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Bipan Chandra

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Bipan Chandra
Born(1928-05-24)24 May 1928
Kangra, Punjab, British India, now Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
Died30 August 2014(2014-08-30) (aged 86)
Gurgaon, Haryana, India
CitizenshipIndian
Alma mater
WorksIndia's Struggle for Independence
AwardsPadma Bhushan (2010),[1] Royal Asiatic Society of Bihar plaque

Bipan Chandra (24 May 1928 – 30 August 2014)[2] was an Indian Marxist historian, specialising in economic and political history of modern India. An emeritus professor of modern history at Jawaharlal Nehru University, he specialized on the Indian independence movement and is considered a leading scholar on Mahatma Gandhi. He authored several books, including The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism.[3]

Early life and education

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Chandra was born in Kangra in Punjab, British India (now in Himachal Pradesh). He graduated from Forman Christian College, Lahore in 1946 after which the Partition forced him to leave. Thereafter, he went to the United States where he studied at the Stanford University, California. He established relationships with Communists in the United States; later, he was forced to leave the country as the anti-Communist crusade of Joseph McCarthy hit a fever pitch.[4] Back in Delhi in the early 1950s, Bipan Chandra was appointed lecturer in history at Hindu College, Delhi. He would go on to complete his PhD from Delhi University in 1963.

Career

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Chandra taught for many years as lecturer and then as reader at Hindu College.[5] He moved to Jawaharlal Nehru University when it was established in 1969, and established the Centre for Historical Studies, alongside colleagues including Romila Thapar, Sarvepalli Gopal, and Satish Chandra.

He founded the journal Enquiry with his colleague Randhir Singh at Delhi University.[4]

Chandra was a sectional president and then the general president of the Indian History Congress in 1985.[6] He became a member of the University Grants Commission in 1993.[5] He was the chairman of the National Book Trust, New Delhi from 2004 to 2012.[7] As Chairman of National Book Trust, India, he started many new series such as Popular Social Science, Autobiography, Afro-Asian Countries series, Indian Diaspora Studies etc.[8]

Research

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Chandra was at the forefront of the communist movement in India since Independence.[9] His co-authored book, Freedom Struggle, was censored by the new central government that came to power in India in 1977.[10] He collaborated with many historians, including Nurul Hasan, Ram Sharan Sharma, Sarvapalli Gopal, Satish Chandra, Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, Barun De and Arjun Dev and his students, such as Mridula Mukherjee, Aditya Mukherjee, Sucheta Mahajan and Vishalakshi Menon, some of whose textbooks have previously been prescribed in the history syllabi of schools in India.[11][12]

Controversy

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In April 2016, right-wing activist Dinanath Batra sought a ban on Chandra's India's Struggle for Independence because of a misunderstanding of the terminology used in it.[13][14]

Death

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After a prolonged illness, Chandra died on 30 August 2014 at the age of 86 at his home in Gurgaon.[15][16] JNU organised a commemorative event on his birth anniversary.[17][18]

Publications

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  • The rise and growth of economic nationalism in India: economic policies of Indian national leadership, 1880-1905. People's Publishing House. 1966. ISBN 8170071410.
  • Chandra, Bipan; Tripathi, Amales; De, Barun (1972). Freedom struggle. Delhi: National Book Trust. ISBN 9788123702490.
  • Nationalism and Colonialism in Modern India. New Delhi: Orient Longman. 1979. ISBN 0861312821.
  • The Indian left: critical appraisals. Vikas. 1983. ISBN 0706921038.
  • Communalism in Modern India, (New Delhi, 1984)
  • Indian National Movement: The Long Term Dynamics, (New Delhi, 1988)
  • India's Struggle for Independence, 1857-1947, (New Delhi, 1989)
  • The Epic Struggle, (New Delhi, 1992)
  • Essays on Contemporary India, (New Delhi, 1993)
  • Essays on Indian Nationalism, (New Delhi, 1993)
  • Ideology and Politics in Modern India, (New Delhi, 1994)
  • History of Modern India, Orient Blackswan, 1990
  • Essays on Colonialism, (New Delhi, 1999)
  • India Since Independence, (jointly with Mridula Mukherjee and Aditya Mukherjee), (New Delhi, 1999)
  • The Making of Modern India: From Marx to Gandhi, Orient Blackswan, 2000
  • In the Name of Democracy: The JP Movement and the Emergency, (New Delhi, 2003)
  • Communalism: A Primer, (New Delhi, 2008)

References

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  1. ^ "Padma Awards Directory (1954–2013)" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs. 14 August 2013. p. 153. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015.
  2. ^ Ravi Bhushan (1992). Reference India: biographical notes on men & women of achievement of today & tomorrow. Rifacimento International. p. 139.
  3. ^ Chandra, Bipan (2010). The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India: Economic Policies of Indian National Leadership, 1880-1905. Har-Anand Publications. ISBN 978-81-241-1417-9.
  4. ^ a b Patnaik, Prabhat (2014). "Bipan Chandra (1928–2014)". Social Scientist. 42 (9/10): 99–103. ISSN 0970-0293.
  5. ^ a b Anjum, Zafar (30 August 2014). "Renowned Indian historian Dr Bipan Chandra passes away". KITAAB. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  6. ^ "Historian Bipan Chandra dies at the age of 86". The Times of India. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  7. ^ "The Hindu : National : Bipan Chandra appointed NBT chairman". web.archive.org. 30 August 2004. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  8. ^ "India's National Fortnightly Magazine". Frontline. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  9. ^ "Targeting history". Frontline. 27 April 2001. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  10. ^ "Censorship of Historical Thought: A World Guide" - Antoon de Baets Books.google.com Retrieved 2015-03-25.
  11. ^ D.R. Chaudhry (28 April 2002). "Critiques galore!". The Tribune (Chandigarh). Retrieved 6 March 2009.
  12. ^ "'Call me Bipan, not prof'". web.archive.org. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  13. ^ "Ban sought on Bipan Chandra's book". The Hindu. 28 April 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  14. ^ "Bipan Chandra's book on India's freedom struggle raises controversy, calls Bhagat Singh a terrorist". India Today. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
  15. ^ "Historian Bipan Chandra Dies At The Age of 86". NDTV. 30 August 2014.
  16. ^ "Historian Bipan Chandra is dead". 30 August 2014. Archived from the original on 30 August 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  17. ^ "JNU to organize Jashn-e-Azadi on historian Bipan Chandras birth anniversary". indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  18. ^ "Idea of Bharat Mata is European import: Irfan Habib". The Hindu. 29 March 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
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