Enric Heras de Sicars (later in India he anglicised his Christian name to Henry) was the heir of a well-off rural household from the village of Canet d'Adri, near Girona, in Catalonia. His parents were Ponç Heras and Maria Sicars. The Heras family had been established in the property of Adri since the late thirteenth century, but Enric gave up his rights in order to follow his religious vocation. After becoming a Jesuit in 1904, Heras followed the usual course of Jesuit priestly formation: three years of philosophy in Tortosa, three years of teaching history in Orihuela, Alacant, Spain, and the theological course in Sarrià, Barcelona, at the end of which he was ordained a Catholic priest in 1920.
Historian in Indiaedit
On arrival in India (1922) he was appointed to teach history at St Xavier's College, Bombay. He chose to teach Indian history "because he wanted to study it". This became his favorite subject and field of competence. He wrote a short book on historical methodology, The Writing of History, which became compulsory reading for his students.
He founded the Indian Historical Research Institute (1926), which trained numerous historians and Indologists, including Dr. George M. Moraes, Dr. Liladhar B. Keny, Dr. B. A. Saletore and others. The institute was later renamed the Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture. The Heras Memorial Lecture is held annually at the institute.[1]
Proto-historian and archeologistedit
From 1935 on he turned his attention to the newly excavated archeological sites of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa: he was particularly keen on deciphering the inscriptions of the so-called Indus Valley civilization. He wrote numerous articles on the topic, summing up finally his research in what will remain his master piece: Studies in Proto-Indo-Mediterranean Culture (1953)[2] in which he proposed a solution to the mysterious script of Mohenjo-Daro, and established cultural links between the Indus Valley Civilization, the Sumerian-Egyptian civilization and the ancient Mediterranean cultures. Though the deciphering he proposed is not yet fully convincing, it is "gaining ever greater acceptance by the specialists".[3] Although, fellow Jesuits in India, like father George Gispert (i.e. Jordi Gispert-Saüch) have expressed that his paramount work was his book on Vijayanagar.
Other activities and achievementsedit
Heras was also the founder of the Bombay Historical Society and was also actively involved in the Indian Historical Records Commission, Indian History Congress and the International Congress of Historical Sciences. Being totally identified with the culture of the country he chose to become an Indian citizen as soon as possible after the independence of 1947. Among his many students is Dr. S.V. Sohoni, who studied under him in the early twentieth century.
The same admiration for Indian culture led him to encourage Christian artists to adopt Indian forms of art and symbols in order to express Christian themes. In painting he enthused over Angelo Fonseca, Olimpio Coleto Rodrigues, et al. In architecture he was personally involved in drawing up the plans of the cathedral of Belgaum. He conducted an exhibition on Indian Christian art for the Holy Year of 1950 in Rome. He is acknowledged to be the "Father of Christian Indian Art".
Selected worksedit
The Writing of History, Madras, 1926.
The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Madras, 1927.
Beginning of Vijayanagara History, Bombay, 1929.
The Conversion Policy of the Jesuits in India, Bombay, 1933.
Studies in Pallava History, Madras, 1933.
Studies in Proto-Indo-Mediterranean Culture, 1955.
Footnotesedit
^British Museum Director to Inaugurate ‘Conservation Centre’ at St. Xavier’s, xaviers.edu. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
Correia-Afonso, J. (ed). Henry Heras, the Scholar and his Work, Bombay, 1976.
Balaguer, Melchior. Fr Henry Heras (1888–1955), in Jesuits in India: in Historical Perspective, Macao, 1992, pp. 297–300.
External linksedit
Henry Heras & the Indus Valley Seal
January 01, 1970
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Henry Heras news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Henry Heras 11 September 1888 Barcelona Spain 14 December 1955 Bombay India was a Spanish Jesuit priest archeologist and historian in India Heras and a Mohenjo Daro tablet on a 1981 stamp of India Contents 1 Education 2 Historian in India 3 Proto historian and archeologist 4 Other activities and achievements 5 Selected works 6 Footnotes 7 Bibliography 8 External linksEducation editEnric Heras de Sicars later in India he anglicised his Christian name to Henry was the heir of a well off rural household from the village of Canet d Adri near Girona in Catalonia His parents were Ponc Heras and Maria Sicars The Heras family had been established in the property of Adri since the late thirteenth century but Enric gave up his rights in order to follow his religious vocation After becoming a Jesuit in 1904 Heras followed the usual course of Jesuit priestly formation three years of philosophy in Tortosa three years of teaching history in Orihuela Alacant Spain and the theological course in Sarria Barcelona at the end of which he was ordained a Catholic priest in 1920 Historian in India editOn arrival in India 1922 he was appointed to teach history at St Xavier s College Bombay He chose to teach Indian history because he wanted to study it This became his favorite subject and field of competence He wrote a short book on historical methodology The Writing of History which became compulsory reading for his students He founded the Indian Historical Research Institute 1926 which trained numerous historians and Indologists including Dr George M Moraes Dr Liladhar B Keny Dr B A Saletore and others The institute was later renamed the Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture The Heras Memorial Lecture is held annually at the institute 1 Proto historian and archeologist editFrom 1935 on he turned his attention to the newly excavated archeological sites of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa he was particularly keen on deciphering the inscriptions of the so called Indus Valley civilization He wrote numerous articles on the topic summing up finally his research in what will remain his master piece Studies in Proto Indo Mediterranean Culture 1953 2 in which he proposed a solution to the mysterious script of Mohenjo Daro and established cultural links between the Indus Valley Civilization the Sumerian Egyptian civilization and the ancient Mediterranean cultures Though the deciphering he proposed is not yet fully convincing it is gaining ever greater acceptance by the specialists 3 Although fellow Jesuits in India like father George Gispert i e Jordi Gispert Sauch have expressed that his paramount work was his book on Vijayanagar Other activities and achievements editHeras was also the founder of the Bombay Historical Society and was also actively involved in the Indian Historical Records Commission Indian History Congress and the International Congress of Historical Sciences Being totally identified with the culture of the country he chose to become an Indian citizen as soon as possible after the independence of 1947 Among his many students is Dr S V Sohoni who studied under him in the early twentieth century The same admiration for Indian culture led him to encourage Christian artists to adopt Indian forms of art and symbols in order to express Christian themes In painting he enthused over Angelo Fonseca Olimpio Coleto Rodrigues et al In architecture he was personally involved in drawing up the plans of the cathedral of Belgaum He conducted an exhibition on Indian Christian art for the Holy Year of 1950 in Rome He is acknowledged to be the Father of Christian Indian Art Selected works editThe Writing of History Madras 1926 The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara Madras 1927 Beginning of Vijayanagara History Bombay 1929 The Conversion Policy of the Jesuits in India Bombay 1933 Studies in Pallava History Madras 1933 Studies in Proto Indo Mediterranean Culture 1955 Footnotes edit British Museum Director to Inaugurate Conservation Centre at St Xavier s xaviers edu Retrieved 19 June 2019 https archive org details dli ernet 51812 mode 2up A L Basham Indica 1978 2 1 Bibliography editCorreia Afonso J ed Henry Heras the Scholar and his Work Bombay 1976 Balaguer Melchior Fr Henry Heras 1888 1955 in Jesuits in India in Historical Perspective Macao 1992 pp 297 300 External links editHenry Heras amp the Indus Valley Seal Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Henry Heras amp oldid 1212094941, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
