President of India receives books ‘Jnan, a-Janan and Bijnan: Popper-er Jnantatta’ and ‘Samudra Banijjer Prekshite Sthala Banijjya, Bharat Mahasagar Anchal, 1500-1800’

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee received the books ‘Jnan, A-Janan and Bijnan: Popper-er Jnantatta’ and ‘Samudra Banijjer Prekshite Sthala Banijjya, Bharat Mahasagar Anchal, 1500-1800’ from Dr. Sushil Chaudhury and Dr. (Smt.) Mahasweta Chaudhury in Kolkata, West Bengal today (May 19, 2017).

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that he was happy to receive the first copies of the above books. The topics of the books in itself suggests that these are researched monographs on the subjects that they have been written on. He said that he was sure that the books are interesting and instructive for the common reader. The President stated that he knows the authors of the books – Shri Sushil Chaudhury and Smt Mahasweta Chaudhury for long and they have been dedicated to academics throughout their professional lives.

The President said that “Jnan, A-Janan and Bijnan: Popper-er Jnantatta” is an exceptional work in as much as, no such work has yet been done in the Bengali language on the subject. The main thrust of the book is to acquaint people with the concept of knowledge – especially scientific knowledge in the context of Popper’s conception.

The President said that Shri Sushil Chaudhury’s monograph ‘Samudra Banijjer Prekshite Sthala Banijjya, Bharat Mahasagar Anchal, 1500-1800’ tries to explode some of the myths which prevailed for long in the historical world. The Eurocentric position that the traditional overland trade from India/Bengal through the Middle East and Central Asia to Europe was doomed with the advent of the European Trading Companies in the early 17th Century has been convincingly challenged by authors. Shri Chaudhury has tried to establish this with the help of new qualitative and quantitative evidence.