R. P. Paranjpye Explained

Raghunath Paranjpye
Native Name:रघुनाथ परांजपे
Honorific Prefix:Sir
Birth Date:16 February 1876
Death Date:6 May 1966 (aged 90)
Occupation:Mathematician, university administrator, diplomat
Nickname:Wrangler Paranjpye
Alma Mater:Maratha High School, Mumbai
Fergusson College, Pune
St John's College, Cambridge
Children:Shakuntala Paranjpye
Relatives:Hari Purushottam Paranjpye (younger brother)
Sai Paranjpye (grand daughter)
Ramdas Paranjpe (nephew)
Awards:Knight Bachelor (1942)
Office1:Vice Chancellor of Pune University
Term1:1956 - 1959
Predecessor1:Mukund Ramrao Jayakar
Successor1:Dattatreya Gopal Karve
Office2:1st High Commissioner of India to Australia
Term2:1945 - 1947
Predecessor2:office established
Successor2:Daya Singh Bedi
Office3:Vice Chancellor of Bombay University
Term3:1934 - 1941
Predecessor3:Mirza Akbar Khan
Successor3:Sir Rustom Pestonji Masani
Office4:Vice Chancellor of Lucknow University
Term4:1932 - 1938
Predecessor4:Pt. Jagat Narain
Successor4:S.M. Habibullah
Office5:Education Minister of the Bombay Presidency
Term5:1921 - 1923
Predecessor5:office established
Successor5:Bhaskarrao Vithojirao Jadhav

Sir Raghunath Purushottam Paranjpye (16 February 1876 – 6 May 1966) also known as Wrangler Paranjpye was an Indian mathematician and diplomat who served as the 1st High Commissioner of India to Australia from 1945 to 1947. He became the first Indian to achieve the coveted title of Senior Wrangler at the University of Cambridge. Later in life he also served as the Vice Chancellor of many Indian universities.

Early life and education

Raghunath Paranjpye was born in Murdi near Dapoli on the coastal Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra to a Chitpavan Brahmin family. He was educated at Maratha high school, Bombay, Fergusson College, Pune and Bombay University before entering St John's College, Cambridge in 1896. He graduated B.A. as senior Wrangler in 1899. Paranjpye was elected a Fellow of St John's College in November 1901[1] and stayed as such until 1907, but returned to India to become a professor of mathematics at Fergusson College in 1902. One of the earliest Indian documentary film makers, H. S. Bhatavdekar, made silent documentary films, Return of Wrangler Paranjpye (1902) and Delhi Durbar of Lord Curzon (1903), featuring R. P.[2] [3] [4]

Career

In 1907, R. P. became the first librarian of the Indian Mathematical Society at Fergusson College.[5] He became the college's principal, and stayed in that position for two decades, until 1926.[6] Subsequently, he consecutively became the Vice-Chancellor of Bombay University and Lucknow University.[7] In 1921, the University of Calcutta awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree.[8]

Sir Raghunath was elected to the Bombay Legislative Council in 1912 representing the University of Bombay constituency. He was again elected to the enlarged Council as per the Government of India Act 1919. As part of Diarchy in Bombay Presidency, Paranjpye was appointed as the first Minister for Education and he served in the position till 1923. He was unable to get elected in the 1923 elections losing to M. R. Jayakar of the Swaraj Party.

Paranjpye received a knighthood from the colonial government in 1942. In the three years (1944–1947) preceding India's independence from the British Raj, the British government appointed him India's High Commissioner to Australia.[9] In the days of the British Raj, there was some criticism that R. P. had often appeared on the side of British authorities at a time of nationalist ferment in India.

He was the founder of the Indian Rationalist Association in Chennai (then Madras) in 1949,[10] and remained its President for many years.[11] His autobiography, 84 Not Out, appeared in 1961.

Acharya Atre has devoted one full chapter in his autobiography to Wrangler Paranjpye and has written about his fame all over the country and how because of him students from outside Maharashtra came to study at Ferguson College.

Family

His younger brother, Hari Purushottam Paranjpye was a well known agriculturist of his time. In 1991, the Government of India awarded R. P.'s daughter Shakuntala Paranjpye a Padma Bhushan title in recognition of her work in the field of family planning. She was also a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha in the 1960s.[12] In 2006, the Government of India awarded R. P.'s granddaughter Sai Paranjpye a Padma Bhushan title in recognition of her artistic talents. She is a film director and a scriptwriter.[13]

Works

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. University intelligence . 5 November 1901 . 9 . 36604.
  2. Filming the Gods: Religion and Indian Cinema, Rachel Dwyer, Routledge, 2006. pp 14, .
  3. http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/indiancinema/?browse=language&start=SilentFilms Indian Cinema Database
  4. http://www.miffindia.in/archives/4th%20festival.htm Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF)
  5. https://archive.today/20240524160747/https://www.webcitation.org/5knvyrEJ1?url=http://www.geocities.com/indianmathsociety/newsletter17.htm Newsletter 17
  6. Web site: Chronomedia: 1901 – December 7. 14 July 2007.
  7. http://www.education.nic.in/cd50years/g/12/3H/123H0501.htm First Meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Education
  8. Web site: Annual Convocation. University of Calcutta. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120528004638/http://caluniv.ac.in/convocation-2012/hony_degrees.htm. 28 May 2012. dmy-all.
  9. http://www.asha-foundation.org/women/women/sai_paranjpe.php Sai Paranjpye at ASHA
  10. Web site: Rationalist International Bulletin 21. 21 October 1999. 5 September 2013.
  11. http://indianrationalists.blogspot.com/2006/05/introduction-to-indian-rationalist.html An Introduction to Indian Rationalist Association
  12. http://rajyasabha.gov.in/publ/golden_jubi/nominated%20.htm NOMINATED MEMBERS OF RAJYA SABHA
  13. http://info.worldbank.org/etools/library/latestversion.asp?241504 SAI PARANJPYE, INDIAN FILMMAKER