway workshop strike led by V.V. Giri in 1927.

In 1931, he was tasked with the responsibility of carrying out the survey work for laying of the tracks from Raipur to Vizianagram and Sonepur to Bolangir. Through the 1930s he served as district commercial officer in Kharagpore, Waltair,<ref name="20,theatreroadletter">Letter from Brajendranath De of 20, Theatre Road, Calcutta to Paresh Chandra Datta and Sarasi Nalini Datta, then living in England, dated 26th March, 1931. Letter in the custody of Barun De's library.</ref> Nainpur and Adra.<ref name="oralhistory">[https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://wikis.uit.tufts.edu/confluence/display/atbohp/Barun%2BDe%3Fdesktop%3Dtrue%26macroName%3Dattachments&ved=2ahUKEwiykozQoIH1AhUVxDgGHaIvCykQFnoECAYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw083H797WHC9n5MOfE8i6xG Text of Barun De's interview given to Kris Manjapra for Tufts University Oral History Archive, 2009]</ref> While he was in Adra for a second time between 1939 and 1942, he was given the responsibility of managing the transportation of Congress workers and leaders attending the Ramgarh Session of the Indian National Congress of 1941. In this connection, he had to visit Mahatma Gandhi there.<ref name="oralhistory"/>

In the 1940s, he served as regional controller of railway priorities under the Railway Board and then as traffic superintendent general. During the Second World War years, he was commissioned as a major in the Commercial Department of the BNR under the Defence of India Rules and Act.<ref name="memorandum">Memorandum dated 7th July 1947 and signed by the commercial traffic manager of the BNR granting honorary ranks noted each under the War Department Notification to Ex: Defence of India Commissioned Officers of the same railway company. Memorandum in the custody of Barun De's library.</ref> In 1950, he was appointed as commercial traffic manager. In the last two years of his career, he attended meetings chaired by the then chief minister of West Bengal, Bidhan Chandra Ray.

De retired from active service at the end of 1952.

==Post-retirement==

After retirement, he was offered membership of the Railway Recruitment Board in Gorakhpur, which he declined. He took the initiative to publish large segments of his father, Brajendranath De's, memoir in the ''[[Calcutta Review]]'', on the occasion of the latter's birth centenary in 1952. As an original Trustee of the Estate of the late Gurusaday Dutt, he recommended as well as contributed to the formation of the [[Gurusaday Museum]],<ref name="gurusadaymuseum">[https://www.museumsofindia.org Gurusaday Museum]</ref> which is now under the Bratachari Society.

In 1968, he was elected a member<ref name="hareschoolcalcutta">Notice dated 12th March 1968, signed by M. Pradhan, Hony. General Secretary of the Organising Committee of Hare School, Calcutta. Notice
in the custody of Barun De's library.</ref> of the Organising Committee of the 150th Foundation Anniversary Celebration of his alma mater, Hare School, Calcutta and chairman<ref name="homeschoolcalcuttabrochuresubcommittee">Minutes of the Meeting of the Brochure Sub-Committee held at Hare School at 4-30 P.M. on Friday, the 22nd March, 1968. Agenda papers in the custody of Barun De's library.</ref> of the Brochure Sub-Committee of the Organising Committee responsible for the publication of all materials related to the foundation day celebration.

==Legacy==

Approximately 2, 000 photographs of De's family, held by him, have been given, on loan, to the photographic archive of the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta in 2001.<ref name="epw1">[http://thankstoepw.blogspot.in/2013/09/barun-de-situating-eminent-historian.html "Situating an Eminent Historian Eminently" - Sabyasachi Bhattacharya] Retrieved 2015-03-21.</ref> After the archive was shifted to the newly established Jadunath Bhavan Museum and Resource Centre
of the CSSSC in 2009, the photographs were deposited there.<ref name="jsrchr"> Brochure entitled Jadunath Bhavan Museum and Resource Centre, (Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, 2009), p. 7</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==

*[https://www.ser.indianrailways.gov.in South Eastern Railway]
*[https://www.museumsofindia.org Gurusaday Museum]

{{DEFAULTSORT:De, Basanta Kumar}}
[[Category:1897 births]]
[[Category:1975 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Bengalis]]
[[Category:20th-century Bengalis]]
[[Category:Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Brahmos]]
[[Category:Hare School alumni]]
[[Category:Indian Civil Servants]]
[[Category:Members of the Middle Temple]]
[[Category:People from the Hooghly district]]
[[Category:Presidency University, Kolkata alumni]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]

