Ramachandra "Ram" Guha (born 29 April 1958) is an Indian historian, environmentalist, writer and public intellectual whose research interests include

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

, environmental and cricket history, and the field of

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

. He is an important authority on the history of modern India. For the years 2011–12, he held a visiting position at the

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

(LSE), occupying the Philippe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs. Guha was a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru. The

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...

(AHA) has conferred its Honorary Foreign Member prize for the year 2019 on Ramchandra Guha. He is the third Indian historian to be recognised by the association, joining the ranks of

Romila Thapar Romila Thapar (born 30 November 1931) is an Indian historian. Her principal area of study is ancient India, a field in which she is pre-eminent. Quotr: "The pre-eminent interpreter of ancient Indian history today. ... " Thapar is a Professor ...

and

Jadunath Sarkar Sir Jadunath Sarkar (10 December 1870 – 19 May 1958) was a prominent Indian historian and a specialist on the Mughal dynasty. Academic career Sarkar was born in Karachmaria village in Natore, Bengal to Rajkumar Sarkar, the local Zamindar ...

, who received the honour in 2009 and 1952, respectively. Covering a wide range of subjects, Guha has produced three major books of modern India's socio-political history. Among them,

Gandhi Before India ''Gandhi Before India'' is a 2013 book by the Indian historian Ramachandra Guha, the first part of a planned two-volume biography of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. The book deals with Gandhi's life up to his return to India following a 21-year peri ...

(2013) and Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World (2018), are the two volumes of biography of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

, an icon of the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

. The other being India After Gandhi (2007), an account of the history of India from 1947-2017, which received commercial and critical success. He is a trustee of ''New India Foundation'' fellowship programme. He was appointed to BCCI's panel of administrators by the Supreme Court of India in January 2017, but stepped down from his position citing personal reasons five months later. A regular contributor to various academic journals, Guha has also written for ''

The Caravan ''The Caravan'' is an Indian English-language, long-form narrative journalism magazine covering politics and culture. History In 1940, Vishwa Nath launched ''Caravan'' as the first magazine from the Delhi Press; it went on to establish it ...

'' and ''

Outlook Outlook or The Outlook may refer to: Computing * Microsoft Outlook, an e-mail and personal information management software product from Microsoft * Outlook.com, a web mail service from Microsoft * Outlook on the web, a suite of web applications ...

'' magazines. His book India After Gandhi is read by aspirants of the Indian civil services examination. He is a columnist for ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...

'', and Hindi daily newspaper, '' Amar Ujala''. Guha was listed among the 100 most powerful Indians in 2022 by

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

Early life

Guha was born on 29 April 1958 in Dehradun to a

Tamil Brahmin Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, in addition to other regions of India, as wel ...

family. He was raised in Dehradun, where his father Subramaniam Ramdas Guha worked at the Forest Research Institute, and his mother was a high-school teacher. While he should have been named Subramaniam Ramachandra in keeping with Tamil name-keeping norms, his teachers at school, presumably while registering his name during admission, were not familiar with these norms, and he came to be known as Ramachandra Guha. He grew up in Dehradun, on the Forest Research Institute campus. Guha studied at Cambrian Hall and

The Doon School The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a selective all-boys boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer from Calcutta, who prevised a school mod ...

. At Doon, he was a contributor to the school newspaper ''

The Doon School Weekly ''The Doon School Weekly'' (informally ''The Weekly'') is a student newspaper produced by and for the students of The Doon School. It was established in 1936, a year after the school's founding, by the first headmaster Arthur Foot. The ''Weekly' ...

'', and edited a publication called ''History Times'' along with

Amitav Ghosh Amitav Ghosh (born 11 July 1956)Ghosh, Amitav
, ''

, who later became a noted writer. He graduated from St. Stephen's College, Delhi with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1977, and completed his master's in economics from the

Delhi School of Economics Delhi School of Economics (DSE), popularly referred to as "D School", is a Higher Educational Institution within the University of Delhi. The Delhi School of Economics is situated in University of Delhi's North Campus in Maurice Nagar. Establ ...

. He then enrolled at the

Indian Institute of Management Calcutta Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM Calcutta or IIM-C) is a public business school located in Joka, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was the first Indian Institute of Management to be established, and has been recognized as an Instit ...

, where he earned a PhD on the social history of

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

in Uttarakhand, focusing on the Chipko movement. It was later published as ''The Unquiet Woods''.

Career

Guha has authored books on a diverse range of subjects including cricket, the environment, politics, and history. Guha was a visiting professor at the

Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute was ...

for a year beginning in July 2019. He is the trustee of the New India Foundation fellowship programme, which he himself conceptualised in 2004. He has taught at the following universities:

Krea KREA (1540 AM) is a radio station located in Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and Count ...

