I am working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of History, Presidency University, Kolkata since April 2013. I have completed my doctoral research entitled “Role of trade and commerce in the socio-economic conditions of Darjeeling hills, 1861-1962” from the University of Visva-bharati, Santiniketan. My research emphasises colonial trans-Himalayan trade and culture of the Eastern Himalaya; the tea plantation industry and tea trade; and cultural pluralism in the Darjeeling Himalaya. My specialisation is the Economic History of Modern India, and my areas of interest include Eastern Himalayan Borderlands and Frontier Studies, Trans-Himalayan Studies, South Asian Studies, and Tribal and Dalit Studies.
Before joining Presidency University in 2013, I also taught in Salesian College, Sonada, Darjeeling, for about four and a half years (2008-2013). Mostly, I teach courses in the fields of Economic and Environmental History of Modern India; World history till 1991, and also the history of East Asia (Far East). I have presented papers in International/National Conferences and Seminars and written papers in peer-reviewed journals and chapters on edited books. Besides, I am also the co-editor of "Darjeeling and the Indian East", Salesian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Salesian College Publication, Darjeeling, Vol.II, No.1, May 2011. I also run a blog, i.e. www.darjeelingheritage.com writing specifically on Darjeeling and Eastern Himalaya.
BA (Hons) History (St. Joseph's College/ University of North Bengal, 2005)
MA History (University of North Bengal, 2007)
PhD (Modern Indian History, University of Visva-bharati, Santiniketan, 2020)
I finished my B.A. in History (Hons.) from St. Joseph's College, Darjeeling in 2005; M.A. in Modern Indian History from the University of North Bengal in 2008 specializing in Economic History of Modern India. I have qualified for my NET exam in 2007. I have taught in Salesian College, Sonada, Darjeeling for four and a half years as a full-time Assistant Professor in the Department of History and also taught a few papers in the department of Travel and Tourism. I am working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of History, Presidency University, Kolkata since April 2013 to date. Before, I qualified for my doctoral research entitled “Role of trade and commerce in the socio-economic conditions of Darjeeling hills, 1861-1962” from the University of Visva-bharati, Santiniketan in 2020. My research emphasizes colonial trans-Himalayan trade consisting of Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sikkim; tea trade; Kalimpong as a trading post and cultural pluralism in the Darjeeling Himalaya.
My research is a comprehensive and exploratory overview of trade and commerce in the colonial Darjeeling hills. However, it focuses more on two sub-divisions of the Darjeeling district- Darjeeling Sadar and Kalimpong.
The research explains how the trade through the trans-Himalayas affected important political and commercial relations between the Himalayan kingdoms and the British. The British created a series of buffer states and signed several treaties with the countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, and Tibet. The intention was to gain economic power and to capture the market until Central Asia. That is why the East India Company conducted many policies and missions for almost two centuries. This is how Darjeeling and later Kalimpong sub-division of Darjeeling flourished as the major trading posts for trans-Himalayan trade. The research explores the colonial legacy of trans-Himalayan trade and tea trade and the role of Darjeeling and Kalimpong in it as an entrepot and trade centers examining the direction, volume, and scope of trade.
Secondly, the research observes the genesis and growth of the tea plantation industry and the tea trade and export; and its role in the socio-economic conditions of the Darjeeling hills. Further, the research presents an analytical study in the connection of how trade brought cultural pluralism in the Darjeeling hills.
However, I have received Foreign Travel Grant from ICHR (Indian Council of Historical Research) to visit British Library, London, to collect archival sources for 14 days in 2016.
I have designed and taught the courses on Economic History, Indian Nationalism, and Modern Europe earlier. Currently, I teach Economic History and Economic Nationalism in Modern India; and Ecology and Environmental History of India to both UG and PG students. Further, I teach History of the Modern World and History of East Asia to UG and History of Capitalism, Industrialisation, and Globalisation to PG students. In addition, I also supervise dissertations of both UG and PG students.