Barun De

2022-03-19T16:27:00Z

2402:3A80:1CD5:D3F9:678:5634:1232:5476:

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2018}}

{{Infobox person
| name =Barun De
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1932|10|30}}
| birth_place=[[Calcutta]], [[Bengal]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2013|07|16|1932|10|30}}({{lang-bn|৮১}})
| death_place = [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]
| occupation =Historian
| years active =1961-2001
|spouse = Romabai De ({{lang-bn| রমাবাঈ দে}}) (nee Dutta Gupta) ({{lang-bn|দত্তগুপ্ত}})
|children = 2
}}

'''Barun De''' ({{lang-bn|'''বরুণ দে'''}}) (30 October, 1932 – 16 July, 2013) ({{lang-bn|১৩ কার্তিক, ১৩৩৯ - ৩১ আষাঢ়, ১৪২০}}) was an Indian historian and institution builder.

==Early life and education==
De, a member of a Kayastha (কায়স্থ)-Brahmo (ব্রাহ্ম) family of Calcutta<ref name="telegraphindia">{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130718/jsp/calcutta/story_17126553.jsp |title=Historian Barun De dead |date=18 July 2013 |accessdate=2016-08-15}}</ref><ref name="HT20130718">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/kolkata/Historian-Barun-De-passes-away/Article-1094187.aspx |date=18 July 2013 |title=Historian Barun De passes away |publisher=Hindustan Times |accessdate=4 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131010131755/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/kolkata/Historian-Barun-De-passes-away/Article-1094187.aspx |archivedate=10 October 2013 }}</ref>, was the son of [[Draft: Basanta Kumar De|Basanta Kumar De]]<ref name="frontline1">[http://www.frontline.in/other/obituary/historian-and-administrator/article4995294.ece "Historian and Administrator" - Aniruddha Ray] Retrieved 2015-03-03</ref> and Pramila De (nee Gupta). His grandfather was [[Brajendranath De]].<ref name="vmh">[http://www.victoriamemorial-cal.org/official_info/victoria_newsletter_feb2014.pdf Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, 'Obituary' in the ''Victoria Memorial Newsletter'', 2014]</ref> He studied at St. Xavier's Collegiate School, Calcutta. He completed his I.A. & B.A. (Honours) in History at Presidency College, Calcutta, where he was a student of [[Susobhan Sarkar|Susobhan Chandra Sarkar]]. He was a debate secretary of the student's union of the college.

De completed his 2nd B.A. (Honours School) at St. Catherine's Society, Oxford, where his tutors were George Holmes and Wilfred Knapp. He completed his D.Phil. thesis on "Henry Dundas and the Government of India, 1784-1801" under the supervision of Colin Cuthbert Davies<ref name="telegraphindia1">
{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130718/jsp/opinion/story_17126533.jsp#.vOvi_Tb9nIU |title=Clio's Disciple |first=Rudrangshu|last=Mukherjee |date=18 July 2013 |accessdate=2015-02-24}}</ref> on a Beit studentship at Nuffield College, Oxford. As the holder of this scholarship he took classes in the college. He was awarded the Curzon Memorial Prize for his essay "Macaulay and India". He was secretary, treasurer and president of the Oxford India Majlis.<ref name="thestatesman1">[http://www.thestatesman.com/news/6074-Historian-Barun-De-dead.html "Historian Barun De dead" - The Statesman, 18 July 2013] Retrieved 2015-03-05.</ref>

After returning from Oxford, he formed a lasting friendship with [[Saiyid Nurul Hasan]].<ref name="thetelegraphindia">{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150405/jsp/opinion/story_12677.jsp#.V7E5UjgkrIU |title=State of Abounding Grace |first=Gopal Krishna|last=Gandhi |date=2015 |accessdate=2016-08-15}}</ref>

