>Gsquaredxc at 16:33, 2 November 2020

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{{Use Indian English|date=April 2018}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2016}}
'''Bal Krishen Thapar''' (18 October 1921 – 6 September 1995) was an Indian archaeologist who served as the [[Director-general]] of the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] from 1978 to 1981. He was the founder of [[INTACH]].

== Early life ==

Thapar was born to a cloth merchant in [[Ludhiana]] on 18 October 1921. On completing his M.A. in History from the [[University of Punjab]], [[Lahore]], Thapar joined the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] and trained under [[Mortimer Wheeler]] at the newly established Institute of Archaeology in [[Taxila]]. Thapar obtained a doctorate in West Asian archaeology from the [[Heidelberg University]].

== In the Archaeological Survey of India ==

Thapar participated in the archaeological excavations in [[Kalibangan]], [[Purana Qila]] and [[Maski]]. He was also involved in ASI's excavations in Farah Valley and [[Begram]] in [[Afghanistan]].<ref>http://www.penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/pdfs/17-2/thapar.pdf</ref> Other excavations he conducted and led include archaeological projects at [[Hastinapur]], [[Sisupalgarh]], [[Rupnagar]], Kausambi, Porkalam, Somnath, Prakash, Kuchai, and Juna Pani.

Thapar edited [[Archaeological Survey of India|Archaeological Survey of India's]] official journals ''Indian Archaeology'' from 1973 to 1979 and ''Purattatva'' from 1974 to 1978. In 1978, Thapar succeeded [[M. N. Deshpande]] as [[Director-general]] of the [[Archaeological Survey of India|ASI]] and served till retirement in 1981.

== Professional Memberships ==
Thapar was a member of many academic bodies, both in India and abroad, including:
* Chairman, Centre for Cultural Resources & Training (1982–92)
* Secretary and Founding Member, Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (1986–94)
* Member Advisory Committee, American Institute of Indian Studies (1988–94)
* Vice President, Executive Committee, [[ICOMOS]]<ref>http://www.penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/pdfs/17-2/thapar.pdf</ref> (1975–84)
* Member Permanent Council, Congress Internationale des Sciences Prehistoriques et Protohistoriques
* Member Indian National Committee for cooperation with UNESCO (1987–91)
* Member International Editorial Committee of UNESCO – Projects on Scientific & Cultural History of Mankind and History of Civilisation of Central Asia
* Member, UNESCO Consultative Committee on Silk Roads & Roads of Dialogue project
* Correspondent Member, [[German Archaeological Institute]] at [[Berlin]]
* Secretary, Central Advisory Board of Archaeology in India
* Member, [[Indian Science Congress Association]]
* Member, Radiocarbon Dating Committee

== Fellowships and awards ==

In 1992, Thapar was awarded the [[Padma Shri]] for Literature and Education<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archive.india.gov.in/myindia/padmashri_awards_list1.php?start=950 |title=Archived copy |access-date=30 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105220719/http://archive.india.gov.in/myindia/padmashri_awards_list1.php?start=950 |archive-date=5 January 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> by the [[Government of India]]. Thapar was awarded the Alexander Von Humboldt Scholarship in 1959. In 1993, he was awarded the Asiatic Society of Bengal medal, and the Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary Medal. Thapar was also a Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland Fellow; Churchill College Fellow (1971), and a Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fellow<ref>http://www.jnmf.in/flist.html</ref> (1981).

== Death ==

Thapar died at [[New Delhi]] on 6 September 1995.

==Selected publications==

''[https://books.google.com/books/about/Indian_Megaliths_in_Asian_Context.html?id=3vmAAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y Indian megaliths in Asian context]'' - with Arun Kumar Sharma (1994)

[https://books.google.com/books?id=SfZtAAAAMAAJ&q=inauthor:%22Bal+Krishen+Thapar%22&dq=inauthor:%22Bal+Krishen+Thapar%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAmoVChMIg8b4qenpyAIVwt-mCh3bigMl ''Conservation of the Indian heritage''] - with [[Bridget Allchin]] and [[Raymond Allchin|Frank Raymond Allchin]] (1989)

[https://books.google.com/books?id=8AxuAAAAMAAJ&q=inauthor:%22Bal+Krishen+Thapar%22&dq=inauthor:%22Bal+Krishen+Thapar%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAGoVChMIlseMgOvpyAIVpNimCh2ccwy6 ''Recent archaeological discoveries in India''] (1985)

''[https://books.google.com/books?id=dhk9AAAAIAAJ&lpg=PA63&pg=PA63#v=onepage&q&f=false Approaches to the Archaeological Heritage]'' Chapter 7, India - Henry Cleere (1984)

''[http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0009/000944/094466e.pdf History of Humanity: Scientific and Cultural Development.]'' Book Chapter: The Indus Valley: 3000-1500 BC. Dani, A. H. and Mohan, J.-P. (eds.), Vol. II UNESCO and Rutledge: 246-265 - with [[Mohammed Rafique Mughal]] (1996)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

* {{cite book|title=Approaches to the Archaeological Heritage: A Comparative Study of World Cultural Resource Management Systems|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=1984|first=Henry|last=Cleere|page=vii}}

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{{succession box|title=Director General of the [[Archaeological Survey of India]]|before=[[M. N. Deshpande]]|after=[[Debala Mitra]]|years=1978 - 1981}}
{{s-end}}

{{authority control}}
{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Literature & Education}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thapar, B. K.}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:Directors General of the Archaeological Survey of India]]
[[Category:University of the Punjab alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian archaeologists]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education]]
[[Category:Scientists from Ludhiana]]
[[Category:Indian institute directors]]
{{archaeologist-stub}}

B. K. Thapar - Revision history

>Gsquaredxc at 16:33, 2 November 2020