Nisith Ranjan Ray | |
---|---|
Born | 1910 |
Died | 1994 |
Occupation | Historian |
Known for | Indian history |
Awards | Padma Shri |
Nisith Ranjan Ray (born 1910–1994) [1] was an Indian historian, social activist and the founder of the Society for Preservation, Calcutta, an organisation working for the preservation of the cultural heritage of Kolkata. [2]
Born in Mymensingh District of the present-day Bangladesh in 1910, Ray taught History at Calcutta University before joining the Victoria Memorial Hall in 1971 as its secretary and curator. [2] [3] He was one of the founder members of the Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi, the apex body for Bengali language in West Bengal and the director of the Institute of Historical Studies, Kolkata. [2] He was the author of several books on history, [4] including Bengal: Yesterday and Today, [5] Calcutta: the Profile of a City, [6] India and Her People: Bengal, [7] A History of India [8] and Concise history of the Indian National Congress, 1885-1947 [9]
The Government of India awarded him its fourth-highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, in 1992. [10] A year of celebrations for the centenary of his birth was opened in November 2009 by the historians P. T. Nair and Amalendu De. [3]