Bipan Chandra facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bipan Chandra
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| Born | 24 May 1928 Kangra, Punjab, British India, now Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
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| Died | 30 August 2014 (aged 86) |
| Citizenship | Indian |
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Works
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India's Struggle for Independence |
| Awards | Padma Bhushan (2010), Royal Asiatic Society of Bihar plaque |
Bipan Chandra (born May 24, 1928 – died August 30, 2014) was a very important Indian historian. He was an expert in the economic (money and business) and political (government and power) history of modern India. He was a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and focused on the Indian independence movement. Many people consider him a top expert on Mahatma Gandhi. He wrote many books, including The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism.
Contents
His Early Life and Learning
Bipan Chandra was born in Kangra, which was part of Punjab, British India at the time. Today, Kangra is in Himachal Pradesh. When he was young, he learned in Urdu, and he loved reading Urdu novels.
He finished his first degree at Forman Christian College in Lahore in 1946. After this, the Partition happened, which meant India and Pakistan became separate countries. This made him leave Lahore.
He then went to the United States and studied at Stanford University in California. While there, he connected with people who believed in communism. Because of a time when the US government was very worried about communism (called the McCarthy era), he was sent back to India.
In the early 1950s, Bipan Chandra became a history teacher at Hindu College in Delhi. He later earned his Ph.D. from Delhi University in 1963.
What He Did in His Career
Bipan Chandra taught at Hindu College, Delhi for many years. He started as a lecturer and then became a reader.
Soon after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was created, he became a professor of history there. Even after he retired, he was made an emeritus professor, which means he was still a respected part of the university.
He also helped start a journal called Enquiry and was part of its editing team for a long time.
In 1985, he was the general president of the Indian History Congress, a big meeting for historians. He also led the Centre for Historical Studies at JNU. In 1993, he became a member of the University Grants Commission, which helps manage universities in India.
From 2004 to 2012, he was the chairman of the National Book Trust in New Delhi. In this role, he started many new book series, like ones about social science, autobiographies, and studies of Indians living abroad.
In 2007, after he retired, he was given the special title of national research professor.
His Important Research
Bipan Chandra was very involved in understanding India's political movements after independence. He wrote a book called Freedom Struggle with other historians. This book was later reviewed by a new government in India in 1977.
He worked with many other famous historians like Nurul Hasan, Ram Sharan Sharma, Sarvapalli Gopal, Satish Chandra, Romila Thapar, and Irfan Habib. He also worked with some of his students, including Mridula Mukherjee and Aditya Mukherjee. Some of the textbooks they wrote together were used in schools across India.
His Later Years
Bipan Chandra passed away on August 30, 2014, at his home in Gurgaon. He was 86 years old and had been ill for some time. JNU held a special event to remember him on his birthday.
