Debala Mitra (14 December 1925 – 2 December 2003) was an Indian

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

who served as Director General of 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) from 1981 to 1983. She is the first woman archaeologist to head the ASI. She explored and excavated several Buddhist sites. The historic site of Ratnagiri in Odisha's Jajpur district, first discovered in 1905, gained prominence following extensive excavations between 1958 and 1961 led by Mitra, which unveiled a remarkable Buddhist complex dating from the 5th-13th century AD.

Early life

Born on 14 December 1925 at

Khulna Khulna (, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of the Khulna District and the Khulna Division. It is the divisional centre of 10 districts of the division. Khulna is also the seco ...

in Bengal Province (now

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

), Mitra had her early education in Khulna and

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

before obtaining her

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

In the ASI

Mitra joined the ASI in the 1940s and served as Superintendent of Eastern Circle and Additional Director General of the ASI before succeeding B. K. Thapar as Director General in 1981. The first woman to excavate Buddhist sites, she was an authority on the art and archaeology of eastern India. Her books include ''Konarak'' (1968), ''Buddhist Monuments'' (1971) and ''Bronzes from Achutrajpur, Orissa'' (1978).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitra, Debala 1925 births 2005 deaths Directors general of the Archaeological Survey of India People from Khulna 20th-century Indian historians 20th-century Indian archaeologists Bengali historians Indian women archaeologists Women scientists from West Bengal