Sarat Chandra Roy (4 November 1871 – 30 April 1942[1]) was an Indian scholar of anthropology.[2] He is sometimes regarded as the 'father of Indian ethnography', the 'first Indian ethnographer', and as the 'first Indian anthropologist'.[3]
Born on 4 November 1871 to Purna Chandra Roy, a member of the Bengal Judicial Service, in a village in Khulna district (now in Bangladesh), young Sarat came in contact with tribal people after his father was posted in Purulia. After his father's death in 1885, he was educated at his maternal uncle's home in Calcutta. In 1892, he graduated in English literature from the General Assembly's Institution (now Scottish Church College). He earned a postgraduate degree in English from the same institution, and subsequently studied law at the Ripon College (now Surendranath College). He had worked for some time as a headmaster at the Mymensingh High School, and later as a principal at the GEL Mission High School in Ranchi. In Ranchi, he became aware of the plight of the tribals. He left teaching and started practicing as a lawyer and became a pleader in the district court in the 24 Parganas in Calcutta in 1897. A year later he moved to Ranchi, where he practiced at the court of the judicial commissioner in Ranchi.[4]
Career in anthropologyedit
His interest into the plight of the "tribal" people developed in the course of his visits as a lawyer, in the interior areas of the Chota Nagpur Division. He was deeply moved by the plight of the Munda, Oraon and other tribal groups, who were subjected to the continued oppression by an apathetic colonial administration, and by a general contempt towards them in courts of law, as "upper-caste" Hindu lawyers had little knowledge of their customs, religions, customary laws and languages. Keeping all this in perspective, he decided to spend years and decades among tribal folks to study their languages, conduct ethnography, and interpret their customs, practices, religion and laws for the benefit of humanity, and also for the established system of colonial civil jurisprudence. In so doing, he wrote pioneering monographs, that would set the ground for broader understanding and future research. Thus although he was not formally trained in either ethnology or anthropology, he is regarded the first Indian ethnologist, or ethnographer or an Indian anthropologist.[5]
In his later years, he spent his time editing Man in India and in other journals, writing and lecturing at the newly established anthropology department at the University of Calcutta, and serving as a reader at Patna University.[6]
^Dasgupta, Sangeeta (2022), "A Journey with the Oraons", Reordering Adivasi Worlds, Oxford University Press, pp. 125–C3.N168, ISBN0-19-012791-0
^Upadhyay, Vijay S. and Gaya Pandey. Indian Anthropologists - Sarat Chandra Roy: The Father of Indian Ethnography (1871–1942) in History of Anthropological Thought, Concept Publishing Company, 1993, p. 395.
^Bobrinskoy, G. (1936). "Review of Manu: A Study in Hindu Social Theory.; The Hill Bhuiyas of Orissa". American Journal of Sociology. 41 (5): 686–687. ISSN 0002-9602.
^Srivastava, Vinay Kumar and Sukant K. Chaudhury. Anthropological Studies of Indian Tribes in Sociology And Social Anthropology In India, edited by Yogesh Atal, Indian Council of Social Science Research, 2009, p. 52.
