Dr. Vinay Kumar Srivastava
Principal,Hindu College

 

Born on 3 December 1952 in Delhi, Vinay Kumar Srivastava did his schooling from Anglo Sanskrit Victoria Jubilee Higher Secondary School, Darya Ganj, New Delhi. Then, he read for a B.Sc. (Hons.) Anthropology and M.Sc. Anthropology at Hans Raj College, University of Delhi. For his M.A. in Sociology, he studied at the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. He had a first-class-first throughout his under-graduation and post-graduation. In M.Phil., he had an O-grade, with 6.6 grade points. He earned his Ph.D. in social anthropology from King’s College, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. He was awarded the Commonwealth Scholarship to read for his doctorate. His teaching career started in 1976 with his appointment as lecturer in sociology at Hindu College, University of Delhi. On several occasion, during his tenure at Hindu College, he served as the teacher-in-charge. In 1985, he moved to the Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, as lecturer in social anthropology, where he became a reader in 1986; and in January 1997, he became a professor. He was the Superintendent of Practical Examinations in his department; and also, the Staff Secretary. He was also the university representative on the governing body of Ramjas College (University of Delhi). He has published widely in both national and international journals. His important books are: Essays in social anthropology (1990, Institute of Social Research and Applied Anthropology, Calcutta); L'Inde des Tribus Oubliees (with Declan Quigley, preface written by Dominique Lapierre, 1993, Societe Nouvelle des Editions du Chene, Paris); Samajik  manav  vigyan:  ek  parichay   (‘Social  anthropology: an introduction’; in Hindi) (1994, Palaka Prakashan, Delhi); Religious renunciation of a pastoral people (1997, Oxford University Press, Delhi); Co-edited Human ecology in the new millennium (2001, Kamla-Raj Enterprises, Delhi); Edited the Volume titled Methodology and fieldwork (under the series Oxford in India Readings in Sociology and Social Anthropology, wrote its Introduction and Sectional Introductions; 2004, Oxford University Press, Delhi; paperback edition 2005); Co-edited Issues and Themes in Anthropology, A Festschrift in Honour of Professor D.K. Bhattacharya (wrote its Preface and contributed an article titled ‘The Village in India’; 2004, Palaka Prakashan, Delhi); Co-edited Scheduled Tribes and Development (2006, Serials Publications, New Delhi). With Professor Sachchidananda, he has edited Social Anthropology in Eastern India (2009, Serials Publications). His most recent publication is a jointly edited volume titled Anthropology in India (2010, Serials Publications, New Delhi). He has also contributed an article titled ‘On the Concept of Nature’, in Nadia Tazi (ed.), Keynotes: Nature (2005, Sage Publications, New Delhi and Other Press, New York, pp. 141-85). Presently, he is working on a manuscript dealing with research methods in anthropology. In 2006, he was given the Rashtriya Shiromani Award by the Delhi Telugu Society for his contribution to anthropology. He has delivered Dr. K.S. Mathur Memorial Lecture (2003), Professor P.K. Bhowmick Memorial Lecture (2005), Platinum Jubilee Lecture, Indian Science Congress (2007), and Professor N.K. Singhi Memorial Lecture (2008), the Chancellor’s Lecture at Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh, Jharkhand (2009), the Lecture under the Popular Lecture Series of University of Delhi. He is also one of the three editors of The Eastern Anthropologist.