Sarvepalli Gopal(23 April 1923 – 20 April 2002)[2]was a well-knownIndianhistorian.[3]He was the son ofSarvepalli Radhakrishnan,the firstVice-Presidentand the secondPresident of India.He was the author of theRadhakrishnan: A BiographyandJawaharlal Nehru: A Biography.

Sarvepalli Gopal
Born(1923-04-23)23 April 1923
Chennai,India
Died20 April 2002(2002-04-20)(aged 78)
Chennai,Tamil Nadu,India
OccupationHistorian
SubjectIndian History
Notable awardsPadma Vibhushan,1999 (for his contribution to Indian history)[1]
SpouseKaveri/Indira Ramaswami (1949)
ParentsSarvepalli Radhakrishnan(father)
Sarvepalli Sivakamu (mother)

Early life and education

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Sarvepalli Gopal was born inMadras,India, on 23 April 1923 into a middle-class family. He was the only son ofS. Radhakrishnan,the first vice-president and second president of independent India, and Sivakamu. He had five sisters.[2]

Gopal was educated atMill Hill Schoolin London and at theMadras Christian College.He was an undergraduate student of history atBalliol College, Oxford,where he won the Curzon Prize. He continued as a student at Balliol earning hisPhDon the viceroyalty ofLord Riponin 1951.[2]

Career

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Subsequently, he was appointed as a Director in theMinistry of External Affairs,Government of India, in the 1950s, where he worked closely withPrime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru.In the 1960s, he was aReaderin Indian History atSt Antony's College, Oxford.When the newJawaharlal Nehru Universitywas founded by the thenPrime Minister,Indira Gandhi,he was appointed as aProfessorof History at the Centre for Historical Studies, which he helped in setting up.[4]In the 1970s, he was aChairmanof theNational Book Trust,New Delhi.

Death

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Gopal died due tokidney failureinChennaion 20 April 2002, three days before his 79th birthday.

Publications

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Books

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  • History of Humanity: Scientific and Cultural Development, Vol. 7: The Twentieth Century,(Paris: UNESCO, Routledge, 2008) (co-author Tichvinskii, Sergei Leonidovich)
  • Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography,(Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2004)
  • The Essential Writings of Jawaharlal Nehru,(New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2003) (co-author Uma Iyengar)
  • Anatomy of Confrontation: The Babri Masjid Ramjanmabhumi Issue,(New Delhi: Viking, 1991)
  • Radhakrishnan: A Biography,(Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1992)
  • Economy, Society and Development: Essays and Reflections in Honour of Malcolm Adesheshiah,(New Delhi: Sage, 1991) (co-authorsKurien, C.T.,E.R. Prabhakar)
  • Jawaharlal Nehru: An Anthology,(Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1983)
  • Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru,(New Delhi: Orient Longman, 1972–82) (co-authors Chalapatti Rau, M., Sharada Prasad, H.Y., Nanda, B.R.)
  • British Policy in India, 1858-1905,(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965)
  • Modern India,(London: Historical Association, 1967)
  • The Viceroyalty of Lord Irwin, 1926-1931,(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1957)
  • The Viceroyalty of Lord Ripon, 1880-1884,(London: Oxford University Press, 1953)
  • The Permanent Settlement in Bengal and its Result,(London, G.Allen and Unwin, 1949)

References

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  1. ^"Ministry of Home Affairs—Civilian Awards announced on January 26, 1999".Archived fromthe originalon 8 September 2006.Retrieved3 November2006.
  2. ^abcRaychaudhuri, Tapan(October 2008)."Gopal, Sarvepalli (1923–2002)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.Retrieved25 November2015.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
  3. ^Ramachandra Guha(27 April 2003)."Remembering Sarvepalli Gopal".The Hindu.Archived fromthe originalon 30 April 2012.Retrieved3 November2006.
  4. ^K. N. Panikkar(27 April – 12 May 2002)."A great historian: Sarvepalli Gopal, 1923-2002".Frontline.19(9).Retrieved3 November2006.