Asitkumar Bandyopadhyay

Not to be confused with Asit Bandopadhyay or Asit Kumar Banerjee.

Asitkumar Bandyopadhyay (3 June 1920 – 21 March 2003) was a historian of Bengali literature, professor, researcher and former president of Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi. He got famous due to his book Bangla Sahityer Itibritta which is published in nine volumes.^[2]

Asitkumar Bandyopadhyay
Born	(1920-06-03)3 June 1920 Nakful, Bangaon subdivision, North 24 Paraganas, Undivided India
Died	21 March 2003(2003-03-21) (aged 82) Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Occupation	Historian, Professor, Researcher President of Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi[citation needed]
Language	Bengali
Education	Howrah Zilla School Surendranath College Calcutta University
Genre	Research, History
Notable works	Bangla sahityer itibritta,[a] 19th-century and Bengali literature,[b] Bangla Sahitye Bidyasagar,[c] Sahitya Jigyasay Rabindranath.[d]

Life

Background

Asitkumar Banerjee was born in Nakphule Matulalay in present North 24 Parganas District Bangaon subdivision. His father was Akshay Kumar Banerjee, mother was Charubala Devi. From 1925, they lived in Howrah.

Education

In 1938, he passed matric from Howrah Zilla School in Bengal with 77% marks, becoming the first in the district in this subject. He then stood first in the IA examination from Ripon College(now Surendranath College) among candidates from Bengal and Assam.Then from Calcutta University in BA and MA examination (in 1945) in Bengali Literature, he stood first in the first class and won the gold medal. During his college life, he translated the speeches given by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose from 1942 into Bengali and printed them in Forward newspaper. As a student, his stories were published in Desh and Navashakti of Advaita Mallavarman.

Career

After passing his MA in 1945, he started teaching at Nabadwip Vidyasagar College that same year. Later he joined Ripon College and the Bengali Department of Calcutta University in 1957. In 2002, after the death of Annandashankar Roy, he took the post of president of Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi and remained in that position for life.^[2]

Notable works

Asitkumar Banerjee's best work is Bangla sahityer itibritta,^[a]a detailed history of Bengali literature published in nine volumes. Two easy-to-read versions of this book, Complete History of Bengali Literature and Short History of Bengali Literature are also authored by him. Other books written by him are written on the Bengali Renaissance. Notable among these are 19th century and Bengali literature,^[b] Bangla Sahitye Bidyasagar,^[c]Sahitya Jigyasay Rabindranath,^[d](in two volumes) etc. Among his edited books Shreshta Kaha Shreshtha Sukta, Jaivan Kaha Kagar Jeevan, Satyendra Rachnavoli, Vidyasagar Rachnavli, Sanjeev Rachnavli are notable. He also authored some books of Sahitya Parishat Patrika.^[3] He also has an autobiography called Smriti Bismriti Darpan. In addition, after researching about the book Kalki Avatar and Muhammad Sahib(written by the Indian scholar Ved Prakash Upadhyay), he translated and expanded the Hindu scriptures (Vedas and Puranas) under the name of Muhammad.^[2]

Honours

Apart from being president of Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi, he was the Research Fellow of the Asiatic Society under Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay of Bengali language and literature. He has also gone abroad for several conferences and guest lectures. In 1981 he attended the International Buddha Mahabhava Conference at Oxford University and in 1996 he was a visiting professor at the University of Arizona. Asitkumar has received several awards and honors as a thinker and researcher. His wife Vinita Gangopadhyay (29 April 1925 – 15 April 2006), professor of history at Howrah Girls' College, wrote historical novels and travelogues under the pseudonym Sukanya.^[2]

Notes

1. Book by Asitkumar^[1]
2. ঊনবিংশ শতাব্দীর প্রথমার্ধ ও বাংলা সাহিত্য, Unabingsha shatabdir Prathamardha ar Bangla sahitya
3. বাংলা সাহিত্যে বিদ্যাসাগর, Vidyasagar in Bengali literature
4. সাহিত্য জিজ্ঞাসায় রবীন্দ্রনাথ;Tagore in Literature questions