Obituary: Eminent Historian Prof. Sumit Sarkar Passes Away

13 August 2026National

Professor Sumit Sarkar, one of India's most influential historians of modern India, passed away in Delhi on 13 August 2026 aged 87 after a long illness. A former professor at Delhi University, he was associated with the early phase of the Subaltern Studies school and is best known for The Swadeshi Movement in Bengal, 1903-1908 and Modern India: 1885-1947, a standard text for history and civil-services students.

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'Modern India 1885-1947' is a widely-used UPSC/history text | Subaltern Studies founded by Ranajit Guha | Swadeshi Movement began 1905 after Partition of Bengal (Lord Curzon)

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Prof. Sumit Sarkar, eminent historian of modern India and author of Modern India 1885-1947, passed away on 13 Aug 2026 aged 87.

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