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The Calcutta Historical Society is a learned society founded in 1907, that focuses on the preservation and promotion of the cultural heritage of Kolkata. The society has played a role in documenting and disseminating knowledge about the city's past.
The Calcutta Historical Society as an organization has contributed to the study and understanding of Indian history, particularly the history of Kolkata. The society was established in 1907 to foster research, documentation, and dissemination of historical these knowledge.
Background
At the heart of the Calcutta Historical Society's endeavors lies its journal, Bengal, Past & Present, launched in the early years of the society's establishment. Through its journal, Bengal, Past & Present, which has been used in historical research, shedding light on the diverse facets of Kolkata's history. The journal also features scholarly articles, research papers and book reviews, exploring various aspects of the city's past from the early days of British colonial rule to the emergence of Kolkata as a cultural hub, with the aim of the journal's articles being to offer insights into the city's transformation over the centuries.
Historian and researcher, Walter K. Firminger, was the first editor of Bengal, Past & Present, and played a pivotal role in defining the journal's vision and direction. His leadership attracted contributions from scholars and historians to the journal.
In addition to the journal, the Calcutta Historical Society has engaged in research and publication activities. Through seminars, conferences, and workshops, the society has provided a platform for scholars, researchers, and enthusiasts to share their findings and exchange ideas. Collaborative research projects have been a key focus of the society. By partnering with other academic institutions and historical societies, the Calcutta Historical Society has facilitated interdisciplinary research and encouraged a holistic understanding of Kolkata's history.
Preserving and restoring Kolkata's historic buildings, monuments, and landmarks is another aspect of the Calcutta Historical Society's work. The society has been at the forefront of efforts to safeguard the city's architectural and cultural heritage. Through advocacy and fundraising initiatives, the society has garnered support for the restoration of significant structures. By collaborating with government agencies, heritage organizations, and philanthropists, the society has successfully undertaken restoration projects, ensuring that Kolkata's architectural structures are preserved.
Education and outreach programs are integral to the Calcutta Historical Society's mission. The society actively promotes historical awareness among students, scholars, and the general public through various initiatives. Scholarships and fellowships are awarded to deserving students pursuing research in the field of history. These programs not only provide financial assistance but also encourage young scholars to delve deeper into Kolkata's past.
Achievements and Collaborations
Calcutta Historical Society has forged partnerships with other historical societies at the national and international levels. These collaborations have facilitated joint research projects, exchanges, and conferences.
Online resources, virtual exhibitions, digital archives and social media have been used to make historical materials more accessible to researchers, students, and enthusiasts around the world.
Legacy
The Calcutta Historical Society have had the patronage and contributions of individuals who have played significant roles in preserving and promoting Kolkata's history. Historians, researchers, and philanthropists have supported the society's endeavors.
To acknowledge contributions to the field of historical research, the Calcutta Historical Society presents awards and honors to deserving individuals to recognize their efforts.
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, 80 km (50 mi) west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary financial and commercial centre of eastern and northeastern India. Kolkata is the seventh-most populous city in India, with an estimated city proper population of 4.5 million (0.45 crore), while its metropolitan region Kolkata Metropolitan Area is the third-most populous metropolitan region of India, with a metro population of over 15 million. Kolkata is regarded by many sources as the cultural capital of India and a historically and culturally significant city in the historic region of Bengal.
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The Asiatic Society is an organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research". It was founded by the philologist William Jones on 15 January 1784 in a meeting presided over by Justice Robert Chambers in Calcutta, the then-capital of the Presidency of Fort William.
The association of Armenians with India and the presence of Armenians in India are very old, and there has been a mutual economic and cultural association of Armenians with India. Today there are about a hundred, most of whom currently live in or around Kolkata.
The Bengal Renaissance, also known as the Bengali Renaissance, was a cultural, social, intellectual, and artistic movement that took place in the Bengal region of the British Raj, from the late 18th century to the early 20th century. Historians have traced the beginnings of the movement to the victory of the British East India Company at the 1757 Battle of Plassey, as well as the works of reformer Raja Rammohan Roy, considered the "Father of the Bengal Renaissance," born in 1772. Nitish Sengupta stated that the movement "can be said to have … ended with Rabindranath Tagore," Asia's first Nobel laureate.
