Rakhal Das Banerji, also Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay (12 April 1885 – 23 May 1930), was an Indian archaeologist and an officer of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI). In 1919, he became the second ASI officer deputed to survey the site of
Mohenjo-daro
Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men';Sir John Marshall, director-general of the ASI, and returned there in the 1922-23 season. He was the first person to propose the remote antiquity of the site—which he did in a letter to Marshall in 1923—and in effect of the
Harappan culture
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
. After leaving the ASI, he held the
Manindra Chandra Nandy
Maharaja Sir Manindra Chandra Nandy (29 May 1860 – 12 November 1929) was the Maharaja of Cossimbazar Raj from 1898 to 1929, a philanthropist and reformist during the period of Bengal Renaissance.
Family
Manindra Chandra Nandy was born on ...
professorship of Ancient Indian History and Culture at the
Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...
from 1928 until his premature death in 1930.
In 1931, in the introduction of ''Mohenjo-daro and the Indus Civilization'', London: Arthur Probsthain, 1931, Sir John Marshall wrote, "Three other scholars whose names I cannot pass over in silence, are the late Mr. R. D. Banerji, to whom belongs the credit of having discovered, if not Mohenjo-daro itself, at any rate its high antiquity, and his immediate successors in the task of excavation, Messrs. M.S. Vats and K.N. Dikshit. ... no one probably except myself can fully appreciate the difficulties and hardships which they had to face in the three first seasons at Mohenjo-daro."
Indian state
India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions.
History
Pre-indepen ...
of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
, to Matilal and Kalimati. He passed his entrance examination from the Krishnath College School in Berhampore in 1900. He lived in Bangaon.
Soon, he married Kanchanmala (1891–1931), the daughter of Narendranath Mukhopadhyay. He passed his F.A. examination in 1903 and graduated from
Presidency College, Kolkata
Presidency University, Kolkata (formerly known as Presidency College, Kolkata) is a second major public state aided research university located in College Street, Kolkata. Considered as one of best colleges when Presidency College was affili ...
with Honours in History in 1907. He obtained his M.A. in history from the
Calcutta University
The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...
in 1911.
Career
Bandyopadhyay joined the
Indian Museum
The Indian Museum in Central Kolkata, West Bengal, India, also referred to as the Imperial Museum at Calcutta in colonial-era texts, is the ninth oldest museum in the world, the oldest and largest museum in India as well as in Asia. It has rare ...
in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
as an Assistant to the Archaeological Section in 1910. He joined the
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...
as Assistant Superintendent in 1911 and was promoted to the rank of Superintending Archaeologist of the Western Circle in 1917. In 1924, he was transferred to the Eastern Circle and took part in the excavations at Paharpur. He took voluntary retirement in 1926. After teaching at 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, ...
, he later joined the
Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...
in 1928 and held this post till his premature death on 23 May 1930.
Bandyopadhyay's first major independent professional work was in the fields of palaeography and epigraphy. He won the Jubilee Research Prize of the Calcutta University for ''The Origin of the Bengali Script'' published in 1919 (and reprinted in 1973).
He was the first to study the proto-Bangla script, the original form of Bangla script. He wrote the classic historical works on medieval Indian coins, and the standard works on the iconography of Indian art, in particular
Gupta
Gupta () is a common surname or last name of Indian origin. It is based on the Sanskrit word गोप्तृ ''goptṛ'', which means 'guardian' or 'protector'. According to historian R. C. Majumdar, the surname ''Gupta'' was adopted by se ...
sculpture and architecture. His best known work was ''Eastern Indian Medieval School of Sculpture,'' published posthumously in 1933.
Discovery of Mohenjo-Daro
Bandyopadhyay is known for unearthing pre-Buddhist artifacts at the ruins at
Mohenjo-Daro
Mohenjo-daro (; sd, موئن جو دڙو'', ''meaning 'Mound of the Dead Men';Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
Indus Valley civilisation
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...
.
His interpretations of this civilisation were published in a number of articles and books: "An Indian City Five Thousand Years Ago" ; "Mohenjo-Daro" (in Bangla, Basumati, 1331 BS); ''Prehistoric, Ancient and Hindu India'' (posthumously published, 1934) and ''Mahenjo-Daro – A Forgotten Report''.
Works
Bandyopadhyay wrote two textbooks for Calcutta University, namely, ''History of India'' (1924) and ''A Junior History of India'' (1928). His ''The Age of the Imperial Guptas'' (1933) is a collection of lectures delivered by him in 1924. His standard two-volume ''Bangalar Itihas'' (''History of Bengal''), in
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
(1914 and 1917), was one of the first attempts at writing a scientific history of Bengal. He also wrote two volumes on the history of Orissa, titled ''History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period'' (1930 and 1931).
His other significant non-fiction works include, ''Prachin Mudra'' (1915), ''The Palas of Bengal'' (1915), ''The Temple of Siva at Bhumara'' (1924), ''The Paleography of Hati Gumpha and Nanaghat Inscriptions'' (1924), ''Bas Reliefs of Badami'' (1928) and ''The Haihayas of Tripuri and their Monuments'' (1931).
Having published three novels, ''Pakshantar'' (1924), ''Byatikram'' (1924) and ''Anukram'' (1931), his other literary works in
Bengali language
Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second most widely spoken o ...
were historical fictions. The setting of his ''Pashaner Katha'' (1914) is Kushana period. His three other novels, namely, ''Dhruba'', ''Karuna'' (1917) and ''Shashanka'' (1914) are set in the different phases of the
Gupta
Gupta () is a common surname or last name of Indian origin. It is based on the Sanskrit word गोप्तृ ''goptṛ'', which means 'guardian' or 'protector'. According to historian R. C. Majumdar, the surname ''Gupta'' was adopted by se ...
period. His ''Dharmapala'' (1915) narrates the story of the
Pala emperor
The Pāla Empire (r. 750-1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffi ...
Dharmapala
A ''dharmapāla'' (, , ja, 達磨波羅, 護法善神, 護法神, 諸天善神, 諸天鬼神, 諸天善神諸大眷屬) is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "'' dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are a ...
. ''Mayukh'' (1916) describes the Portuguese atrocities in Bengal during the reign of
Shahjahan
Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...
. ''Asim'' (1924) narrates the condition of Bengal during the reign of
Farrukhsiyar
Farrukhsiyar or Farrukh Siyar () (20 August 16839 April 1719) was the tenth emperor of the Mughal Empire from 1713 to 1719. He rose to the throne after assassinating his uncle, Emperor Jahandar Shah. Reportedly a handsome man who was easily ...
.
His last novel, ''Lutf-Ulla'', is set in Delhi at the time of the invasion by
Nadir Shah
Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian ...
. Another work, ''Hemkana'' (uncompleted), was published in ''
Prabasi
''Prabasi'' ( bn, প্রবাসী) was a monthly Bengali language literary magazine edited by Ramananda Chatterjee.
History and profile
''Prabasi'' was founded by Ramananda Chatterjee in 1901 and ran for over 60 years. It published many i ...
'' (magazine) from 1911 to 1912. A number of his novels were translated into other Indian languages.
Legacy
In 2022, in commemoration of the 137th birth anniversary of the illustrious Rakhaldas Banerji, and to celebrate the centenary year of the discovery of Harappan Civilization, the Indian Museum in Kolkata exhibited some invaluable artefacts from its proud repertoire in order to provide a glimpse of Harappan civilization to the visitors.