Tapan Raychaudhuri

Tapan Kumar Raychaudhuri (Bengali: তপন কুমার রায় চৌধরী (সেনগুপ্ত)) (8 May 1926 – 26 November 2014) was an Indian historian specialising in British Indian history, Indian economic history and the History of Bengal.

Tapan Raychaudhuri
Raychaudhuri in 2009
Born	8 May 1926 Kirtipasha, Barisal District, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died	26 November 2014 (aged 88) Oxford, England
Alma mater	Barisal Zilla School, Barisal Scottish Church College, Calcutta Presidency College, Calcutta Balliol College, Oxford Delhi School of Economics St. Antony's College, Oxford
Awards	Watumull Prize
Scientific career
Fields	History
Doctoral advisors	Dr. C.C. Davies Jadunath Sarkar
Notable students	Gyanendra Pandey, Gowher Rizvi

Early life and education

Raychaudhuri was a scion of a Bengali (বাঙালি)-Hindu (হিন্দু)-Baidya (বৈদ্য) family. He was the son of Amiya Kumar Roy Chaudhuri (অমিয় কুমার রায় চৌধরী) and Prativa Roy Chaudhuri (প্রতিভা রায় চৌধরী). His father was the last zamindar of Kirtipasha in Barisal district of eastern Bengal and a functionary of the district level Congress Party there. He was a nephew of Kiron Shankar Roy (কিরণ শংকর রায়) and Hem Chandra Roychaudhuri (হেম চন্দ্র রায় চৌধূরী), through his paternal aunts.

He was a student of Ballygunge Government High School, Calcutta and Barisal Zilla School,. He came first in his entrance (প্রবেশিকা) examination in his district, for which he was awarded with a letter from A.K. Fazlul Huq (এ.কে. ফাজলুল হক), the then prime minister of Bengal. Subsequently, he studied in Scottish Church College, Calcutta, where he completed his I.A., and Presidency College, Calcutta, where he completed his B.A. (Hons.) in history, where he stood second in the first class. He completed his first D.Phil. in history at Calcutta University 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.

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. He was a reader and then professor of History and director of the Delhi School of Economics and professor and the head of Department History of Delhi University.

He was a reader in Modern South Asian History from 1973-1992 and then ad hominem professor of Indian History and Civilization and Fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford from 1992-1993. He was an emeritus fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford after retirement. He also served on the inaugural Social Sciences jury for the Infosys Prize in 2009.

He became a national research professor in India in 2010

Awards

• Watumull Prize awarded by the American Historical Association, 1982. (jointly with Irfan Habib) for the Cambridge Economic History of India.
• Doctor of Letters 1993, University of Oxford
• Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of Calcutta
• Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of Burdwan
• Padma Bhushan in 2007 in recognition to his contributions to history.

Death

He died at home in Oxford (England) on 26 November 2014, after suffering a stroke.

Publications

Books

• —— (1953). Bengal Under Akbar and Jahangir: An Introductory Study in Social History. Calcutta: A. Mukherjee & Co. OCLC 906328391.
• —— (1962). Jan Company in Coromandel, 1605-1690. 's-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff. OCLC 450671.
• Raychaudhuri, Tapan; Habib, Irfan, eds. (1982). The Cambridge Economic History of India. Vol. I, c. 1200-c. 1750. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-22802-2.
• —— (1988). Europe Reconsidered: Perceptions of the West in Nineteenth Century Bengal. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-562066-5.
• —— (1993). Romanthan Athoba Bhimrotiprapter Paracharitcharcha রোমন্থন অথবা ভীমরতিপ্রাপ্তর পরচরিতচর্চা (in Bengali). Kolkata: Ananda. ISBN 978-8177563481.
• —— (2005). Perceptions, Emotions, Sensibilities: Essays on India's Colonial and Post-colonial Experiences. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-567894-9.
• —— (2007). Bangalanama. Kolkata: Ananda. ISBN 978-8177566697.
• —— (2011). The world in our time: a memoir. Noida: Harper Collins Publishers India. ISBN 978-9350291320.