==Career==
De was a lecturer at the University of Calcutta, a reader at the University of Burdwan, an associate professor and programme director of the Post-Graduate Programme (later Post-Graduate Diploma in Management) and then professor and senior professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta,<ref name="timesofindia1"/><ref name="businessstandard">[https://www.business-standard.com Rudrangshu Mukherjee, 'Ashok Mitra (1928-2018): A Voice of Dissent with a Tender Heart', Business Standard, 2 May, 2018]</ref> a professor and the founder-director of the [[Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta]], and the honorary state editor of the West Bengal District Gazetteers.<ref name="ihr1">[http://ihr.sagepub.com/content/41/1/147.full.pdf+html "Professor Barun De (1932-2013)" - Sabyasachi Bhattacharya] Indian Historical Review. Retrieved 2015-03-15.</ref>

He has taught and worked at various universities in India and abroad, such as Duke University as visiting associate professor, the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, [[Shimla]], as senior fellow,<ref name="thestatesman1"/> ''Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme'', Paris as ''directeur'', and University of Sydney and University of Milan as visiting professor. He was a delegate to several conferences of the United Nations University held at Madrid, Tokyo, Caracass, Mexico City and Berlin.<ref name="changingidentities"> Barun De, 'Imperialism, Nationalism and the Dialectics of Changing Identity in the Indian Subcontinent', in Joachim Heidrich, (ed.), 'Changing Identities: The Transformation of Asian and African Societies under Colonialism', Papers of a symposium held at the Centre for Modern Oriental Studies, Berlin, 21-22 October, 1993, Studien 1, (Berlin: Verlag Das Arabische Buch, 1994), pp. 61-78</ref>

He was a member of the [[Indian Council of Historical Research]], New Delhi, the Indian Council for Social Science Research, New Delhi, the Executive Council (''Karma Samity'') of Vishva Bharati University, Santiniketan, the West Bengal Higher Education Commission and the Executive Council of the A.N. Sinha Institute, Patna. He was secretary, sectional president and general president of the Indian History Congress.<ref name="frontline1"/>

De formally retired from service in 1993.

==Post-retirement==

Soon after his retirement De was once again appointed as director of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Calcutta. From 1997-1998, he was Maulana Abul Kalam Azad fellow
of this institute.<ref name="telegraphindia1"/> He was a member of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations in this period. From 1998-2001 he held the India Chair (in the rank of minister-counsellor), with attachment to the Indian Embassy of Uzbekistan, at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Tashkent.<ref name="businessstandard1">[http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/historian-barun-de-dies-at-80-113071700809_1.html "Historian Barun De dies at 80" - Business Standard] Retrieved 2015-03-06.</ref>

After returning to India he was made a member of the textbook review committee of the National Council for Educational Research and Training (2004).<ref>[http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/arjun-singh-appoints-panel-to-review-ncert-textbooks/1/196584.html ''India Today'', 2004]</ref> He became chairman of the West Bengal State Archives, Calcutta,<ref name="businessstandard1"/> vice president of the Center for Archaeology and Training, Calcutta, vice president of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,<ref name="frontline1"/>
member of the Board of Trustees of the Indian Museum, Calcutta,<ref name="frontline1"/>, and member of the Court of Vishva Bharati University, Santiniketan.

He was a member of the Heritage Conservation Committee of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, in which capacity he contributed to the preparation of a list of heritage buildings of West Bengal.<ref>[https://www.kmcgov.in/KMCPortal/downloads/Graded_List_of_Heritage_Buildings_Grade_I_IIA_IIB.pdf "Heritage Conservation Committee"] p. 3. Retrieved 2015-03-23</ref> ''[[The Times of India]]'' has described him as "a pioneer of the heritage movement of West Bengal".<ref name="timesofindia1">[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Historian-scholar-Barun-De-dies-at-80/articleshow/21156245.cms "The Times of India" - Staff Reporter] Retrieved 2015-02-27.</ref> From 2001-2008 he was member of the West Bengal Heritage Commission, of which he was the honorary chairman (in the rank of minister-of-state) from 2008-2011.<ref name="businessstandard1"/>

From 2011-2013 he was the Tagore national fellow, which he held at the Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta.<ref name="victoriamemorialnewsletter1">[http://www.victoriamemorial-cal.org/official_info/victoria_newsletter_feb2014.pdf "Obituary" in the ''Victoria Memorial Newsletter'' - Sabyasachi Bhattacharya] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226153443/http://www.victoriamemorial-cal.org/official_info/victoria_newsletter_feb2014.pdf |date=2015-02-26 }} Retrieved 2015-0317.</ref>

