Tapan Raychaudhuri (8 May 1926 – 26 November 2014) was a British-Indian

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

specialising in British Indian history, Indian economic history and the

History of Bengal The history of Bengal is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions of South Asia and Southeast Asia. It includes modern-day Bangladesh and the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

Early life and education

He was the son of Prativa and Amiya Kumar Raychaudhuri, the last ''

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

'' of Kirtipasha in Barisal district of eastern Bengal. He came from a well-known Baidya family. He was a nephew of Kiran Shankar RoyBanglapedia: Kiron Shakar Roy
/ref> and Hem Chandra Roychaudhuri, through his paternal aunts.Sen Sharma, Tribhanga Mohan (1942). ''Kuladarpanam'', Behrampore: New Art Press. p.369 He was a student of Ballygunge Government High School,

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 ...

and Barisal Zilla School, Scottish Church College, Calcutta, where he completed his I.A. and finally Presidency College, Calcutta, where he completed his B.A. (Hons.) in history with a high 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 Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, 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 Delhi School of Economics (DSE), popularly referred to as D School, is an institution of higher learning within the Delhi University. The Delhi School of Economics is situated in University of Delhi's North Campus in Maurice Nagar. Establishe ...

and professor and the head of the department of history of

Delhi University The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

. He was a reader in modern South Asian history from 1973 to 1992 and then ad hominem professor of Indian history and civilization and fellow of St. Antony's College, Oxford, from 1992 to 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 2011

Awards

* Watumull Prize awarded by 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, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...

, 1982. (jointly with

Irfan Habib Irfan Habib (born 10 August 1931) is an Indian historian of ancient and medieval India, following the methodology of Marxist historiography in his contributions to economic history. He is known for his strong stance against Hindutva. He has au ...

) for the ''Cambridge Economic History of India''. *

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

1993,

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

''honoris causa'' by 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 ...

''honoris causa'' by the University of Burdwan *

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') 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 Januar ...

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

* * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raychaudhuri, Tapan 1926 births 2014 deaths People from Barisal District 20th-century Indian historians Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Scottish Church College alumni Presidency University, Kolkata alumni Bengali historians Bengali zamindars Economic historians Fellows of St Antony's College, Oxford Harvard University staff Historians of South Asia Indian autobiographers People associated with Santiniketan Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education Scholars from Kolkata Academic staff of the University of Calcutta Academic staff of Delhi University University of California, Berkeley staff University of Pennsylvania staff Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom British people of Bengali descent British autobiographers 20th-century British historians Barishal Zilla School alumni