Sachchidanand Sahai | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1941-03-06)6 March 1941 (age 84) Bihar |
| Occupations | Epigraphist, Writer |
| Spouse | Sudha Verma (m 1963-1987, her death) |
| Children | Soma Sahai Srivastava |
| Awards | Padma ShriPravasi Bharatiya Samman |
Sachchidanand Sahai is an Indianepigraphist, writer and the scientific advisor to theGovernment of Cambodia for restoration ofAngkor Wat[1] and the Temple ofPreah Vihear, known for his knowledge onKhmer civilization.[2] He was honored by theGovernment of India, in 2012, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award ofPadma Shri.[3]
Sachchidanand Sahai was born on 6 March 1941 in the Indian state ofBihar.[4] He secured the post graduate degree (MA) fromBanaras Hindu University, Varanasi, in 1962, in ancient Indian history, culture and archaeology and did research under the guidance ofGeorge Coedes in theUniversity of Paris, Sorbonne onLes Institutions Politiques et l'organization administration du Cambode ancien to secure a doctoral degree.[4][5] Afterwards, he went toLaos in 1970 as the visiting professor of theIndian Council for Cultural Relations and worked till 1972. A 1981Fulbright fellow of theCornell University of Ithaca, New York, Sahai has worked as a research professor atIndira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts from 1988 to 1990 when he joined the Department of Ancient Indian and Asian Studies,Magadh University, Bodh Gaya as its pro vice chancellor[5] and stayed with the university till 2010.[4] He is also a former national professor of epigraphy, Institute of Archaeology, a Government of India funded institution.[6]
Sachchidanand Sahai lives in Cambodia attending to his duties as the scientific advisor to the Government of Cambodia.[4]
Sachchidanand Sahai has served as a distinguished visitor for the Indian Council for Cultural Relations to theASEAN countries. He is the founder editor of theSouth East Asian Review[6] since 1976, a journal dedicated to the cultural heritage of South East Asia and the Indian subcontinent. He has conducted a year-long tour of Chile, during 2011-12, as a visiting lecturer for ICCR.[4]
As a scientific advisor to the Government of Cambodia, Sahai is known to have contributed to the restoration of the temples ofAngkor Wat[1] andPreah Vihear.[2] He has brought out his studies on the culture and heritage of South East Asia as publications. He is the author of a five-volume work onLao Ramayana[1] and has done research on the visit of King Chulalongorn to India in 1872.[4] He is also credited with amonograph,The Mekong River: Space and Social Theory.[4] Some of the notable works of Sahai are:[2]
Sahai is also reported to have contributed to the dissemination of knowledge about the South East Asian culture through his addresses at several conferences.[2][4][14]
Sachchidanand Sahai has been a fellow of theIndian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla (2003-2006)[4] as well as theAustralian National University and the Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme, Paris.[5] He is a recipient of the A. S. Altekar Gold Medal (1962) of Banares Hindu University and V. K. V. Rao Memorial Life Time Achievement Award (2003) of the Indian Association of Social Science.[4] In the year 2012, theGovernment of India awarded him the civilian honor ofPadma Shri[3] and theNon Resident Indian award ofPravasi Bharatiya Samman.[15]
Sachchidanand Sahai was married to Sudha Verma, a scholar in Hindi Literature from North Bihar. She died in January 1987. They have a daughter Soma Sahai Srivastava who is a Neurologist and is currently settled with her family in USA.
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