Bipan Chandra

Bipan Chandra (27 May 1928 – 30 August 2014)^[1] was an Indian historian, specialising in economic and political history of modern India. 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.^[2]

Jawaharlal Nehru University has organised a commemorative event on his birth anniversary.^[3][4]

Early Life and education

Chandra was born in Kangra in Punjab, British India (now in Himachal Pradesh). He was educated at Forman Christian College, Lahore, Stanford University, United States and the University of Delhi, where he completed his Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Bishweshwar Prasad.^[5]

Career

He taught for many years as Lecturer and then as Reader at Hindu College, Delhi.^[6] He became Professor of History at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, soon after the university was founded. He founded the journal Enquiry and was a member of its editorial board for a long time.^[5]

He was a Sectional President and then the General President of the Indian History Congress in 1985.^[7] He was Chairperson of the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.^[8] He became a Member of the University Grants Commission in 1993.^[6] He was the Chairman of the National Book Trust, New Delhi from 2004 to 2012.^[9] As Chairman of National Book Trust, India, he brought in a new vigour, and started many new series such as Popular Social Science, Autobiography, Afro-Asian Countries series, Indian Diaspora Studies etc.^[10]

He was at the forefront of the communist struggle in India since independence.^[11] His book, Freedom Struggle, co-authored with and Amalesh Tripathi and Barun De, was censored by the new Indian government that came to power at the centre in 1977.^[12] He collaborated with historians like Nurul Hasan, R.S. Sharma, S. Gopal, Satish Chandra, Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib, Barun De and Arjun Dev, whose text books were prescribed in Indian schools for a long time.

However, for his works like "India after Independence" and "India's struggle for Independence", he was accused of being a pro-Congress historian.^[13][14] As an evidence to this bias, it has been pointed out that while "India after Independence" talks about the state role in the 2002 Gujarat carnage, it completely ignores the central government's role in the 1984 massacre of Sikhs.^[15]

He was appointed as National Research Professor in 2007,^[5] and awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, given by Government of India in 2010.^[16]

Death

Chandra died on the morning of 30 August 2014, at his home in Gurgaon, after prolonged illness, aged 86.^[17][18]

Publications

• The Making of Modern India: From Marx to Gandhi, Orient Blackswan, 2012
• History of Modern India, Orient Blackswan, 2009
• Communalism: A Primer, (New Delhi, 2008)
• In the Name of Democracy: The JP Movement and the Emergency, (New Delhi, 2003)
• Essays on Colonialism, (New Delhi, 1999)
• India Since Independence, (jointly with Mridula Mukherjee and Aditya Mukherjee), (New Delhi, 1999)^[19]
• Ideology and Politics in Modern India, (New Delhi, 1994)
• Essays on Indian Nationalism, (New Delhi, 1993)
• Essays on Contemporary India, (New Delhi, 1993)
• The Epic Struggle, (New Delhi, 1992)
• India's Struggle for Independence, 1857-1947, (New Delhi, 1989)
• Indian National Movement: The Long Term Dynamics, (New Delhi, 1988)
• Communalism in Modern India, (New Delhi, 1984)
• The Indian Left: Critical Appraisal, (New Delhi, 1983)
• Nationalism and Colonialism in Modern India, (New Delhi, 1979)
• Freedom Struggle, (jointly with Amalesh Tripathi and Barun De), (New Delhi, 1972))
• The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India: Economic Policies of Indian National Leadership, 1880-1905, (New Delhi, 1966)

See also

• Marxist historiography
• Bipan Chandra's blog site
• Obituary in Times of India

References