Rozella5628: creating pg

2026-02-10T03:12:28Z

creating pg

New page

{{Short description|Indian historian (1931–2019)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sri Ram Mehrotra
| image =Sriram_Mehrotra.jpg
| alt =
| caption = S.R. Mehrotra at his home in Shimla in 2016
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1931|06|23}}
| birth_place = [[Etawah|Anantram, Etawah]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|07|17|1931|06|23}}
| death_place =
| other_names =
| occupation = professor of history
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}

'''Sri Ram Mehrotra''' (23 June 1931 – 17 July 2019) was an Indian professor of history who published on the history of the Indian independence movement, the [[Indian National Congress]], the life and work of its founder [[Allan Octavian Hume]], and on the writings and philosophy of [[Mahatma Gandhi|Gandhi]]. He also wrote a biography of [[Pranjivan Mehta]], an important but little-known influence in the Indian independence movement who supported Gandhi. Mehrotra was known for his meticulous detail to sources and care in interpretations and published several annotated collections of sources and letters relating to Hume and towards the end of his life, [[Dadabhai Naoroji]].

== Life and career ==
[[File:Mehrotra study room.jpg|thumb|left|Living room in Shimla, 2016]]
Mehrotra was born in [[Etawah|Anantram, Etawah]]. He went to a local government school (which had been founded by A. O. Hume, an abiding professional interest in later life) and later to the [[University of Allahabad]], receiving an M.A. in history in 1950 after which he went to the [[University of London]] from where he received a Ph.D. in 1960. His Ph.D. dissertation was published as a book ''India and the Commonwealth'' (1965). He then worked as a lecturer at the University of London. He then moved to India and became a founding professor in the department of history at the [[Himachal Pradesh University]] in 1971. He was a visiting professor at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison|University of Wisconsin]] in 1974 and Visiting Fellow at [[St John's College, Cambridge|St. John's College, Cambridge]] 1983-84. He was Jawaharlal Nehru Professor at [[Maharshi Dayanand University|Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak]] and a Fellow of the [[Indian Institute of Advanced Study]], Shimla.<ref name = bio /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://scroll.in/article/931319/sr-mehrotra-1931-2019-a-tireless-chronicler-of-indias-struggle-for-freedom|author=Patel, Dinyar|newspaper=Scroll|date=28 July 2019|access-date=2019-07-28|title=SR Mehrotra (1931-2019): A tireless chronicler of India's struggle for freedom}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Dadabhai Naoroji. Selected Private Papers.|publisher=Oxford University Press|editor1=Mehrotra, S.R. |editor2=Patel, Dinyar|isbn=9780198076667|pages=preface|date=September 2013}}</ref> Mehrotra received an honorary [[Doctor of Letters|D.Litt.]] from Himachal Pradesh University in 2014, receiving the award from the [[14th Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]], honoured guest at the convocation ceremony.

== Personal life ==
Mehrotra was married to historian Dr Eva Mehrotra from 24 July 1957 until her death. The couple had no children. On retirement he moved to Shimla where he lived at Seva, Kenfield Estate.<ref name=bio>{{cite book|title=International Who's Who of Authors and Writers 2004|publisher=Europa Publications|year=2003|page=380}}</ref> He died at his home in Shimla following a fall and hip injury.

== Writings ==
Mehrotra's published works include:
* ''Emergence of the Indian National Congress'' (1971, republished in 2004)
* ''The Commonwealth and the Nation'' (1978)
* ''Towards India’s Freedom and Partition'' (1979)
* ''A History of the Indian National Congress: Volume One, 1885-1918'' (1995)
* ''M. K. Gandhi's Hind Swaraj: A Critical Edition'' (2010)
* ''The Mahatma and the Doctor'' (2014)
* (with Edward C. Moulton) ''Selected Writings of Allan Octavian Hume. Volume I'' (2004)

