imported>DiplomatTesterMan at 17:50, 21 July 2021

2021-07-21T17:50:31Z

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{{short description|Indian historian, writer (1952 – 2020)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox academic
| honorific_prefix = Professor
| name = Hari Vasudevan
| honorific_suffix =
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| birth_date = 15 February 1952
| birth_place = [[Kolkata]], India
| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|05|10|1952|02|15|df=yes}}
| death_place = Kolkata, India
| nationality =
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| other_names =
| occupation = Historian, Writer
| period =
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| spouse = [[Tapati Guha-Thakurta]]
| partner =
| children = 1
| relatives = Ravi Vasudevan (brother)<ref name="Goswami 2020">{{cite web | last=Goswami | first=Tarun | title=Eminent historian Hari Shankar Vasudevan dies of COVID, he was 68 | website=Millennium Post | date=2020-05-10 | url=http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/eminent-historian-hari-shankar-vasudevan-dies-of-covid-he-was-68-408602 | access-date=2021-02-24}}</ref>
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| education = PhD
| alma_mater = [[University of Cambridge]]
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| workplaces = {{plainlist|
*[[University of Calcutta]]
*[[University Grants Commission (India)|University Grants Commission]]
*[[Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies]]
*[[Jamia Milia Islamia]]
*[[The Asiatic Society]]
*[[Cornell University]]
*[[King's College London]]
*[[Russian Academy of Sciences]]
*[[Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv]]
*[[Dagon University]]
*[[National Council of Educational Research and Training]]
}}
| doctoral_students = 
| notable_students =
| main_interests = {{plainlist|
*[[History of Europe]]
*[[India–Russia relations]]
*[[History of Russian]]
*[[History of Central Asia]]
}}
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'''Hari Shankar Vasudevan''' (15 February 1952 {{endash}} 10 May 2020) was an Indian historian, writer and [[:Category:Emeritus Professors in India|emeritus professor]]. His work was primarily focused on [[history of Europe]] and [[India–Russia relations]] besides his contribution to the [[history of Russian]] and [[History of Central Asia|Central Asia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/variety/eminent-historian-hari-shankar-vasudevan-dies/article31550888.ece|title=Eminent historian Hari Shankar Vasudevan dies|website=@businessline}}</ref> He served as the president of the [[Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata]] from July 2018 until he died in May 2020. His last publication was ''India and the October Revolution: Nationalist Revolutionaries, Bolshevik Power and Lord Curzon’s Nightmare'', later published in multiple parts and volumes in the book titled ''The Global Impact of Russia’s Great War and Revolution'' (RGWR), and in its second book ''The Wider Arc of Revolution''. It is also published in RGWR's second part titled ''Bloomington, Indiana: Slavica Publishers, 2019''.

He was born around 1952 in [[Kolkata]], India<ref name="thehindu"/> to Methil Vasudevan who was an aeronautical engineer at Defence Science Organisation (in modern-day [[Defence Research and Development Organisation]]).<ref name="The Hindu 2020">{{cite web | title=COVID-19 claims Hari Vasudevan, Bengal’s foremost historian | website=The Hindu | date=2020-05-10 | url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/covid-19-claims-hari-vasudevan-bengals-foremost-historian/article31552005.ece | access-date=2021-02-24}}</ref> He did B.A (Hons.) from [[Christ's College, Cambridge]] and then obtained his M.A from University of Cambridge. He married to an Indian historian, [[Tapati Guha-Thakurta]], with whom he had a daughter, Mrinalini.<ref name="thehindu">{{Cite web|url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/dispatches/article31551650.ece|title=Eminent historian Hari Vasudevan dies of COVID-19|first=Suhrid Sankar|last=Chattopadhyay|website=Frontline}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.caluniv.ac.in/academic/department/History/Hari-Sankar-Vasudevan.pdf |title=UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA |website=caluniv.ac.in}}</ref>

== Life ==
Hari Vasudevan's parents were Methil Vasudevan and Sreekumari Menon. His father Methil Vasudevan was a mechanical and aeronautical engineer. Hari Vasudevan grew up in India, Europe and Africa. After completing his PhD studies from [[University of Cambridge]] in 1978, he became a [[Reader (academic rank)|Reader]] in [[European History]] at [[University of Calcutta]] in 1978, later going on to become an [[Emeritus|emeritus professor]] at the University.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|others=Special Correspondent|date=2020-05-10|title=COVID-19 claims Hari Vasudevan, Bengal’s foremost historian|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/covid-19-claims-hari-vasudevan-bengals-foremost-historian/article31552005.ece|access-date=2020-05-11|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Renowned Historian Hari Vasudevan Dies of COVID-19 in Kolkata|url=https://thewire.in/history/historian-hari-vasudevan-covid-19-death|last=|first=|date=10 May 2020|website=The Wire|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-05-11}}</ref>

