Henry Heras: Difference between revisions
→External links: add category using AWB |
No edit summary |
||
(27 intermediate revisions by 19 users not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|Spanish Jesuit priest, archeologist and historian in India}} |
|||
⚫ | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}} |
|||
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}} |
|||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
[[File:Henry Heras 1981 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Heras and a [[Mohenjo-Daro]] tablet on a 1981 stamp of India]] |
|||
⚫ | |||
==Education== |
==Education== |
||
Enric Heras de Sicars (later in India he anglicised his Christian name to Henry) was the heir of a well-off rural household from the village of [[Canet d'Adri]], near [[Girona]], in [[Catalonia]]. His parents were Ponç Heras and Maria Sicars. The Heras family had been established in the property of Adri since the late thirteenth century, but Enric gave up his rights in order to follow his religious vocation. After becoming a [[Jesuit]] in 1904, Heras followed the usual course of Jesuit priestly formation: three years of philosophy in [[Tortosa]], three years of teaching |
Enric Heras de Sicars (later in India he anglicised his Christian name to Henry) was the heir of a well-off rural household from the village of [[Canet d'Adri]], near [[Girona]], in [[Catalonia]]. His parents were Ponç Heras and Maria Sicars. The Heras family had been established in the property of Adri since the late thirteenth century, but Enric gave up his rights in order to follow his religious vocation. After becoming a [[Jesuit]] in 1904, Heras followed the usual course of Jesuit priestly formation: three years of philosophy in [[Tortosa]], three years of teaching history in [[Orihuela]], Alacant, Spain, and the theological course in [[Sarrià, Barcelona|Sarrià]], Barcelona, at the end of which he was ordained a [[Catholic priest]] in 1920. |
||
==Historian in India== |
==Historian in India== |
||
On arrival in [[India]] (1922) he was appointed to teach history at [[St Xavier's College]], [[Bombay]]. He chose to teach Indian history "because he wanted to study it". This became his favorite subject and field of competence. He wrote a short book on historical methodology, ''The Writing of History'', which became compulsory reading for his students. |
On arrival in [[India]] (1922) he was appointed to teach history at [[St Xavier's College]], [[Bombay]]. He chose to teach Indian history "because he wanted to study it". This became his favorite subject and field of competence. He wrote a short book on historical methodology, ''The Writing of History'', which became compulsory reading for his students. |
||
He founded the Indian Historical Research Institute (1926), which trained numerous historians and Indologists, including [[ |
He founded the Indian Historical Research Institute (1926), which trained numerous historians and Indologists, including Dr. [[George M. Moraes]], Dr. Liladhar B. Keny, Dr. [[B. A. Saletore]] and others. The institute was later renamed the Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture. The Heras Memorial Lecture is held annually at the institute.<ref>[http://xaviers.edu/main/index.php/87-hidden?start=84 British Museum Director to Inaugurate ‘Conservation Centre’ at St. Xavier’s], xaviers.edu. Retrieved 19 June 2019.</ref> |
||
==Proto-historian and archeologist== |
==Proto-historian and archeologist== |
||
From 1935 on he turned his attention to the newly excavated archeological sites of [[Mohenjo-Daro]] and [[Harappa]]: he was particularly keen on deciphering the inscriptions of the so-called [[Indus Valley |
From 1935 on he turned his attention to the newly excavated archeological sites of [[Mohenjo-Daro]] and [[Harappa]]: he was particularly keen on deciphering the inscriptions of the so-called [[Indus Valley civilization]]. He wrote numerous articles on the topic, summing up finally his research in what will remain his master piece: ''Studies in Proto-Indo-Mediterranean Culture'' (1953)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.51812/mode/2up | title=Studies in Proto-indo-mediterranean Culture Vol-i (1953) | date=1953 | publisher=Indian Historical Research Institute. }}</ref> in which he proposed a solution to the mysterious script of Mohenjo-Daro, and established cultural links between the Indus Valley Civilization, the [[Sumer]]ian-[[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] civilization and the ancient Mediterranean cultures. Though the deciphering he proposed is not yet fully convincing, it is "gaining ever greater acceptance by the specialists".<ref>[[A. L. Basham]], ''Indica'', 1978, 2(1).</ref> Although, fellow Jesuits in India, like father George Gispert (i.e. Jordi Gispert-Saüch) have expressed that his paramount work was his book on Vijayanagar. |
||
==Other activities and achievements== |
==Other activities and achievements== |
||
Heras |
Heras was also the founder of the Bombay Historical Society and was also actively involved in the Indian Historical Records Commission, Indian History Congress and the International Congress of Historical Sciences. Being totally identified with the culture of the country he chose to become an Indian citizen as soon as possible after the independence of 1947.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rupkatha.com/V15/n3/v15n326.pdf|title=The Historical Revolution of Vatican II and the Vision of a PostWestern Christianity in India|work=rupkatha.com|first=Enrico|last=Beltramini|access-date=15 July 2024}}</ref> Among his many students is Dr. [[S.V. Sohoni]], who studied under him in the early twentieth century. |