January 01, 1970
sarat, chandra, november, 1871, april, 1942, indian, scholar, anthropology, sometimes, regarded, father, indian, ethnography, first, indian, ethnographer, first, indian, anthropologist, born4, november, 1871karapara, bengal, presidency, british, indiadied30, a. Sarat Chandra Roy 4 November 1871 30 April 1942 1 was an Indian scholar of anthropology 2 He is sometimes regarded as the father of Indian ethnography the first Indian ethnographer and as the first Indian anthropologist 3 Sarat Chandra RoyBorn4 November 1871Karapara Bengal Presidency British IndiaDied30 April 1942 1942 04 30 aged 70 Ranchi Bihar Province British IndiaNationalityIndianOther namesS C RoyOccupation s Lawyer ethnographer cultural anthropologist lecturer readerKnown forEthnography Contents 1 Early life 2 Career in anthropology 3 Works 3 1 Books and monographs 3 2 Journal contributions 4 Recognition 5 See also 6 ReferencesEarly life editBorn on 4 November 1871 to Purna Chandra Roy a member of the Bengal Judicial Service in a village in Khulna district now in Bangladesh young Sarat came in contact with tribal people after his father was posted in Purulia After his father s death in 1885 he was educated at his maternal uncle s home in Calcutta In 1892 he graduated in English literature from the General Assembly s Institution now Scottish Church College He earned a postgraduate degree in English from the same institution and subsequently studied law at the Ripon College now Surendranath College He had worked for some time as a headmaster at the Mymensingh High School and later as a principal at the GEL Mission High School in Ranchi In Ranchi he became aware of the plight of the tribals He left teaching and started practicing as a lawyer and became a pleader in the district court in the 24 Parganas in Calcutta in 1897 A year later he moved to Ranchi where he practiced at the court of the judicial commissioner in Ranchi 4 Career in anthropology editHis interest into the plight of the tribal people developed in the course of his visits as a lawyer in the interior areas of the Chota Nagpur Division He was deeply moved by the plight of the Munda Oraon and other tribal groups who were subjected to the continued oppression by an apathetic colonial administration and by a general contempt towards them in courts of law as upper caste Hindu lawyers had little knowledge of their customs religions customary laws and languages Keeping all this in perspective he decided to spend years and decades among tribal folks to study their languages conduct ethnography and interpret their customs practices religion and laws for the benefit of humanity and also for the established system of colonial civil jurisprudence In so doing he wrote pioneering monographs that would set the ground for broader understanding and future research Thus although he was not formally trained in either ethnology or anthropology he is regarded the first Indian ethnologist or ethnographer or an Indian anthropologist 5 In his later years he spent his time editing Man in India and in other journals writing and lecturing at the newly established anthropology department at the University of Calcutta and serving as a reader at Patna University 6 Works editBooks and monographs edit The Mundas and Their Country 1912 The Oraons of Chota Nagpur 1915 The Birhors 1925 Oraon Religion and Customs 1927 The Hill Bhuiyas of Orissa 1935 7 The Kharias vol 1 1937 The Kharias vol 2 1937 8 Journal contributions edit Man in India the first anthropological journal in India was started by him in 1921 9 He wrote extensively on totemism among the Asur the Ho people of Singhbhum the Pahira of Chota Nagpur on the Lepcha funeral kinship among Sikkimese people Khasi people Khond human sacrifice Korku memorial tablets black Bhils of Jaisamand lake in Rajputana and on the ethnic groups of Burma 10 Recognition editKaisar i Hind Silver Medal 1913 Roy Bahadur 1919 Elected as honorary member of the Folklore Society of London being the only Indian to be awarded thus Elected as president of the Anthropological Section in the Indian Science Congress Elected as president of the Anthropology section of the All India Oriental Conference 1932 Elected as president of the Folklore section of the All India Oriental Conference 1933 Elected as member of the Council d Honour of the International Congress of Ethnological Sciences Foundation Fellow of National Institute of Sciences Foundation Fellow of Patna University The Indian Science Congress awarded him with a commemorative volume of essays in anthropology 11 The Sarat Chandra Roy Institute of Anthropological Studies in Ranchi established in 1979 commemorates his name 12 See also editThe People of India Historical definitions of races in India Anthropological Survey of India Biraja Sankar Guha M N Srinivas Nirmal Kumar Bose Panchanan Mitra L P VidyarthiReferences edit Anjali Bose 2019 Sansad Bengali Charitabhidhan Vol I Sahitya Sansad Kolkata p 701 ISBN 978 81 7955 135 6 Dasgupta Sangeeta 2022 A Journey with the Oraons Reordering Adivasi Worlds Oxford University Press pp 125 C3 N168 ISBN 0 19 012791 0 Upadhyay Vijay S and Gaya Pandey Indian Anthropologists Sarat Chandra Roy The Father of Indian Ethnography 1871 1942 in History of Anthropological Thought Concept Publishing Company 1993 p 395 Upadhyay and Pandey p 395 6 Upadhyay and Pandey p 396 Upadhyay and Pandey p 398 Bobrinskoy G 1936 Review of Manu A Study in Hindu Social Theory The Hill Bhuiyas of Orissa American Journal of Sociology 41 5 686 687 ISSN 0002 9602 Upadhyay and Pandey p 396 Upadhyay and Pandey p 397 8 Upadhyay and Pandey p 401 Upadhyay and Pandey p 397 Srivastava Vinay Kumar and Sukant K Chaudhury Anthropological Studies of Indian Tribes in Sociology And Social Anthropology In India edited by Yogesh Atal Indian Council of Social Science Research 2009 p 52 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sarat Chandra Roy amp oldid 1222380220, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