, Stanford,

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

, Berlin Institute for Advanced Study,

, and

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

. He held the Arné Naess Chair at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

, the Indo-American Community Chair at the

, and the Philipe Roman Chair in History and International Affairs at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

History of Modern India

Guha is the author of '' India after Gandhi'', published by Macmillan and Ecco in 2007. The book was an instant hit and is considered an essential literature in space of modern Indian history. It was chosen Book of the Year by ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' and '' Outlook Magazine''. The book was one of the best non-fiction books of the decade (2010–2019) as per ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

''. The book won the 2011 Sahitya Akademi Award for English for 'narrative history'.. In 2010, Guha wrote the introduction for and edited '' Makers of Modern India'', which profiles 19 Indians who helped in forming and shaping

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The book contains excerpts of their speeches and essays, and covers topics such as

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

, caste,

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colony, colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose the ...

, and

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

In October 2013, he authored ''

'', the first part of a two-volume biography of

. The biography documents his life from 1869 to 1914, covering events from his childhood to the two decades he spent in South Africa. In 2018, he authored the standalone sequel '' Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World, 1914-1948'', which covers events from when Gandhi returned to India in 1914 to his

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

in 1948. The book subsumes a lot of new archival material that was discovered only in the 21st century. It has an epilogue which discusses the role of Gandhi in contemporary world politics. In 2022, Guha authored ''Rebels Against the Raj'', which tells the story of 7

Westerners The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

who came to, lived in, and served

in its quest for

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

from the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

. His books are amongst the most sought-after by history students and civil service aspirants in India. Guha has published acollection of essays, two of them being ''Patriots and Partisans'' (2012) and ''Democrats and Dissenters'' (2016). In 1999, he was offered to write a biography of Atal Bihari Vajpayee which he declined.

Environment

Guha earned a PhD on the social history of

in Uttarakhand, focusing on the Chipko movement. He produced a biography of the anthropologist

Verrier Elwin Harry Verrier Holman Elwin (29 August 1902 – 22 February 1964) was a British-born Indian anthropologist, ethnologist and tribal activist, who began his career in India as a Christian missionary. He first abandoned the clergy, to work with Ma ...

in 1999. In 2006, he authored ''How Much Should a Person Consume?''. In 2014, he wrote a book on

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks ...

called ''Environmentalism: A Global History.''

Cricket

Guha has written extensively on

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

as a journalist and as a historian. His research into the social history of Indian cricket culminated in his work ''A Corner of a Foreign Field: The Indian History of a British Sport'', which was released in 2002. The book charts the development of

cricket in India Cricket has been the most popular sport in India in modern era since the British Raj, and is played almost everywhere in the country. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the governing body of Indian cricket and conduct all dom ...

from its inception during the

to its position in contemporary India as the nation's favourite pastime. Ramachandra guha

He was appointed to BCCI's panel of administrators by the Supreme Court of India on 30 January 2017, as part of the

Lodha Committee The Lodha Committee was appointed by the Supreme Court of India on 23 January 2015 to analyse and recommend implementable actions for improving the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), assess the quantum of punishment for Gurunath Meiya ...

reforms, only to resign in July of the same year. In November 2020, he published ''The Commonwealth of Cricket: A Lifelong Love Affair with the Most Subtle and Sophisticated Game Known to Humankind'', a personal account of the transformation of cricket in India across all levels at which the game is played. It presents vivid portraits of local heroes, provincial icons, and international stars through the 50 years he has been following the game. The book blends between memoir, anecdote, reportage, and political critique.

Personal life

Guha is domiciled in the city of Bengaluru and frequently mentions about the same in his columns. Guha is married to Sujata Keshavan, a graphic designer, and they have two children together. Their son, Keshava Guha, became a fiction author with the release of ''Accidental Magic'' at the 2019 Bangalore Literature Festival.

Awards and recognition

*His essay, "Prehistory of Community Forestry in India", was awarded the Leopold-Hidy Prize of the American Society for Environmental History for 2001. *'' A Corner of a Foreign Field'' was awarded the '' Daily Telegraph'' Cricket Society Book of the Year prize for 2002. *He won the R. K. Narayan Prize at the Chennai Book Fair in 2003. *The US magazine '' Foreign Policy'' named him as one of the top 100 public intellectuals in the world in May 2008. In the poll that followed, Guha was placed 44th. *

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

in 2009, India's third highest civilian award. *2011

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

for India after Gandhi. *In 2014, Guha was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humanities by

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize The is an award established by the city of Fukuoka and the Fukuoka City International Foundation (formerly The Yokatopia Foundation) to honor the outstanding work of individuals or organizations in preserving or creating Asian culture. There are ...

, 2015 *The American Historical Association (AHA) has conferred its Honorary Foreign Member prize for the year 2019 on Ramchandra Guha.

Bibliography

* * * * * * * ''An Indian cricket century'' (Editor, works of

Sujit Mukherjee Sujit Mukherjee (21 August 1930 – 14 January 2003) was an Indian writer, translator, literary critic, publisher, teacher and cricketer. Career Sujit Mukherjee was born in the village of Ariadaha, south of Calcutta, and educated at St. Xavier's ...

, 2002) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Notes

References

External links

Ramachandra Guha's website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guha, Ramachandra 1958 births Living people Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in English Indian male essayists 20th-century Indian historians Scholars from Dehradun The Doon School alumni Green thinkers Delhi School of Economics alumni St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni Indian Tamil people Indian Institute of Management Calcutta alumni Cricket historians and writers Indian Institute of Science faculty 20th-century Indian essayists 21st-century Indian historians