R. P. Paranjpye

Sir Raghunath Purushottam Paranjpye (16 February 1876 – 6 May 1966) also known as Wrangler Paranjpye was an Indian mathematician and diplomat who served as the 1st High Commissioner of India to Australia from 1945 to 1947. He became the first Indian to achieve the coveted title of Senior Wrangler at the University of Cambridge. Later in life he also served as the Vice Chancellor of many Indian universities.

Sir Raghunath Paranjpye
Paranjpye in 1899
Vice Chancellor of Pune University
In office 1956 - 1959
Preceded by	Mukund Ramrao Jayakar
Succeeded by	Dattatreya Gopal Karve
1st High Commissioner of India to Australia
In office 1945 - 1947
Preceded by	office established
Succeeded by	Daya Singh Bedi
Vice Chancellor of Bombay University
In office 1934 - 1941
Preceded by	Mirza Akbar Khan
Succeeded by	Sir Rustom Pestonji Masani
Vice Chancellor of Lucknow University
In office 1932 - 1938
Preceded by	Pandit Jagat Narain Mulla
Succeeded by	Bahadur Sir Sri Muhammad Habibullah Sahib
Education Minister of the Bombay Presidency
In office 1921 - 1923
Preceded by	office established
Succeeded by	Bhaskarrao Vithojirao Jadhav
Personal details
Born	16 February 1876
Died	6 May 1966 (aged 90)
Nationality	British Indian (1876-1947) Indian (1947-1966)
Children	Shakuntala Paranjpye
Relatives	Hari Purushottam Paranjpye (younger brother) Sai Paranjpye (grand daughter) Ramdas Paranjpe (nephew)
Alma mater	Maratha High School, Mumbai Fergusson College, Pune St John's College, Cambridge
Occupation	Mathematician, university administrator, diplomat
Awards	Knight Bachelor (1942)
Nickname	Wrangler Paranjpye

Early life and education

Raghunath Paranjpye was born in Murdi near Dapoli on the coastal Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra to a Chitpavan Brahmin family. He was educated at Maratha high school, Bombay, Fergusson College, Pune and Bombay University before entering St John's College, Cambridge in 1896. He graduated B.A. as senior Wrangler in 1899.^[1] Paranjpye was elected a Fellow of St John's College in November 1901^[2] and stayed as such until 1907, but returned to India to become a professor of mathematics at Fergusson College in 1902.^[1] One of the earliest Indian documentary film makers, H. S. Bhatavdekar, made silent documentary films, Return of Wrangler Paranjpye (1902) and Delhi Durbar of Lord Curzon (1903), featuring R. P.^[3][4][5][6]

Career

In 1907, R. P. became the first librarian of the Indian Mathematical Society at Fergusson College.^[7] He became the college's principal, and stayed in that position for two decades, until 1926.^[8] Subsequently, he consecutively became the Vice-Chancellor of Bombay University^[9] and University of Lucknow^[10] In 1921, the University of Calcutta awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree.^[11]

Sir Raghunath was elected to the Bombay Legislative Council in 1912 representing the University of Bombay constituency. He was again elected to the enlarged Council as per the Government of India Act 1919. As part of Diarchy in Bombay Presidency, Paranjpye was appointed as the first Minister for Education and he served in the position till 1923. He was unable to get elected in the 1923 elections losing to M. R. Jayakar of the Swaraj Party.

Paranjpye received a knighthood from the colonial government in 1942.^[1] In the three years (1944–1947) preceding India's independence from the British Raj, the British government appointed him India's High Commissioner to Australia.^[12] In the days of the British Raj, there was some criticism that R. P. had often appeared on the side of British authorities at a time of nationalist ferment in India.

He was the founder of the Indian Rationalist Association in Chennai (then Madras) in 1949,^[13] and remained its President for many years.^[14] His autobiography, 84 Not Out, appeared in 1961.

Acharya Atre has devoted one full chapter in his autobiography to Wrangler Paranjpye and has written about his fame all over the country and how because of him students from outside Maharashtra came to study at Ferguson College.

Family

His younger brother, Hari Purushottam Paranjpye was a well known agriculturist of his time. In 1991, the Government of India awarded R. P.'s daughter Shakuntala Paranjpye a Padma Bhushan title in recognition of her work in the field of family planning. She was also a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha in the 1960s.^[15] In 2006, the Government of India awarded R. P.'s granddaughter Sai Paranjpye a Padma Bhushan title in recognition of her artistic talents. She is a film director and a scriptwriter.^[16]

Works

• Dhondo Keshav Karve: A Sketch, Poona, Arya Bhushan Press, 1915.
• Gopal Krishna Gokhale, The Aryabhushan Press, 1918.
• The Crux of the Indian Problem. Watts, 1931.
• The National Liberal Federation, Presidential address. Allahabad, 1939. Vithal Hari Barve, 1939.
• 84 Not Out, National Book Trust, New Delhi, 1961.
• Rationalism In Practice: The Kamala Lectures, Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2006. ISBN 1-4286-4446-6.