Prominent historian Bipan Chandra passed away on Saturday at the age of 86.
The former History professor, died at around 6:00 am in Gurgaon, according to a report in The Times of India. For the past few months he was not keeping well.
Chandra was born in 1928 in the Kangra Valley of Himachal Pradesh, who later studied at the Forman Christian College, Lahore and then pursued his higher studies at Stanford University, United States.
The Padma Bhushan awardee got his Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) degree from Delhi University.
He then joined Hindu College, Delhi as a lecturer and then became a Reader. Chandra later joined as a History professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
A member of the University Grants Commission (UGC) since 1993, Chandra was considered to be one of the notable scholars on Indian Independence movement.
Author of several popular books, including "The Making of Modern India: From Marx to Gandhi", "The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India" and "History of Modern India", Chandra was also the Chairman of the National Book Trust from 2004 and 2012, according to IANS report.
S l Habib, historian of science and modern political history tweeted:
Sorry to hear about the passing away of Prof Bipan Chandra, a great historian and teacher.His Economic Nationalism is still unsurpassed. RIP
— S l Habib (@irfhabib) August 30, 2014
"Sad to hear about the passing away of noted historian Bipan Chandra. May his soul rest in peace," tweeted Congress leader Naveen Jindal.
Chiki Sarkar, publisher at Penguin Books India, tweeted:
Sad to hear of bipin chandra's death - he was one of @PenguinIndia most respected and successful authors — Chiki Sarkar (@Chikisarkar) August 30, 2014
Prof. Bipan Chandra-historian prominent secular voice passed away this morning. Cremation- Lodi Road crematorium 3 pm today. @MaheshNBhatt
— Shabnam hashmi (@ShabnamHashmi) August 30, 2014
Chandra will be cremated at the electric crematorium at Lodhi Road, New Delhi on Saturday at 3:00 pm.
