B. B. Lal

Braj Basi Lal (born in Jhansi, India in 1921), better known as B. B. Lal, is a renowned Indian archaeologist. He was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India from 1968 to 1972, and has served as President of the World Archaeological Congress. He also worked in for UNESCO committees.^[1]

He received the Padma Bhushan award by the Government of India in 2000.^[1]

Schooling

B. B. Lal obtained his Masterís Degree in Sanskrit (including the Vedas) with a First Class First from Allahabad University, India.^[2]

Archeological Work

Dr. B. B. Lal has worked as an archaeologist for more than 50 years. He trained in excavation by a veteran archaeologist, Mortimer Wheeler at sites such as Taxila & Harappa, and other historical sites such as Sisupalgarh in Orissa. During 1950-52 he worked on archaeology of Mahabharata sites, including Hastinapura, the capital city of the Kurus. He made discoveries of many Painted Grey Ware (PGW) sites in the Indo‑Gangetic Divide and upper Yamuna‑Ganga doab.^[3]

Dr. B. B. Lal worked on Mesolithic site of Birbhanpur(West Bengal), Chalcolithic site of Gilund(Rajasthan) and Harappan site of Kalibangan(Rajasthan). He also worked on Ramayana sites of Ayodhya, Bharadwaj Ashram, Nandigram, Chitrakut and Shringaverapura, etc.^[3]

Two British archaeologists Stuart Piggott and D.H. Gordon described B. B. Lal’s published works on the Copper Hoards of the Gangetic basin and his Hastinapura excavation report, published in journal of the Archaeological Survey of India, as models of research and excavation reporting.^[3]

He has published several books and over 150 research papers & articles in prestigious national and international journals in scientific journals.^[1][3]

Honors

Prof. B. B. Lal was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India during 1968 to 1972 & later Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla.^[1]

Prof. Lal was awarded the Padma Bhusana by the President of India in 2000.^[1]

Works

• The Earliest Civilization of South Asia (1997)
• India 1947-1997: New Light on the Indus Civilization (1998)
• Lal, B.B., (1984) Frontiers of the Indus Civilization.1984.
• Lal, B.B. 2005. The Homeland of the Aryans. Evidence of Rigvedic Flora and Fauna & Archaeology, New Delhi, Aryan Books International.
• Lal, B.B. 2002. The Saraswati Flows on: the Continuity of Indian Culture. New Delhi: Aryan Books International

External links

• The Homeland of Indo-European Languages and Culture: Some Thoughts By Archaeologist B.B. Lal
• Let not the 19th century paradigms continue to haunt us! Inaugural Address, by Prof. Lal, delivered at the 19th International Conference on South Asian Archaeology, 2007

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} B. B. Lal Chair at IIT Kanpur, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur website.
2. ^ 'Let not the 19th century paradigms continue to haunt us!', Inaugural Address delivered at the 19th International Conference on South Asian Archaeology, held at University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy on July 2-6, 2007, archaeologyonline.net
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Book review by Dr. V. N. Misra, Book review of The Saraswati Flows on: the Continuity of Indian Culture, by Chairman of Indian Society for Prehistoric and Quaternary Studies journal Man and Environment; (vol. XXVI, No. 2, July-December 2001)