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Kolkata: Leading social scientist, Jayanta K Ray, who studied and taught history, international relations, political science, South and South East Asia, Indian foreign policy and much more, breathed his last in Kolkata on Saturday morning. He was 88.

Ray’s family came from Bangladesh and settled in Birbhum. He attended school in Suri, graduated from Presidency College and completed his Masters degree from Calcutta University.

Ray began his teaching career in International Relations at Jadavpur University. Later, he served at the Indian Institute of

Public

Administration, New Delhi, and the Centenary Professor of IR at the history department of Calcutta University. He was the founder-director of the Centre for South and South East Asian Studies.

Ray also served as the chairman of the Maulana Azad Institute of Asian Studies which, under his leadership, became the nodal centre for Asian Studies. Ray’s forte remained Indian foreign policy but he made significant contributions towards the understanding and dissemination of knowledge of India’s public administration.

Ray will be remembered for starting research on contemporary Indonesia and Thailand, said scholars and students. His students remember him as one who could teach keeping a macro point of view that encompassed the

evolution

of Indian society and

polity

.

In recognition of Ray’s scholarship in social sciences, the government of India appointed him as National Professor. “Unfortunately, he could not finish his last project, that of writing a history of Bengal from the 19th century to contemporary times,” rued long-time colleague and vice-chancellor of JU, Suranjan Das.

“Ray carried out a pioneering study on East Pakistan which analysed the deep East-West divide in Pakistan and in 1971 when Bangladesh emerged, his work could stake a claim to a successful prediction,” said student and noted broadcaster, Pankaj Saha.

Full report on www.toi.in


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