R.D. Choudhury

Born in 1944 at Patacharkuchi in the district of Barpeta, Assam, Dr. Rabin Dev Choudhury, son of late Sri Raghunath Dev Choudhury, received his school education at Kaithalkuchi and Patacharkuchi. He graduated from Cotton College in 1963. He passed the M.A. Examination in 1965 from Sagar University, M.P. in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology. Choudhury joined the Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, as research scholar where he worked under Prof. H.D. Sankalia. He obtained his Ph.D. from Pune University in 1970. Dr. Choudhury joined the Assam State Museum in the Directorate of Archaeology and Museum, Assam in 1970. He obtained a Diploma from the National Museum in Museology. He was promoted to the post of the Curator of the Assam State Museum and was subsequently promoted as Director of Museums, Assam in 1983. Dr. Choudhury was appointed Director General of National Museum in 1998, an office he relinquished on superannuation in 2004. He was also the Vice-Chancellor of National Museum Institute of Art, Conservation and Museology by virtue of his position. In 2004, at the invitation of Tezpur University, he joined as Professor in the Department of Cultural Studies, from where he retired in 2006. Dr. Choudhury has published a number of books and catalogues. His important publications include Archaeology of the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam (New Delhi, 1985) and Art Heritage of Assam (New Delhi, 1998). At present, he is the Chairman of the Indian Art History Congress (IAHC) and also the Editor of Kala, the journal of IAHC.