Rajat Kanta Ray
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Rajat Kanta Ray | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 May 1946 Calcutta, Bengal Province, British India |
| Died | 6 August 2025 (aged 79) |
| Alma mater | |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | History |
Rajat Kanta Ray (Bengali: রজত কান্ত রায়; 6 May 1946 – 6 August 2025) was an Indian historian of South Asian history, specialising in Modern Indian history.
Ray was born on 6 May 1946,[1] the son of Kumud Kanta Ray, ICS who was a Home Secretary of West Bengal in the 1960s. His grandfather, Kamakshya Ray, a contemporary of Rathindranath Tagore, was one of the first four students of Patha Bhavana of Santiniketan.
He completed his schooling at Ballygunge Government High School, Calcutta, and his B.A. (Honours) in History at Presidency College, Calcutta, where he was a student of Ashin Dasgupta.[2] He then completed his Ph.D. under the supervision of Anil Seal at the University of Cambridge.[3][4][5] After returning from Cambridge, Ray briefly taught at IIM, Calcutta, before moving to Presidency College, where he taught for more than three decades, and alongside his substantial academic output, is largely remembered as a teacher par excellence.[6][7]
Ray died on 6 August 2025, at the age of 79.[4]