Amalendu De
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Amalendu De | |
|---|---|
| অমলেন্দু দে | |
| Born | 12 March 1929 |
| Died | 16 May 2014 (aged 85) |
| Alma mater | Calcutta University |
| Occupations | teacher, writer, historian |
| Organizations |
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| Spouse | Naseema Banu |
| Parents |
|
| Awards | Annadashankar Puraskar |
Amalendu De (1929 - 16 May 2014) was Guru Nanak Professor of History at Jadavpur University, where he specialised in the history of the Indian independence movement. He served for some time as president and as secretary of the Asiatic Society and in 1982 was president of the Indian History Congress at its meeting in Aligarh.
De was the son of a lawyer, born at Madaripur, Faridpur district, Bengal British India (now in Bangladesh) in 1929. From the age of 16 he was educated in Calcutta, ultimately studying at post-graduate level at the Calcutta University. He taught at Uluberia College and Murlidhar College before joining the faculty at Jadavpur University.[1]
Career
De was appalled that his country had been divided on religious lines.[2] He was a Marxist historian[3] and a humanist, promoting the ideals of a society without communal divisions. He supported closer ties between India and China, and was general-secretary of the West Bengal branch of the Indo-China Friendship Society.[1][4] A Hindu, he married Nasima Banu, a Muslim and the granddaughter of A. K. Fazlul Huq, after completing his post-graduate studies. The inter-religious nature of the marriage made it difficult for them to obtain accommodation at that time.[2]
De served for some time as president and as secretary of the Asiatic Society and in 1982 was President of the Indian History Congress at its meeting in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.[4]
Awarded a D. Litt. by Jadavpur University,[4] De was involved with Calcutta University National Integration Centre, the Dara Sikoh-Ram-mohan Society, and other organisations through which he voiced his desire for communal harmony.[2] He was also involved with the state heritage commission, the road renaming committee and some other bodies.[1] His work led to the discovery in Sodepur of the grave of Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, a pioneering Indian rationalist thinker and human rights activist.[4]
A festschrift in honour of De was published in 2009, titled Reflections in History: Essays in Honour of Professor Amalendu De.[5] He died on 16 May 2014;[4] his wife died a few weeks later, on 3 June.[2] His remains were donated to R. G. Kar Medical College.[1]
