Sumit Sarkar: key obituary facts
Is Sumit Sarkar dead? Yes. Sumit Sarkar died on August 13, 2026, at age 87.
Cause of death: Sumit Sarkar's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Sumit Sarkar known for?
He was an Indian historian of modern India (born 1939).
More about Sumit Sarkar
Born: 1 January 1939.
Gender: male.
Occupation: historian, writer.
Nationality: India, British Raj, Dominion of India.
Education: University of Calcutta, Presidency University.
Employer: Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Delhi, University of Calcutta.
Sumit Sarkar, the Indian historian of modern India, died on August 13, 2026, aged 87.
A Marxist historian and writer, he was among the leading scholars of modern Indian history and helped found the Subaltern Studies Group, while also emerging as one of its most prominent critics. Sarkar wrote widely on Indian historiography, including Swadeshi Movement in Bengal, 1903-1908 (1973), Modern India (1989) and Writing Social History (1998).
Born in 1939, he studied at the University of Calcutta and Presidency University, and later taught at the University of Calcutta, the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University.