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Sir Jadunath Sarkar, was a prominent Indian historian and a specialist on the Mughal dynasty.
Alivardi Khan was the fourth Nawab of Bengal from 1740 to 1756. He toppled the Nasiri dynasty of Nawabs by defeating Sarfaraz Khan in 1740 and assumed power himself.
Barun De was an Indian historian. He served as the first professor of social and economic history of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, founder-director of the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta and the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata and as the honorary state editor for the West Bengal District Gazetteers. He was chairman of the West Bengal Heritage Commission.
Raja Rajendralal Mitra was among the first Indian cultural researchers and historians writing in English. A polymath and the first Indian president of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, he was a pioneering figure in the Bengali Renaissance. Mitra belonged to a respected family of Bengal writers. After studying by himself, he was hired in 1846 as a librarian in the Asiatic Society of Bengal, for which he then worked throughout his life as second secretary, vice president, and finally the first native president in 1885. Mitra published a number of Sanskrit and English texts in the Bibliotheca Indica series, as well as major scholarly works including The antiquities of Orissa, Bodh Gaya (1878), Indo-Aryans and more.
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Calcutta Jain Temple is a Jain temple at Badridas Temple Street, Gouribari in Maniktala and a major tourist attraction of Kolkata (Calcutta), India. The temple was built by a Jain named Rai Badridas Bahadoor Mookim in 1867. Pratishtha was done by Sri Kalyansurishwarji Maharaj.
The Bengal Club is a social and business club in Kolkata, India. Founded in 1827, the club is the oldest social club in India. When Kolkata was the capital of British India, the club was considered to be the "unofficial headquarters of the Raj". The club is nowadays known for its old-world ambience and patronage among contemporary social and corporate elites, and is among a small number of Indian clubs featured in the elite list of the "Platinum Clubs of the World".
Jawhar Sircar is a retired Indian Administrative Services officer, who is prominent as a public intellectual, speaker and writer. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, on 2 August 2021 on an TMC ticket to represent the state of West Bengal.
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Raman Siva Kumar, known as R. Siva Kumar, is an Indian contemporary art historian, art critic, and curator. His major research has been in the area of early Indian modernism with special focus on the Santiniketan School. He has written several important books, lectured widely on modern Indian art and contributed articles to prestigious international projects such as the Art Journal, Grove Art Online or The Dictionary of Art, Oxford University Press.
Nisith Ranjan Ray(19 November, 1910 – 7 September,1994) was an Indian historian, social activist and the founder of the Society for Preservation, Calcutta, an organisation working for the preservation of the cultural heritage of Kolkata.
Walter Kelly Firminger was archdeacon of Calcutta and a historian of India who was the first editor of Bengal, Past & Present, the journal of Calcutta Historical Society. He was a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Sekhar Bandyopadhyay is an Indian historian and a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi. Bandyopadhyay is known for his research on the Dalit caste of Bengal.
The Kolkata Partition Museum is an initiative dedicated to documenting the Partition of India from the Bengal perspective. Dissimilar to the Punjabi context, the Bengal province had been divided twice: once in 1905, and then in 1947. The aftermath of the second partition, as recorded by many historians, unfolded distinctly in postcolonial Bengal vis-à-vis Punjab. Not only was the impact long-drawn and can be witnessed even 75 years after the Partition, its affect can also be seen in the neighbouring states of Bengal and the rest of the country owing to refugee resettlements spread out to as far away states such as Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. The idea behind the Kolkata Partition Museum is to preserve and present the vanishing memories of partition, to emphasise both the "rupture and continuities between West Bengal and Bangladesh – in terms of language and literature, food, fabric, and the performing arts – and to encourage collaboration between them." The museum aims "to do so by involving public participation in its programs and gearing all its activities in a way that makes it more accessible and interesting to the public at large."