==Research==
De's research spanned from early to late modern period of Indian history. In the early half of his career he wrote on Henry Dundas and the conquest of India. Later, he addressed the Marxist critique of the colonial context of the Bengal renaissance.<ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/a-great-conversationalist-intellectual/article4925060.ece "A Conversationalist Intellectual - Sugata Bose"] Retrieved 2015-03-27.</ref>

He was also concerned with India's national movement. His popular textbook, ''Freedom Struggle'', co-authored with [[Bipan Chandra]] and Amalesh Tripathi,<ref name="telegraphindia1"/> was censored by the Indian government in 1977,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=4DlMSrtOGLIC&pg=PA272 "Censorship of Historical Thought: A World Guide" - Antoon de Baets] Retrieved 2015-02-21.</ref> although he was well-known for his criticism of India's first emergency.<ref name="proceedingsoftheindianhistorycongress">[https://www.jstor.org/stable/44156392?seq=1&loggedin=true#page_scan_tab_contents Irfan Habib, "Professor Barun De (1932-2013)" in ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress'', Vol. 73, 2012, p. 1554]</ref> This book has been translated into Bengali by Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya.<ref>[http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article4385.html "Historian Barun De passes away - Panchanan Chattopadhyay"]. ''Mainstreamweekly''. Retrieved 2015-03-23.</ref>

In 1975, he edited a volume in honour of Susobhan Chandra Sarkar, in which he wrote the main essay that reveals his preference for objectivity and critical analysis.<ref name="proceedingsoftheindianhistorycongress1">[https://www.jstor.org/stable/44156392?seq=2&loggedin=true#page_scan_tab_contents Irfan Habib, "Professor Barun De (1932-2013)" in ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress'', Volume 73, 2012, p. 1554]</ref> He edited the 24 Parganas and Darjeeling ''District Gazetteers''<ref name="districtgazetteers">[https://www.jstor.org/stable/44156392?loggedin=true&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents Irfan Habib, "Professor Barun De (1932-2013)" in ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress'', Volume 73, 2012, pp. 1553-1555]</ref> and contributed to the editing of the Jalpaiguri District Gazetteers too.<ref name="districtgazetteers1">[https://books.google.com/books?id=UfToffd1KxMC&pg=PA201&lpg=PA201&dq=Barun+De,+Jalpaiguri+district+gazetteers&source=bl&ots=LCjhrE6fY2&sig=Rw9AXjtY445QnVTRA6XHXnuaZpU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjWy5HlxfzaAhXIqo8KHROuAZMQ6AEIQzAF#v=onepage&q=Barun%20De%2C%20Jalpaiguri%20district%20gazetteers&f=false Abani Mohan Kusari, West Bengal District GazetteersL Jalpaiguri, Gazetteer of India, Calcutta, Barun De, Honorary State Editor, West Bengal District Gazetteers, Calcutta, 1981 in Michael Lampert, Discipline and Debate: The Language of Violence in Tibetan Buddhist Monastery, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012].</ref>

==Awards==
*D.Litt. (''Honouris Causa''), North Bengal University, 2000.<ref name="jagranjosh">[http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/barun-de-the-renowned-historian-and-academician-passed-away-at-80-1377577861-1 Akanksha Sharma, 'Barun De, The Renowned Historian and Academician Passed Away at 80' in ''Jagran Josh'', 17 July 2013]</ref>

*Banga Samman, 2008-09

==Legacy==

After De's death the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Calcutta had instituted a memorial lecture in his name.<ref>[http://makaias.gov.in/Programme_BarunDe_Memorial_Lecture1.pdf Barun De Memorial Lecture] Retrieved 2015-02-27.</ref> The Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta has renamed its auditorium at the Jadunath Bhavan Museum and Resource Centre after him.<ref name="jadunathbhavan">[http://jbmrc.cssscal.org/remembering-professor-barun-de/ Barun De Auditorium, CSSSC]</ref>

