Bipin Chandra (English: Bipan Chandra, born: 27 May 1928, Kangra; died: 30 August 2014) was a renowned historian and former president of the National Book Trust. Professor Bipin Chandra was a historian of India’s freedom struggle and the Marxist school of thought in the modern history writing tradition.
Born on 27 May 1928 in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, Prof. Bipin Chandra was the head of the History Department at Jawaharlal Nehru University and was counted among the top historians of the country. After retiring from Jawaharlal Nehru University, he was also made the chairman of the National Book Trust during the tenure of the United Progressive Alliance government and remained on this post till 2012. These days he was writing a biography on Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh. Prof. Bipin Chandra also completed his studies in Lahore and Delhi. He was a history teacher at Hindu College, Delhi University.
He was also made the President of the Indian History Congress in 1985. Apart from this, he was also a member of the University Grants Commission. He has written about 20 books on history. Among them, his books on Modern India History, Modern India and Economic Nationalism, Communalism, Indian Leftism were popular. He also wrote books on Jayaprakash Narayan and Emergency.[1]
Key Books
History of Modern India Modern India and Economic Nationalism ‘The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism’ ‘India after Independence’ ‘India’s Struggle for Independence’
Historian Bipin Chandra had a significant contribution in the history of modern India, which gave a new turn to history and nationalism. Bipin Chandra was the one who raised the biggest voice against the Khalistan movement and he called it communalism dividing Hindus and Sikhs. Due to prolonged illness, on 30 August 2014, Prof. Bipin Chandra died at his residence in Gurgaon, Haryana.
