Surajit Chandra Sinha

Surajit Chandra Sinha was an Indian anthropologist and a former Maharajkumar of Susang in undivided Bengal.

Background

He was born in Mymensingh District (currently in Bangladesh) in 1926. He was the son of Maharaja Bhupendra Chandra Sinha of the erstwhile zamindari estate of Susang, which was third in protocol in the Government House in Calcutta after Coochbehar and Burdwan. His younger sister is Purba Dam, the eminent singer. An uncle, Mani Sinha was a well known communist leader.

Education and Career

After high school in Mymensingh, he initially started his college education in physics at Presidency College, Kolkata, but later shifted to geology and then to anthropology. Later he completed his Ph.D. in anthropology from Northwestern University, USA on a fullbright scholarship. In his chequered career he held the posts of Director, Anthropological Survey of India, Calcutta, Vice Chancellor, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan and finally after retirement, Director, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta.

The famous Indian anthropologist Nirmal Kumar Bose became his mentor after they first met each other in the viva examination for the Masters degree, where Bose was one of the examiners. Thus began a very fruitful and life long journey together in the field of social anthropology. Upon returning to India from the USA Sinha continued to conduct anthropological research where his main area of research was indian tribes, particularly the Bhumij tribe in central india. He passed away in 2002 after a prolonged illness leaving behind a rich heritage of anthropological fields of research.

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*worldcat id|lccn-n50-49528