Below is a list of MA dissertations supervised by me, reflecting a wide range of themes in modern, environmental, and socio-cultural history, with particular emphasis on Eastern Himalayan studies, colonial transformations, and questions of identity, economy, sports and governance:
Subhajit Jha, Environmental History of Jalpaiguri: Forests, Wildlife, and Conservation Efforts (1869–1947), 2025
Penzola Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay’s Influence on Sherpa Community and Mountaineering in Darjeeling, 2025
Pragati Adriel Tamang, Colonial Legacy and the Development of Darjeeling as a Hill Station in the Nineteenth Century, 2025
Teeyasa Ball, Eco-feminism: Role of Women in Environmental Conservation in Post-colonial India, 2025
Shrabandeep Chaudhuri, Railway Expansion in Colonial India and Its Environmental and Socio-economic Impact (1853–1947): A Study from the Perspective of Eastern Railways, 2025
Rahul Biswas, Tracing the Evolution of Environmental Consciousness in Modern India: A Historical Analysis of Policy, Practices, and Perceptions, 2024
Sagnik Sarkar, Exploring the Socio-Political Significance of India’s Olympic Involvement: The Struggles in Sports Diplomacy, 2024
Shreyasi Ghosh, Forgotten Footprints: The Ahom Legacy in Medieval India, 2024
Bramhi Dey, The Socio-Economic Conditions of Tibetan Refugees in the Darjeeling Hills, 2023
Mausumi Sarkar, Reconstructing Khasi Identity through the Study of Their Religious Practices and Experience, 2022
Sajal Mondal, Analysis of the Tea-Garden Industry in North Bengal and How the European Tea Industrialists Capitalized on the Tea Economy, 2022
Rituraj Pal Chowdhury, Popularising Nationalism and Enhancing the Role of Finance Capital: A Case Study on Cricket as a Sport in India, 2022
Diotima Das, Buddhist Pilgrimage and Trade in the Trans-Himalayan Regions through the Silk Route, 2020
Anusha Tamang, Cultural Evolution of the Tamang Community in the Darjeeling Hills, 2020
Dhiman Roy Sarkar, A Frontier District of Colonial Bengal, Jalpaiguri: Socio-economic and Political Transformation (1869–1947), 2020
Devtanu Raha, Making of a Surveillance State: Discipline, Control and Governance from Colonization to 21st Century India, 2020
Member of the Indian History Congress.
Editor on the editorial board of the Journal- Yore: Research and Review
Editor on the editorial board of the International Journal- History and Heritage
Papers in Journals/Proceedings
History and Heritage of Darjeeling, “the Queen of Hills” in India 1835-1947, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 2018-19, Vol. 79 (2018-19), pp.371-378
Darjeeling, “Sports Revisited”- Legacy, Problems & Prospects in “Sports, Games and Holistic Education”, Salesian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Salesian College Publication, Darjeeling, Vol IV, No.2, 2013.
Sustainability of Cultural Integration in Darjeeling hills, in Salesian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Salesian College Publication, Darjeeling, December 2011, pp. 109-122.
Role of Tea Plantation Industry in Human Resource Development in Darjeeling hills, in "Darjeeling and the Indian East", Salesian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Salesian College Publication, Darjeeling, Vol.II, No.1, May 2011, pp. 85-96.
Papers in Edited Volume/Book
Cultural Pluralism in Darjeeling and Kalimpong: Reflections from Oral History in “Darjeeling: In Search of People’s History of the Hills”, Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 2022
Darjeeling: Role of the British in its development- A Historical Perspective, in "Darjeeling- A Multidisciplinary Perusal", Kalpagriha Publication, Darjeeling, November 2011.
Articles/Papers in Online Magazines:
“Land, Labour, and Economic Rights: Fractal Identities and the Struggle for Equity of Women in the Tea Plantations of the Darjeeling Hills.” L’Histoire, vol. 4, no. 1, 2025, pp. 79–94. https://www.voyagesintothepast.com/copy-of-volume-3-issue-1.
Book reviewed in Journals
Silk and Religion, An Exploration of Material Life and the Thought of People, AD 600-1200, Xinru Liu, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2007 in "Mountain Economy: Resources, Sustainability and Governance", Salesian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Salesian College Publication, Darjeeling, Vol.II, No.2, December 2011
Darjeeling: A Favoured Retreat, Jahar Sen, Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi, 1989 in "Darjeeling and the Indian East", Salesian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Salesian College Publication, Darjeeling, Vol. II, No.1, May 2011.
History of India, 1707-1857, Lakshmi Subhramanian, Orient Blackswan Limited, New Delhi, 2010, in "Darjeeling and the Indian East", Salesian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Salesian College Publication, Darjeeling, Vol.II No.1, May 2011
Presidency University Students Corner