Ramesh Chandra Majumdar

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Ramesh Chandra Majumdar

Ramesh Chandra Majumdar ( Bengali রমেশচন্দ্র মজুমদার Rameścandra Majumadār , also called RC Majumdar; * December 4, 1888 in Khandarpara, Faridpur district ; † February 12, 1980 in Calcutta ) was an influential Indian historian and professor of Indian history from Bengal .

Childhood, education

Majumdar grew up as a child of poor people in a village in the country, right on the Padma River , the lower reaches of the Ganges and Brahmaputra . After attending school in nearby Dhaka , which was financed by his older brother, who was in the civil service, he passed the exam at Ravenshaw College in Cuttack ( Odisha ) in 1905 , and went to Brajamohan College in Barishal (Bangladesh) and Ripon in the same year College in Kolkata , finally in 1907 to the renowned Presidency College there , where he studied history until 1911. Since 1912 as a lecturer at Dacca Training College, he won the Premchand Roychand Studentship of the university in 1913 .

Appointment as history lecturer and professor

Since 1914 he has been a history lecturer at the University of Calcutta, and in 1918 Majumdar presented his dissertation, which dealt with corporate approaches and the "spirit of cooperation" in economics, politics and society in ancient India. In 1921 appointed professor at the University of Dhaka , which was founded in the same year , Majumdar was vice chancellor and dean of history from 1937–1942 . The focus of his interest and his publications were ancient India before the Muslim and colonial invasions and the history of Bengal.

Retirement and research

Retired in 1943 at the age of 54, Majumdar continued his publication and research work, particularly on the three-volume History of Southeast Asia ( Champa 1927, Suvarnadvipa 1929, Kambuja Desa 1944).

After the division of the country in 1947 Majumdar was 1950-1952 rector of the College of Indology at Banaras Hindu University , 1955 in the same function and in the same subject at Nagpur University . 1958-1959 he also taught at the University of Chicago . His reputation as a historian earned him the presidency of the Indian History Congress and the vice-presidency of the International Commission for the History of Humanity of UNESCO .

On behalf of the publisher Bharatia Vidya Bhavan from Mumbai , Majumdar published an eleven-volume Indian story from 1951 from the time of the Vedas to the present day, which he was only able to complete after a quarter of a century, at the age of 88, in 1977.

Conflict with the government (Indian " historians ' dispute ")

When the Indian government asked him in the 1950s to publish a history of the Indian struggle for freedom on the occasion of the centenary of the Indian uprising from 1857-58 , it came about the evaluation of the uprising and the role of the last Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah II. (1775-1862) , on a conflict with both his colleagues and the then Minister of Education Abul Kalam Azad ( Maulana Azad , 1888–1958); According to Majumdar, this "so-called First National Struggle for Independence of 1857 was neither the first, nor a national, nor a struggle for independence," and the last Mughal betrayed the Sepoys. Majumdar, annoyed by the government's political guidelines and the courtesy letters from colleagues, stepped down from the editorial office and subsequently presented his view of the events in a three-volume history of the uprising ( History of the Freedom Movement in India , 3 vols., Calcutta 1962-1963).

His knowledge and productivity, but also his independence of opinion, integrity and clear words secured him a special place in public opinion and the scientific community to this day; his colleague KM Munshi had warned him early on that "government-related institutions can never document history in an honest manner. I should ascertain the correctness of his remark in later years."

"We shouldn't write a corrupt story, bitter as events may have been. Many countries hold that if their leadership changes, they change history. We shouldn't let India become one of them. History should be because of be written with solid evidence and logical thinking and not revolve around famous people ""

Others

Majumdar, whose curriculum vitae and views, despite different social origins, resembled that of his older fellow historian Jadunath Sarkar (1870-1958) in many respects , was an admirer of the Bengali reform movements of Vivekananda and Ramakrishna .

Works

  • The Early History of Bengal , Dacca, 1924.
  • Champa , Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East , Vol.I, Lahore, 1927. ISBN 0-8364-2802-1
  • Suvarnadvipa , Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East , Vol. II, Calcutta,
  • The History of Bengal , 1943. ISBN 81-7646-237-3 ( digitized )
  • Kambuja-Desa, or an Ancient Hindu Colony in Cambodia , Madras, 1944
  • An Advanced History of India . London, 1960. ISBN 0-333-90298-X
  • The History and Culture of the Indian People , Bombay, 1951-1977 (in eleven volumes).
  • Ancient India, 1977. ISBN 81-208-0436-8
  • History of the Freedom Movement in India (3 vol.), Calcutta, 1962-63 ISBN 81-7102-099-2 . Digitized: I , II , III
  • Vakataka - Gupta Age Circa 200-550 AD ISBN 81-208-0026-5
  • Main currents of Indian history ISBN 81-207-1654-X
  • The Classical Accounts of India , Calcutta, 1960 digitized
  • Hindu Colonies in the Far East , Calcutta, 1944, ISBN 99910-0-001-1
  • India and South-East Asia , ISPQS History and Archeology Series Vol. 6, 1979, ISBN 81-7018-046-5 .
  • The History of Ancient Lakshadweep , Calcutta, 1979
  • Corporate Life in Ancient India , Calcutta, 1918

Web links

Illustrations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Interview with Jyotsna Kamat from April 29, 1979
  2. ↑ Times of India October 17, 2010
  3. ↑ "At times we were without food for two days in a row ... [and] didn't even have shoes"; Autobiography on the site
  4. ↑ Corporate Life in Ancient India , 2nd ed. 1920, p. 1 introduction. The dissertation and reviews on it, u. a. that of Vincent A. Smith , see dissertation RC Majumdar
  5. ↑ ... on the whole, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the so-called First National War of Independence of 1857 is neither first, nor national, nor a war of independence ; Majumdar, The Sepoy Mutiny and the Revolt of 1857 . Calcutta: Mukhopadhyay 1963
  6. ↑ Sunday Tribune, 03.09.2006
  7. ↑ The conflict is presented in Kulke / Leue / Lütt / Rothermund, Indische Geschichte (literature report), HZ-Sonderheft 10, 1982, p. 258 ff.
  8. ↑ Interview from 1979
  9. ↑ We should not write corrupted history, however bitter the proceedings may be. Many countries have the tradition of changing history as their leaders change. We should not let India become one of those. History should be written based on sound proof and reasoning and not focuses around famous personalities ; Interview from 1979
personal data
SURNAME Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian historian and professor of Indian history
DATE OF BIRTH 4th December 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH Faridpur
DATE OF DEATH February 12, 1980
Place of death Calcutta