R. C. Majumdar

Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (December 4, 1888- February 12, 1980) was an Indian historian and Vice-Chancellor of Dacca University.

Life & Career

Born at Khandapara, in Faridpur District (now in Bangladesh), Ramesh passed his childhood in poverty. In 1905, he passed his Entrance Examination from Ravenshaw College, Cuttack. In 1907, he passed F.A. with first class scholarship from Ripon College (now Surendra Nath College, Calcutta)and joined Presidency College, Calcutta. Graduating in B.A.(Hons.)in 1909, he won the Premchand-Roychand scholarship for his research work in 1913. He started his teaching career as a lecturer at Dacca Government Training College. Since 1914, he spent seven years as an history Professor at the University of Calcutta.He got his doctorate for his thesis "Corporate Life in Ancient India". In 1921, he joined the newly established Dacca University. After spending his days there as a Professor, then Departmental Head and then Provost, he was the Vice Chancellor for five years from 1937, eventually retiring from the post in 1942. From 1950, he was the Principal for two years at he College of Indology, Kashi University. R.C. Majumdar started his research on ancient India. After extensive travel and research, he wrote detailed histories of Champa (1927), Suvarna Dweep (1929) and Kamboj. On the initiative of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, he took up the mantle of editing a multi-volume tome on Indian History. Starting in 1951, he toiled twenty six long years to describe the history of the Indian people from the Vedic Period to the present day in eleven wonderful volumes. When the final volume of "The History and Culture of the Indian People" was published in 1977, Ramesh Chandra was eighty-eight. He also edited the three-volume history of Bengal published by Dacca University. His last book was "Jivaner Smritidipe". When the Government of India set up an editorial Committee to author a history of the freedom struggle of India, Ramesh Chandra was its principal member. But, following a conflict with the then Education Minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad on the Sepoy Mutiny, he left the government job and published his own book: "The Sepoy Mutiny & Revolt of 1857". According to R.C. Majumdar, the father of Indian free-struggle was the English-educated Indian middle-class and the freedom struggle started with the Banga Bhanga movement in 1905. His views on the freedom struggle can be gone through in detail in his book "History of the Freedom Movement in India". He was also an admirer of Vivekananda and Ramakrishna.

Works

*"An Advanced History of India". London, 1960. ISBN 0-333-90298-X
*The History and Culture of the Indian People Mumbai 1951-1977 (in eleven volumes).
*"Ancient India" ISBN 81-208-0436-8
*"History of the Freedom movement in India" ISBN 0-8364-2376-3
*"Champa" ISBN 0-8364-2802-1
*"Vakataka - Gupta Age Circa 200-550 A.D." ISBN 81-208-0026-5
*"The History of Bengal" ISBN 81-7646-237-3
*"Main currents of Indian history" ISBN 81-207-1654-X
*"Classical accounts of India"
*"Hindu Colonies in the Far East" ISBN 99910-0-001-1
*cite book | author=Majumdar, R.C.| title=India and South-East Asia | publisher=I.S.P.Q.S. History and Archaeology Series Vol. 6 | year=1979 | id=ISBN 81-7018-046-5

External links

* [http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/itihas/rc_majumdar.htm Interview with Majumdar]
* [http://www.jstor.org/view/00028762/di951337/95p0064s/0 Book review]
* [http://scottpecksez.blogspot.com/2006/09/facts-that-are-not-there-in-our.html Summary of R.C.Majumdar's completed a three-volume work on the Indian Freedom Movement]