Archive · 9 Aug 2025
Remembering Rajat Kanta Ray: A Scholar and Teacher
Rajat Kanta Ray was a history professor at Presidency College.
He was known for bringing new research to his students.
He encouraged them to think for themselves.
He studied topics from Indian industrialization to Indian Ocean trade, and later explored cultural history.
He served as Vice-Chancellor and supported academic freedom.
He was remembered as an excellent scholar and teacher.
Rajat Kanta Ray was a historian and professor at Presidency College in Calcutta.
Ray, a Cambridge PhD, integrated cutting-edge research into his lectures and emphasized the link between scholarship and teaching.
He conducted research on the history of industrialization and industrial policy, also exploring cultural and intellectual history later in his career.
Ray served as Vice-Chancellor of Visva Bharati from 2006 to 2011 and was a member of the Council of the Netaji Research Bureau.
He stood against assaults on academic freedom and history by forces of Hindu majoritarianism.
- Who
- Rajat Kanta Ray, a historian and professor.
- What
- A tribute to the historian Rajat Kanta Ray.
- When
- The author reflects on his experiences with Ray throughout his academic career.
- Where
- Presidency College, Calcutta and other academic institutions.
- Why
- To honor and celebrate the legacy of Rajat Kanta Ray as a teacher and scholar.
- Profession
- Historian, Professor
- Institution
- Presidency College
- Specialty
- South Asian History
- Notable Work
- Industrialisation in India
- Positions Held
- Vice-Chancellor of Visva Bharati
