Devadatta Ramakrishna Bhandarkar (; 19 November 1875 – 13 May 1950) was an Indian archaeologist and

epigraphist Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

who worked with 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 Alexander ...

(ASI). Born in Marathi

Gaud Saraswat Brahmin Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) (also Goud or Gawd), also known as Shenvis are a Hindu community of contested caste status and identity. They primarily speak Konkani and its various dialects as their mother tongue. They claim to be Saraswat Bra ...

family, he was the son of eminent

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is ...

, R. G. Bhandarkar.

Early life

Bhandarkar was born on 19 November 1875. On graduating in history, Bhandarkar joined the ASI and was posted to the western circle as an assistant to Henry Cousin.

Career

As Assistant Superintendent, Bhandarkar worked in the then

Rajputana Rājputana (), meaning Land of the Rajputs, was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the entire present-day States of India, Indian state of Rajasthan, parts of the neighboring states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and adjo ...

, excavating the city of Nagari in Chittorgarh district in 1915–16. He succeeded

George Thibaut George Frederick William Thibaut (March 20, 1848 – 1914) was a German Indologist notable for his contributions to the understanding of ancient Indian mathematics and astronomy. Life Thibaut was born in Germany, worked briefly in England, and ...

as the

Carmichael Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture The Carmichael Chair of Ancient Indian History and Culture is a history professorship in the University of Calcutta, India; its holder is known as Carmichael Professor. The post was created by Ashutosh Mukherjee in 1912 after Baron Carmichael th ...

in the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

and held the post from 1917 to 1936. Gandhiji met Dr. Bhandarkar in 1896 at

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, Bombay Presidency in regards to the South African Indian question.Gandhi (1940). As Superintending Archeologist of the Western Circle of ASI, he visited

Mohenjo-daro Mohenjo-daro (; , ; ) is an archaeological site in Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan. Built 2500 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, and one of the world's earliest major city, cities, contemp ...

in 1911-12. He dismissed the ruins as only 200 years old, with 'bricks of a modern type' and 'a total lack of carved terra-cottas amidst the whole ruins'.

John Keay John Stanley Melville Keay FRGS (born 1941) is a British historian, journalist, radio presenter and lecturer specialising in popular histories of India, the Far East and China, often with a particular focus on their colonisation and explora ...

had called his assessment as ''"''wrong in every detail, this statement must rank amongst archaeology's greatest gaffes''."''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhandarkar, Devadatta Ramakrishna 1875 births 1950 deaths 20th-century Indian archaeologists Marathi people Academic staff of the University of Calcutta Scientists from Pune 19th-century Indian archaeologists Indian epigraphers 20th-century Indian linguists Historians of South Asia Archaeologists from British India