Tarak Chandra Das
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Tarak Chandra Das (1898–1964) was an
anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
of
Calcutta University 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 ...
. He did his Masters' from Calcutta University in ‘Ancient Indian History and Culture’ and joined the then newly founded Department of Anthropology at 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 ...
(the first Department of Anthropology in India) in 1921 as a research scholar and then he became
lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...
in 1923 and finally retired as a Reader from the department in 1963. Das conducted extensive fieldworks in Chotanagpur in the then
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
and in
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.


Early life

Tarak Chandra Das was born in January 1898, in the erstwhile undivided
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
, now under
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 ...
in a
Mahishya Mahishya (IAST: Māhiṣya) is a Bengali Hindu traditionally agrarian caste, and formed the largest caste in undivided Bengal. Mahisyas were, and still are, an extremely diverse caste consisting of all possible classes in terms of material con ...
family. He had his early school education from
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and
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of present day
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.


Contributions

Das was interested in the application of anthropology. In 1941, he delivered the Sectional Presidential address in the Anthropology Section of the
Indian Science Congress Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal. The association started in the year 1914 in Calcutta and it meets annually in the first week of January. It h ...
on the ‘Cultural Anthropology in the Service of the Individual and the Nation’. In the address, Das elaborately charted out the future path of Indian anthropology with a description of the social dynamics of the tribal and peasant societies in India in the context of the role of anthropologists in nation building. Two books written by T.C. Das bears testimony of his observation and collection of data through anthropological fieldwork. One is his monograph on the Purum Kuku tribe of
north-east India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political administrative division of the country. It comprises eight states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, M ...
and the other is on the Great Bengal Famine during the
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. 'Bengal famine (1943):As revealed in a survey of the destitutes of Calcutta'', 1949 Both the books were published 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 ...
.
Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...
provided windows for Das in his applied anthropological approach towards nation building. The Purum monograph was one of the most comprehensive works produced by an anthropologist on the life of a small tribe and it became a major source of data for a number of world-renowned social anthropologists of
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and
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in later years. The book on the Famine of Bengal which took place in 1943 was a unique and rare first-hand study done by any anthropologist or social scientist on the victims of one of the greatest tragedies of India under the colonial rule. An earlier version of the book was discussed in the then
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and some of the recommendations advanced by Das were adopted by the Famine Inquiry Commission in 1944 formed by the colonial government for the prevention of future famines in India. The
Nobel Laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...
economist
Amartya Sen Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher. Sen has taught and worked in England and the United States since 1972. In 1998, Sen received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions ...
cited Das's original work in his famous book ''Poverty and Famines''. Throughout the book, one finds description by Das wherein dry quantitative data, graphs and tables were made alive with human stories of grim struggles between hunger and finer sentiments of love, affection and kindness’ Das had conducted intensive fieldwork among three tribes in eastern India, viz. Ho, Kharia and Bhumij during 1927–31 and had shown how these tribes maintained their sociocultural identities. Apart from his success as an
ethnographer Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...
, Das was also an armchair
anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
. His studies on culture around fish in
Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
, museums and dowry restriction law provided examples of his keen interest in dealing with archival materials and written texts in social anthropological and sociological studies. Besides being a meticulous
ethnographer Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...
he was also a conscientious teacher, who trained many students, including Surajit Chandra Sinha, who went on to become a prominent
anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
in his own right and also, Prabodh Kumar Bhowmick, who became a distinguished academic and the head of the Anthropology department at 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 ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Tarak Chandra 1898 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Indian anthropologists University of Calcutta alumni Academic staff of the University of Calcutta Scholars from West Bengal