{{short description|Indian historian, educationist (1938-2020)}} {{Use Indian English|date=February 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox academic | honorific_prefix = Professor | name = Arjun Dev | honorific_suffix = | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name = <!-- use only if different from full/othernames --> | birth_date = {{birth date|1938|11|02|df=yes}} | birth_place = Layyah, West Punjab | death_date = {{death date and age|2020|03|29|1938|11|02|df=yes}} | death_place = | death_cause = | nationality = | citizenship = | other_names = | occupation = Historian, Educationist | period = | known_for = | title = | boards = | spouse = Indira Arjun Dev | partner = | children = | parents = | relatives = | awards = <!--notable national-level awards only--> | website = | education = MA<br/> {{small|(History)}} | alma_mater = {{plainlist| *Delhi University *Kirori Mal College }} | thesis_title = | thesis_url = | thesis_year = | school_tradition = | doctoral_advisor = | academic_advisors = National Steering Committee | influences = <!--must be referenced from a third-party source--> | era = | discipline = <!--major academic discipline – e.g. Physicist, Sociologist, New Testament scholar, Ancient Near Eastern Linguist--> | sub_discipline = <!--academic discipline specialist area – e.g. Sub-atomic research, 20th-century Danish specialist, Pauline research, Arcadian and Ugaritic specialist--> | workplaces = {{plainlist| *National Council of Educational Research and Training *Indian Council of Historical Research }} | doctoral_students = <!--only those with WP articles--> | notable_students = | main_interests = | notable_works = | notable_ideas = | influenced = <!--must be referenced from a third-party source--> | signature = | signature_alt = | signature_size = | footnotes = }}
'''Arjun Dev''' (2 November 1938 {{endash}} 29 March 2020) was an Indian historian and educationist. He was associated with the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) throughout his career. He wrote several books for NCERT on modern and contemporary India and on other countries in collaboration with his wife, Indira Arjun Dev. His ''History of the World: From the Late 19th to the Early 20th Century'' was discontinued by the NCERT during the National Democratic Alliance's government, but was republished by Orient Blackswan in 2002.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/arjun-dev-a-legendary-historian-passes-away/article31201575.ece|title=Arjun Dev: a legendary historian passes away|first=Aditya Mukherjee Mridula|last=Mukherjee|newspaper=The Hindu |date=March 29, 2020|via=www.thehindu.com}}</ref> He also contributed to books for school children, as well as writing about communal controversies and modern and scientific ideology.<ref name="auto"/>
== Early life and education == Dev was born on 12 November 1938 in Layyah, West Punjab (in modern-day Pakistan). He received his early schooling in Ambala<ref name="thewire"/> and later in 1959, he attended Kirori Mal College where he achieved a Master of Arts in history.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/call-me-bipan-not-prof-historian-bipan-chandra-dies-in-sleep/cid/319554|title='Call me Bipan, not prof' - Historian Bipan Chandra dies in sleep|website=www.telegraphindia.com}}</ref> He also attended Delhi University. He was married to Indira Arjun Dev.<ref name="thewire">{{Cite web|url=https://thewire.in/education/arjun-dev-historian-tribute|title=Remembering Historian Arjun Dev, Who Spearheaded the Effort to Create Modern Textbooks|website=The Wire}}</ref>
== Career == Dev served as the National Steering Committee's Member Secretary on textbook evaluation. Under his leadership, a detailed report was produced for the committee between 1993 and 1994. The report addressed the communal violence, Hindutva and hatred towards minorities which was being propagateded through school textbooks. After retiring from the NCERT, he collaborated with the Indian Council of Historical Research. His later work covered the period up to 1947. A book about 1941 colonial India, edited by Professor Sucheta Mahajan, remains unpublished despite several requests submitted to the government to release it.<ref name="auto"/>
== References == {{reflist}}
== Further reading == * {{cite web | last=Chandrababu | first=Divya | title=Offensive parts in textbook to be removed | website=Hindustan Times | date=2006-02-04 | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/offensive-parts-in-textbook-to-be-removed/story-yYleSO0CTwxcg13a7toRRN.html | access-date=2021-02-11}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dev, Arjun}} Category:1938 births Category:2020 deaths Category:Historians of South Asia Category:Historians of India Category:Kirori Mal College alumni Category:Delhi University alumni Category:Indian political writers Category:Indian Marxist historians Category:20th-century Indian historians Category:Place of death missing