The Rest Is History: Sumit Sarkar (1939-2026)

An alumnus of Presidency College, Kolkata, Sumit Sarkar earned his Master’s and his PhD from the University of Calcutta. He went on to teach at his alma mater, at Delhi University and the University of Burdwan and served as a fellow at Oxford. His lectures and his scholarship left an indelible impression on his students, many of whom have gone on to become influential history teachers themselves. Sarkar wrote several remarkable works on modern India, focusing on the role of subaltern forces, social history and critiques of nationalism.

Here are five of his memorable books, one of which he edited with his wife, well-known historian Tanika Sarkar:

Modern India 1885-1947 

An insightful look into the historiography of India and the freedom struggle from the time of British rule to the year of Independence.

Writing Social History

The essays in this collection combine the empirical study of themes in late-colonial Indian history with an intervention in current debates about the extent and nature of Western colonial domination. Sarkar makes a strong case for the importance of richly-detailed, nuanced social history.

The Swadeshi Movement in Bengal

Sarkar’s meticulously researched history of the Swadeshi movement sheds light on hitherto neglected or undiscovered aspects of the movement, improving on the existing histiography in a significant way.

Beyond Nationalist Frames

 In this provocative and intellectually stimulating collection of essays, Sarkar explores new approaches to the writing of history and offers a well-argued critique of  the limits of nationalist and fundamentalist frameworks in modern Indian history.

Women and Social Reform in Modern India (Eds. Sumit Sarkar and Tanika Sarkar)

Social reforms intended to change the social, political or economic status of women in India were of importance to both  British colonial rule and to Indian nationalist movements. Debates over practices such as child marriage, widow immolation and widow remarriage as well as those concerning marriage and property within different religious communities profoundly influenced Indian society and politics throughout the 20th century. This reader, edited by Sumit Sarkar and Tanika Sarkar, features some of the most significant scholarly articles and primary source documents on the subject from the 19th and early 20th centuries.