By : Satyaki Paul
The date June 01, 2021 marks the first death anniversary of renowned Anthropologist Professor Lakshman Kumar Mahapatra (1929-2020). From early days he was a bright student wherein he stood second at matriculation (1946). He was the topper of University of Calcutta. Later, he taught Anthropology at Lucknow and Dharwad. However, he spent most of time teaching and conducting research at Utkal University (1967 to 1989). He was also an academic administrator, Vice-Chancellor of Utkal and Sambalpur Universities and Director-cum-Chairman of the Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies.
Professor Mahapatra shaped Indian Anthropology to its current being through his comparative studies, not just on tribalstudies. He ensured that research in diverse areas such as temples of Odisha, Hindu princes and princedoms, etc. One of world-renowned work began during his tenure as Director of a UNESCO research project on swidden or shifting cultivation in South Asia during 1979-80. As per him, swiddening was a sustainable tribal practice and Adivasis were forced to shift to other occupations due to development of government projects. His research on displacement and subsequent resettlement and rehabilitation of tribals was another field of enquiry he pioneered in our country.
In 1979, when the Indravati dam project was initiatedfor the drought-prone Kalahandi and neighbouring districts.This project ended up shifting many Adivasi hamlets. The then government took scant measures torecognize their complications. He was the one who raised his voice against the then government. He didn’t take a break. He went on to convoke a globalseminar on the issue of displacement due to development projects at the International Congress of Anthropologists in Vancouver (1983).While giving a speech he asked a very thought-provoking question for the first time, “Development for whom?” Therefore, he organized his academic research worksin consonance of activism for tribals, whose loss was prior considered tolerable collateral damage in development projects.In this vein, he and his studentssince time immemorial were promoting inter and multi-disciplinary studies and further set up two multi-disciplinary research centres i.e., the Centre for Regional Studies and the Population Research Centre.
Thus, it can be concluded that his life had inspired many scholars, activists, and anthropologists.His research works will further inspire future generations of individuals who will never shy away from raising voices against government in case of injustice towards tribal societies. More about him can be found in his website (https://www.lkmahapatra.org/). The author works as a Ph.D. Research Scholar at the Department of Anthropology, University of Calcutta, and the co-author of the book Anthropology For All (2021).