He also published numerous journal papers on the pre-Independence period that included such topics as the history of the British India Society,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mehrotra|first=S.R.|date=1967|title=The British India Society and its Bengal Branch, 1839-46|journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review|language=en|volume=4|issue=2|pages=131–154|doi=10.1177/001946466700400203|s2cid=144369204|issn=0019-4646}}</ref> the [[Zamindari Association|Landholders' Society]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mehrotra|first=S.R.|date=1966|title=The Landholders' Society, 1838 - 44|journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review|language=en|volume=3|issue=4|pages=358–375|doi=10.1177/001946466600300403|s2cid=143041122|issn=0019-4646}}</ref> the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, as well as reviews of historical works.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mehrotra|first=S. R.|date=2003|title=Pathway to India's Partition|journal=Indian Historical Review|language=en|volume=30|issue=1–2|pages=244–250|doi=10.1177/037698360303000227|s2cid=141255830|issn=0376-9836}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Mehrotra, S. R.|year=1963|title=On the use of the term 'commonwealth'.|journal=Journal of Commonwealth & Comparative Politics|volume=2|issue=1|pages=1–16}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Mehrotra, S.R.|year=1969|title=The Poona Sarvajanik Sabha: The Early Phase (1870–1880).|journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review|volume=6|issue=3|pages=293–321|doi=10.1177/001946466900600303|s2cid=142905178}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Mehrotra, S. R.|year=1970|editor2=Mary Doreen Wainwright|title=The partition of India: Policies and perspectives 1947|chapter=The congress and the partition of India|publisher=Allen & Unwin|editor1=Cyril Henry Philips}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Mehrotra, Sri Ram|year=1961|title=Imperial federation and India, 1868–1917.|journal=Journal of Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 1.1|volume=1|pages=29–40|doi=10.1080/14662046108446957}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Mehrotra, S. R.|year=1963|title=The Politics Behind the Montagu Declaration of 1917.|journal=Politics and Society in India|pages=71–96}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Mehrotra, S. R.|year=1980|title=The Early Indian National Congress, 1885-1918: Ideals, Objectives and Organization|journal=Essays in Modern Indian History|pages=45–48}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Mehrotra, S. R.|year=1961|title=Gandhi and the British Commonwealth.|journal=India Quarterly|volume=17|issue=1|pages=44–57|doi=10.1177/097492846101700103|s2cid=155387193}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Mehrotra, S. R.|year=1976|title=Mid-Victorian Anti-Imperialists and India.|journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review|volume=13|issue=2|pages=251–267|doi=10.1177/001946467601300205|s2cid=145399566}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Mehrotra, S. R.|year=1997|title=The Creation of Pakistan: The Triumph and Tragedy of Jinnah'.|journal=Indian Archives|pages=76–8}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1177/037698369902600236|title=The Making of a Nation: India's Road to Independence|journal=Indian Historical Review|volume=26|issue=2|pages=250–251|year=1999|last1=Mehrotra|first1=S. R.|s2cid=220720080}}</ref> The proposed second volume of his history of the Indian National Congress, taking the story to independence in 1947, was never completed.

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://himachalguardian.com/2019/07/departure-of-a-gentlemen-professor/ Obituary - the Himachal Guardian] [https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/musings/a-doyen-of-history-guiding-light/808357.html The Tribune] [https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/weekly-pullouts/himachal-tribune/a-tribute-to-noted-historian-sr-mehrotra/808701.html Himachal Tribune]
* [http://nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/digital-archives/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/731-86-prof-s-r-mehrotra-30-01-2014.html Recording of talk by Mehrotra at the Nehru Memorial Archives on 30-January-2014] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728061930/http://nehrumemorial.nic.in/en/digital-archives/55-public-lectures-audios/detail/731-86-prof-s-r-mehrotra-30-01-2014.html |date=28 July 2019 }}
* [https://archive.org/details/indiacommonwealt0000mehr ''India and the Commonwealth 1885-1929'' (1965)]
* [https://archive.org/details/historyofindiann01srme ''A History of the Indian National Congress 1885-1918. Volume 1.'' (1995)]
* [https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.12892 ''Towards India's freedom and partition'' (1979)]
* [https://archive.org/details/isbn_706900804 ''The emergence of the Indian National Congress''] (1971)

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehrotra, S.R.}}
[[Category:20th-century Indian historians]]
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Etawah]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian historians]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Maharshi Dayanand University]]
[[Category:Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge]]

S. R. Mehrotra - Revision history

Rozella5628: creating pg