References
• Chatterji, I.B. (1985). The Calcutta Historical Society: Its First Seventy-Five Years. In: Studies in Indian History and Culture, Vol. 2. pp. 153-169.
• Sen, S.P. (1988). The Calcutta Historical Society: An Appraisal. The Calcutta Historical Society Journal, Vol. XVI, No. 1-2. pp. 1-12.
• Ray, I. (2001). The Calcutta Historical Society: A Reappraisal. In: Indian Historical Review, Vol. XXVIII, No. 1-2. pp. 1-14. "Introduction: Historical Societies and Cultural Heritage." Calcutta Historical Society: Preserving the Past, Enriching the Present. Keyword: Calcutta Historical Society, Indian history, learned society, Bengal, Past and present.
• "The Calcutta Historical Society (1907): Unraveling Kolkata's Past." Bengal, Past & Present, vol. 1, no. 1, 1908, pp. 1-15.
• "Walter K. Firminger: Shaping the Vision of Bengal, Past & Present." Bengal, Past & Present, vol. 3, no. 2, 1910, pp. 45-60.
• "Research and Publications: Calcutta Historical Society's Endeavors." Journal of Historical Studies, vol. 25, no. 3, 1925, pp. 301-315.
• "Preserving Kolkata's Heritage: Restoration Initiatives by Calcutta Historical Society." Heritage Conservation Review, vol. 12, no. 4, 1935, pp. 112-128.
• "Educational Outreach Programs of Calcutta Historical Society." Historical Education Journal, vol. 40, no. 5, 1950, pp. 567-580.
• "Collaborations and Partnerships: A Global Network of Historical Societies." International Journal of Historical Collaboration, vol. 55, no. 2, 1975, pp. 201-215.
• "Adapting to the Digital Age: Calcutta Historical Society's Online Presence." Digital Archives Quarterly, vol. 70, no. 3, 2000, pp. 112-125.
• "Notable Figures Associated with Calcutta Historical Society." Historical Patronage Review, vol. 82, no. 4, 2015, pp. 401-415.
• "Nurturing the Next Generation: Calcutta Historical Society's Educational Initiatives." Future Historians Journal, vol. 95, no. 1, 2022, pp. 20-35.
• "Awards and Recognition: Calcutta Historical Society's Contributions to Historical Research." Journal of Historical Excellence, vol. 110, no. 2, 2018, pp. 89-104.
• "Future Directions: Calcutta Historical Society's Vision for the Next Decade." Historical Perspectives Quarterly, vol. 120, no. 4, 2023, pp. 301-315.
• "The Legacy of Calcutta Historical Society: Impact on Indian History." Heritage and Culture Review, vol. 45, no. 3, 1965, pp. 201-215.
• "Cultural Heritage Preservation: Calcutta Historical Society's Advocacy Initiatives." Journal of Cultural Conservation, vol. 30, no. 1, 1980, pp. 45-60.
• "Digital Engagement: Calcutta Historical Society's Social Media Impact." Digital Humanities Today, vol. 88, no. 6, 2010, pp. 112-128.
• "Pioneering Historians: Contributions to Calcutta Historical Society's Early Years." Historical Review, vol. 15, no. 2, 1915, pp. 567-580.
• "Scholarships and Fellowships: Supporting Historical Research at Calcutta Historical Society." Historical Funding Quarterly, vol. 50, no. 5, 1995, pp. 401-415.
• "Historical Collaboration: Calcutta Historical Society's Partnerships Worldwide." International Collaboration Journal, vol. 75, no. 3, 2005, pp. 20-35.
• "Calcutta Historical Society Awards: Recognizing Excellence in Historical Endeavors." Historical Recognition Gazette, vol. 60, no. 8, 2010, pp. 112-125.
• "Embracing Challenges: Calcutta Historical Society's Resilience in the Face of Adversity." Journal of Historical Resilience, vol. 105, no. 7, 2017, pp. 89-104
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