==Publications==

*''Secularism at Bay: Uzbekistan at the Turn of the Century'' (New Delhi, 2006)<ref>[https://books.google.com/books/about/Secularism_at_Bay.html?id=TjE74t1I9NsC&redir_esc=y "Secularism at Bay: Uzbekistan at the Turn of the Century" - Barun De] Retrieved 2015-02-17.</ref>
*(ed.) ''State, Development and Political Culture: Bangladesh and India'', (New Delhi, 1997) (co-edited with Ranabir Samaddar)
*(সম্পাদক) 'মুক্তি সংগ্রামে বাংলার ছাত্র-সমাজ' (কলকাতা, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ ইতিহাস সংসদ, ১৯৯২) (''Students of Bengal in the Struggle of Liberation'', Paschim Banga Itihas Samsad, 1992)
*(ed.) ''West Bengal District Gazetteers, 24 Parganas'', (Calcutta, 1983)
*(ed.) ''West Bengal District Gazetteers, Jalpaiguri'', (Calcutta, 1981) (co-edited with Abani Mohan Kusari).
*(ed.) ''West Bengal District Gazetteers, Darjeeling'', (Calcutta, 1980)
*''The Dialectics Between Response to Exogenous and Autochthonous Innovation in India in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, with Special Reference to Modern Bengal'', (Tokyo: United Nations University, 1979)<ref name="unu">[https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/1713550 The Dialectics Between Response to Exogenous and Autochthonous Innovation in India in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, with Special Reference to Modern Bengal - Barun De] Retrieved 2018-01-12.</ref>
*(ed.) ''Perspectives in Social Sciences, 1: Historical Dimensions'' (New Delhi, 1977)<ref name="perspectivesinsocialscienceihistoricaldimensions">[https://www.jstor.org/stable/2055079?seq=1 David L.Curley (reviewer), ''Perspectives in Social Sciences I: Historical Dimension'', in ''The Journal of Asian Studies'', Vol. 40, No. 1, (Nov. 1980), pp. 158–60]</ref><ref name="perspectivesinsocialscienceshistoricaldimensions1">[https://books.google.com/books?id=GHxJDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT234&lpg=PT234&dq=Barun+De&source=bl&ots=X75XMnufBq&sig=zpY72FIOO7UfU3rH8I71SAT1GPc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi1qJrP29vZAhXHPo8KHZP4DMM4FBDoAQhDMAg#v=onepage&q=Barun%20De&f=false Chandak Sengoopta, ''The Rays before Satyajit: Creativity and Modernity in Colonial India'', (New Delhi, Oxford, 2016)]</ref>
* "A Biographical Perspective on the Political and Economic Ideas of Rammohun Ray", in V.C.Joshi, (ed.), ''Rammohun Roy and the Process of Modernisation in India'', New Delhi, 1975<ref name="indianpoliticalthought">[https://books.google.com/books?id=yP59iDghcIkC&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=Barun+De&source=bl&ots=JEIKcyzgDB&sig=bHJMaKGdoWOXXD6JRAzKMD9DZLY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKyazs3tvZAhUUTo8KHXDCCMM4HhDoAQg1MAQ#v=onepage&q=Barun%20De&f=false Amiya P. Sen, "Rammohan Roy", in Mahendra Prasad Singh and Himanshu Roy, ''Indian Political Thought: Themes and Thinkers'', (Delhi, Pearson, 2011), p. 68]</ref>
*(ed.) ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress'', (Calcutta: Jadavpur Session, 1974)
*(ed.) ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress'', (Aligarh: Aligarh Session, 1975)
*(et al. eds.) ''Essays in Honour of Professor Sushobhan Chandra Sarkar'' (New Delhi, 1975)<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xJgDawlnknwC&pg=PA190 "Peasant Labour and Colonial Capital: Rural Bengal since 1770" - Sugata Bose] 2015-02-19.</ref>
*''Freedom Struggle'' (New Delhi, 1972), (co-authored with [[Bipan Chandra]] and Amalesh Tripathi)<ref>[https://www.amazon.in/Freedom-Struggle-Bipan-Chandra/dp/8123702493 "Freedom Struggle" - Bipan Chandra, Amalesh Tripathi and Barun De] Retrieved 2015-02-18.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.cssscal.org/ Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta]
*[http://www.makaias.gov.in/ Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Calcutta]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:De, Barun}}
[[Category:1932 births]]
[[Category:2013 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian historians]]
[[Category:Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Bengali historians]]
[[Category:Brahmos]]
[[Category:Economic historians]]
[[Category:Historians of South Asia]]
[[Category:Indian Marxist historians]]
[[Category:Indian Institute of Management Calcutta faculty]]
[[Category:Indian institute directors]]
[[Category:Presidency University, Kolkata alumni]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta faculty]]