At [[Jamia Millia Islamia]] he set up the 'Central Asia' programme. He was part of numerous government committees, including the chairperson of the 'Textbook Development Committee for the Social Sciences' at the [[National Council of Educational Research and Training]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> From 2007 to 2011 he was the director of [[Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies]], under the [[Ministry of Culture (India)|Ministry of Culture]].<ref name=":1" /> Vasudevan was involved in projects on India-Russia relations including ones with [[Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak|Gayatri Spivak]] of [[Columbia University]]. At the [[Observer Research Foundation]] he was studying India's [[Look East policy (India)|Look East]] policy among other things.<ref name=":0" /> He taught at [[Russian Academy of Sciences]], Kiev University, [[Uppsala University]], [[Cornell University]], [[King's College London|King's College, London]], [[Yunnan Normal University]] and [[Dagon University]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hari Vasudevan|url=https://www.orfonline.org/people-expert/hari-vasudevan/|last=|first=|date=|website=www.orfonline.org|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-05-11}}</ref>

He authored ''<nowiki/>'Footsteps of [[Afanasy Nikitin|Afanasii Nikitin]]: Travels through Eurasia and India in the early 21st century''' in 2015 and ''<nowiki/>'Shadows of Substance: Indo-Russian Trade and Military Technical Cooperation'<nowiki/>'' in ''2010.'' He edited and co-authored numerous books.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Eminent historian Hari Vasudevan dies of COVID-19|url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/dispatches/article31551650.ece|last=Chattopadhyay|first=Suhrid Sankar|website=Frontline|language=en|access-date=2020-05-11}}</ref> He married [[Tapati Guha-Thakurta]] and has a daughter.<ref name=":1" /> Tapati Guha-Thakurta is a director and professor in history at [[Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Faculty:Tapati Guha Thakurta.|url=https://www.cssscal.org/faculty_tapati_guha_thakurta.php|last=|first=|date=|website=Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-05-11}}</ref>

From 2005 to 2015, he served as a chairperson of the [[National Council of Educational Research and Training]] (NCERT) at Syllabus Committees and Textbook Development Committees for Social Sciences. Between 2006 and 2007, he served as a consultant for the [[Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)|Ministry of Commerce and Industry]] where he work was focused on India-Russian Trade.<ref name="thehindu"/>

He also served at several [[government of India]]'s branches, including [[Ministry of Culture (India)|Ministry of Culture]], [[Ministry of Education (India)|Ministry of Education]], and [[Ministry of External Affairs (India)|Ministry of External Affairs]] besides working at the Ministry of Commerce and Industries.<ref name="thehindu"/>

[[File:Raja Ravi Varma, Malabar Lady.jpg|thumb|Oil painting by [[Raja Ravi Varma]], depicting Malabar Lady]]
He also produced his work focused on Indian and Russian military cooperations. Some of his work revolves around from [[Early modern Europe|early European]] and [[Afanasy Nikitin]]'s trade in India during 15th century to the modern India. He along with his mother wrote a biography titled ''Memoirs of a Malabar Lady'', consisting a detailed account of her life.<ref name="The Hindu 2020"/>

== Death ==
He tested positive for [[COVID-19]] during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in India]] on 6 May and was subsequently admitted to [[AMRI Hospitals]] for treatment, however he died in Calcutta hospital on 20 May 2020 after experiencing [[Fever|pyrexia]] and [[shortness of breath]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/eminent-historian-hari-shankar-vasudevan-dies-of-covid-19-in-kolkata-120051001191_1.html|title=Eminent historian Hari Shankar Vasudevan dies of Covid-19 in Kolkata|date=May 10, 2020|via=Business Standard}}</ref><ref name="Dey 2020">{{cite web | last=Dey | first=Sreyashi | title=‘Dangerous untruth’, says wife of historian who succumbed to COVID-19 - Kolkata News | website=Latest News India | date=2020-06-12 | url=https://www.timesnownews.com/kolkata/article/dangerous-untruth-says-wife-of-historian-who-succumbed-to-covid/605463 | access-date=2021-02-24}}</ref>

== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal | title=The ‘Memory’ of a Historian | journal=Economic and Political Weekly | volume=55 | issue=34 | date=2020-08-22 | pages=7–8 | url=https://www.epw.in/journal/2020/34/commentary/%E2%80%98memory%E2%80%99-historian.html | ref={{sfnref | Economic and Political Weekly | 2020}} | access-date=2021-02-24}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://harivasudevan.com Website maintained by the Vasudevan family]
* [http://idsk.edu.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/In-memoriam_Hari-Vasudevan.pdf Hari Shankar Vasudevan] at the [[Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasudevan, Hari}}
[[Category:20th-century Indian historians]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Bengali historians]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge]]
[[Category:Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Emeritus Professors in India]]
[[Category:Indian expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India]]

Hari Vasudevan - Revision history

imported>DiplomatTesterMan at 17:50, 21 July 2021