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Jadunath Sarkar
Sir Jadunath Sarkar, CIE, FRAS (10 December 1870 – 19 May 1958) was a prominent Indian historian and a specialist on the Mughal dynasty.
Sarkar was educated in English literature and worked as a teacher for some time but later shifted his focus to history research writing. He had vast knowledge of the Persian language, and he wrote all his books in English. He was vice-chancellor (VC) of the University of Calcutta from 1926 to 1928 and a member of the Bengal Legislative Council between 1929 and 1932. In 1929 the British knighted him.
Sarkar was born on 10 December 1870 in the village of Karachmaria in Chhatardighi, Singra, Rajshahi district, Bengal Presidency (now in Natore District, Bangladesh). His father, Rajkumar Sarkar, was a local zamindar and owned a large library. His mother, Harisundari Devi, had seven sons and three daughters, with Jadunath being the fifth child and third son. In 1891, he graduated in English from Presidency College, Calcutta. In 1892, he topped the Master of Arts examination in English at Calcutta University, and in 1897, he received the Premchand-Roychand Scholarship.
In 1893, he was inducted as a faculty member of English literature at Ripon College, Calcutta (later renamed Surendranath College). In 1898, he was appointed to Presidency College, Calcutta, after getting selected in the Provincial Education Services. In between, from 1917 to 1919, he taught modern Indian history at Benaras Hindu University, and from 1919 to 1923, both English and history at Ravenshaw College, Cuttack. In 1923, he became an honorary member of the Royal Asiatic Society of London. In August 1926, he was appointed as the vice-chancellor of Calcutta University. In 1928, he joined as Sir W. Meyer Lecturer in Madras University.
He has been called the "greatest Indian historian of his time" and one of the greatest in the world, whose erudite works "have established a tradition of honest and scholarly historiography" by E. Sreedharan. He has also been compared with Theodor Mommsen and Leopold von Ranke. Arthur Llewellyn Basham calls him "the greatest Indian historian of his generation." He has also been described as "a star historian of modern India on medieval Indian history, who brilliantly caught the spirit of the age and devoted himself to the neglected field of Indian historiography." He has also been appreciated as "unquestionably the greatest Indian historian of his time and one of the greatest in the world".
Sarkar's historiography was inclined towards nationalist elements. His works faded out of public memory with the increasing advent of Marxist and postcolonial schools of historiography.
Academically, Jos J. L. Gommans compares Sarkar's work with those of the Aligarh historians, noting that while the historians from the Aligarh worked mainly on the mansabdari system and gunpowder technology in the Mughal Empire, Sarkar concentrated on military tactics and sieges. In a letter dated 25 November 1945 to historian Dr. Raghubir Sinh of Sitamau, Sarkar says, "Aurangzib is my life's work; Shivaji is only an incidental off-shoot of it."
In 1904, Sarkar was given the Griffith Prize by the University of Calcutta (Kolkata, Bengal). He was elected as a member of the Indian Historical Records Commission in 1919. In 1923, he was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (Hon. MRAS) and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal (Hon. FRASB).
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Jadunath Sarkar
Sir Jadunath Sarkar, CIE, FRAS (10 December 1870 – 19 May 1958) was a prominent Indian historian and a specialist on the Mughal dynasty.
Sarkar was educated in English literature and worked as a teacher for some time but later shifted his focus to history research writing. He had vast knowledge of the Persian language, and he wrote all his books in English. He was vice-chancellor (VC) of the University of Calcutta from 1926 to 1928 and a member of the Bengal Legislative Council between 1929 and 1932. In 1929 the British knighted him.
Sarkar was born on 10 December 1870 in the village of Karachmaria in Chhatardighi, Singra, Rajshahi district, Bengal Presidency (now in Natore District, Bangladesh). His father, Rajkumar Sarkar, was a local zamindar and owned a large library. His mother, Harisundari Devi, had seven sons and three daughters, with Jadunath being the fifth child and third son. In 1891, he graduated in English from Presidency College, Calcutta. In 1892, he topped the Master of Arts examination in English at Calcutta University, and in 1897, he received the Premchand-Roychand Scholarship.
In 1893, he was inducted as a faculty member of English literature at Ripon College, Calcutta (later renamed Surendranath College). In 1898, he was appointed to Presidency College, Calcutta, after getting selected in the Provincial Education Services. In between, from 1917 to 1919, he taught modern Indian history at Benaras Hindu University, and from 1919 to 1923, both English and history at Ravenshaw College, Cuttack. In 1923, he became an honorary member of the Royal Asiatic Society of London. In August 1926, he was appointed as the vice-chancellor of Calcutta University. In 1928, he joined as Sir W. Meyer Lecturer in Madras University.
He has been called the "greatest Indian historian of his time" and one of the greatest in the world, whose erudite works "have established a tradition of honest and scholarly historiography" by E. Sreedharan. He has also been compared with Theodor Mommsen and Leopold von Ranke. Arthur Llewellyn Basham calls him "the greatest Indian historian of his generation." He has also been described as "a star historian of modern India on medieval Indian history, who brilliantly caught the spirit of the age and devoted himself to the neglected field of Indian historiography." He has also been appreciated as "unquestionably the greatest Indian historian of his time and one of the greatest in the world".
Sarkar's historiography was inclined towards nationalist elements. His works faded out of public memory with the increasing advent of Marxist and postcolonial schools of historiography.
Academically, Jos J. L. Gommans compares Sarkar's work with those of the Aligarh historians, noting that while the historians from the Aligarh worked mainly on the mansabdari system and gunpowder technology in the Mughal Empire, Sarkar concentrated on military tactics and sieges. In a letter dated 25 November 1945 to historian Dr. Raghubir Sinh of Sitamau, Sarkar says, "Aurangzib is my life's work; Shivaji is only an incidental off-shoot of it."
In 1904, Sarkar was given the Griffith Prize by the University of Calcutta (Kolkata, Bengal). He was elected as a member of the Indian Historical Records Commission in 1919. In 1923, he was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (Hon. MRAS) and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal (Hon. FRASB).
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