Ram Sharan Sharma

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Ram Sharan Sharma (born November 26, 1919 in Barauni near Begusarai , Bihar ; † August 20, 2011 in Patna ), mostly cited as RS Sharma , was an Indian historian. He dealt with ancient and medieval Indian history .

Sharma came from a humble background, went to Patna College from 1937 and received his doctorate from AL Basham at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London . He was then a teacher at colleges in Arrah (1943), Bhagalpur (1944-1946) and was from 1946 at Patna College, part of Patna University , with a university professorship from 1958 active. From 1958 to 1973 he headed the history faculty there. Then he was a professor at the University of Delhi , where he was also head of the history faculty. In 1985 he retired.

His focus was on social history in early India; He investigated the situation of the lower strata of the population ( Shudra ) and the emergence of feudal structures, which, according to him, were associated with the collapse of cities.

From 1959 to 1964 he was visiting professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (where he was a Senior Fellow) and from 1965/66 at the University of Toronto .

He was the founding president of the Indian Council of Historical Research in 1972. In 1969 he received the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship. In 1975 he was president of the Indian History Congress.

In his youth he came into contact with peasant leaders like Karyanand Sharma and Swami Sahajanand Saraswati and belonged to the political left.

Fonts

  • Aspects of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient India , Motilal Banarsidass, 5th edition, Delhi, 2005
  • Sudras in Ancient India: A Social History of the Lower Order Down to Circa AD 600 , Motilal Banarsidass, 3rd edition, Delhi, 1990, Reprint 2002
  • Perspectives in Social and Economic History of Early India , Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 2003
  • Material Culture and Social Formations in Ancient India , Macmillan Publishers, Delhi, 1985
  • Urban Decay in India (c.300-1000) , Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi, 1987
  • Advent of the Aryans in India , Manohar Publishers, Delhi, 2003
  • Early Medieval Indian Society: A Study in Feudalization , Orient Longman Publishers, Delhi, 2003
  • Looking for the Aryans , Orient Longman, Madras, 1995
  • India's Ancient Past , Oxford University Press, 2005
  • Indian Feudalism , Macmillan, 3rd edition, Delhi, 2005
  • The State and Varna Formations in the Mid-Ganga Plains: An Ethnoarchaeological View , New Delhi, Manohar, 1996
  • Land Revenue in India: Historical Studies , Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1971.
  • Light on Early Indian Society and Economy , Manaktala, Bombay, 1966.
  • Communal History and Rama's Ayodhya , People's Publishing House (PPH), 2nd edition, Delhi 1999
  • Social Changes in Early Medieval India (Circa AD500–1200) , People's Publishing House, Delhi.
  • In Defense of "Ancient India" , People's Publishing House, Delhi.
  • Some economic aspects of the caste system in ancient India , Patna, 1952.
  • Transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages in India (KP Jayaswal memorial lecture series), Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute, Patna, 1992.
  • A Comprehensive History of India: Volume Four, Part I: the Colas, Calukyas and Rajputs (AD 985-1206) , People's Publishing House, 1992, Delhi 1992
  • Economic History of Early India , Viva books, 2011
  • Rethinking India's Past , Oxford University Press, 2009

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Sharma, Ram Sharan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sharma, RS
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian historian
DATE OF BIRTH November 26, 1919
PLACE OF BIRTH Barauni
DATE OF DEATH August 20, 2011
Place of death Patna