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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
Professor B.Subbarao - An Archaeologist
V. H. Sonawane*
During the nineteenth century, Archaeology became a popular science. Since then it has touched ordinary lives. Our quest for an understanding of the history of human beings has remained largely intact and it is believed that only archaeology can reveal the human story from prehistoric to historic times. Several archaeologists have devoted their lives for the cause of archaeology, who, despite playing a significant role in the development of the discipline, largely remained unknown outside of it. Professor B. Subbarao, an outstanding
archaeologist of the twentieth century was one of them, who Prof. B. Subbarao
founded the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History (1921-1962)
of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda - an academic institution of national and international standing.
Except for the last three decades, the 140 years of archaeological work in India has produced little interpretative work on past cultural processes in terms of any explanatory hypothesis compared to the vast number of descriptive excavation and exploration reports. Archaeology as such is heavily dependent on a multitude of sciences and has adopted the methodology of the natural sciences. However, it has not been duly practiced, as is increasingly the case outside India particularly in the West, where there is an attempt to create a synthesis between its scientific means and humanistic aims based on general anthropological theory. Therefore, it needs to be realised that archaeology has to go beyond its initial task of fact finding if it has to progress and contribute to our knowledge. This positive application of archaeology was first carried out by the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, which was nurtured and matured under the farsighted, sensitive and persevering leadership of B.Subbarao. It was the first university department in the country which combined scholars from diverse disciplines such as chemistry, zoology, geology, anthropology and various branches of history under one roof. This clearly emphasizes the all-pervasive nature of archaeology that Professor Subbarao was so conscious of. He was also the first Indian archaeologist to inter-relate
* Department of Archaeology & Ancient History, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara.
405 • Hults – YGUN-2410122-7222042, 2003 • 4
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