GUWAHATI, Oct 27 - The last rites of noted social anthropologist Prof Annada Charan Bhagabati, who died yesterday at the age of 83, were performed at the Bhutnath Cremation Ground here this afternoon.
Prof Bhagabati, who was honoured by the Bhopal-based Indira Gandhi National Human Museum with the lifetime achievement award for his incomparable contribution in the field of anthropology and museum in May this year, was also a recipient of several other awards, including the Sanaskriti Emeritus Fellow Lifetime Achievement Award (2001) by the North Eastern Institute of Culture and Religion and RP Chanda Centenary Medal by the Asiatic Society, Kolkata (2012) for his remarkable contributions to anthropological studies.
A gold medalist graduate from Gauhati University (1956), Bhagabati obtained his masters from Calcutta University in 1958 also with a gold medal. He worked among the Krumis of Purulia district in West Bengal for his MSc dissertation.
He obtained his PhD from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, in 1967, after successfully conducting his doctoral research on the Maori tribals of that country. His study on the Maoris is considered a pioneering work in the field of social change in the context of migration and urbanisation. He was engaged in the field of anthropology for over 50 years.
Meanwhile, various organisations, including Khilonjia Janajatiya Sahitya Sabha Asam, have condoled Prof Bhagabati�s demise, terming it as an irreparable loss in the sphere of anthropological studies.