||
The same admiration for Indian culture led him to encourage Christian artists to adopt Indian forms of art and symbols in order to express Christian themes. In painting he enthused Angelo Fonseca, Olimpio Coleto Rodrigues, et al. In [[architecture]] he was personally involved in drawing the plans of the [[cathedral]] of [[Belgaum]]. He conducted an exhibition on Indian Christian art for the Holy Year of 1950 in [[Rome]]. He is acknowledged to be the "Father of Christian Indian Art". |
The same admiration for Indian culture led him to encourage Christian artists to adopt Indian forms of art and symbols in order to express Christian themes. In painting he enthused over Angelo Fonseca, Olimpio Coleto Rodrigues, et al. In [[architecture]] he was personally involved in drawing up the plans of the [[cathedral]] of [[Belgaum]]. He conducted an exhibition on Indian Christian art for the Holy Year of 1950 in [[Rome]]. He is acknowledged to be the "Father of Christian Indian Art". |
||
==Recognition== |
|||
In 1981, the Indian postal department issued a stamp in his honor on which he is portrayed alongside a [[Mohenjo-Daro]] tablet. |
|||
==Selected works== |
==Selected works== |
||
Line 31: | Line 29: | ||
* ''Studies in Pallava History'', Madras, 1933. |
* ''Studies in Pallava History'', Madras, 1933. |
||
* ''Studies in Proto-Indo-Mediterranean Culture'', 1955. |
* ''Studies in Proto-Indo-Mediterranean Culture'', 1955. |
||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
==Bibliography== |
==Bibliography== |
||
* Correia-Afonso, J. (ed). ''Henry Heras, the Scholar and his Work'', Bombay, 1976. |
* Correia-Afonso, J. (ed). ''Henry Heras, the Scholar and his Work'', Bombay, 1976. |
||
* Balaguer, Melchior. Fr Henry Heras (1888–1955), in ''Jesuits in India: in Historical Perspective'', Macao, 1992, pp. 297–300. |
* Balaguer, Melchior. Fr Henry Heras (1888–1955), in ''Jesuits in India: in Historical Perspective'', Macao, 1992, pp. 297–300. |
||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
==External links== |
==External links== |
||
Line 44: | Line 42: | ||
{{Authority control}} |
{{Authority control}} |
||
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> |
|||
| NAME = Heras, Henry |
|||
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = |
|||
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Indian historian |
|||
| DATE OF BIRTH = 11 September 1888 |
|||
| PLACE OF BIRTH = |
|||
| DATE OF DEATH = 14 December 1955 |
|||
| PLACE OF DEATH = |
|||
}} |
|||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heras, Henry}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heras, Henry}} |
||
[[Category:1888 births]] |
[[Category:1888 births]] |
||
[[Category:1955 deaths]] |
[[Category:1955 deaths]] |
||
[[Category:Spanish Jesuits]] |
[[Category:20th-century Spanish Jesuits]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:20th-century Spanish historians]] |
||
⚫ | |||
[[Category:20th-century Indian Jesuits]] |
|||
[[Category:20th-century Indian historians]] |
|||
[[Category:20th-century Indian archaeologists]] |
|||
[[Category:Spanish emigrants to India]] |
|||
[[Category:Naturalised citizens of India]] |
|||
[[Category:Indian people of Spanish descent]] |
[[Category:Indian people of Spanish descent]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Scientists from Mumbai]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Mohenjo-daro]] |
||
[[Category:Spanish historians]] |
[[Category:Spanish historians]] |
||
⚫ |
Latest revision as of 21:18, 14 July 2024
This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2009) |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Henry_Heras_1981_stamp_of_India.jpg/240px-Henry_Heras_1981_stamp_of_India.jpg)
Henry Heras (11 September 1888, Barcelona, Spain – 14 December 1955, Bombay, India) was a Spanish-Indian Jesuit priest, archeologist and historian based in India.
Bildung
[edit]Enric Heras de Sicars (later in India he anglicised his Christian name to Henry) was the heir of a well-off rural household from the village of Canet d'Adri, near Girona, in Catalonia. His parents were Ponç Heras and Maria Sicars. The Heras family had been established in the property of Adri since the late thirteenth century, but Enric gave up his rights in order to follow his religious vocation. After becoming a Jesuit in 1904, Heras followed the usual course of Jesuit priestly formation: three years of philosophy in Tortosa, three years of teaching history in Orihuela, Alacant, Spain, and the theological course in Sarrià, Barcelona, at the end of which he was ordained a Catholic priest in 1920.
Historian in India
[edit]On arrival in India (1922) he was appointed to teach history at St Xavier's College, Bombay. He chose to teach Indian history "because he wanted to study it". This became his favorite subject and field of competence. He wrote a short book on historical methodology, The Writing of History, which became compulsory reading for his students.
He founded the Indian Historical Research Institute (1926), which trained numerous historians and Indologists, including Dr. George M. Moraes, Dr. Liladhar B. Keny, Dr. B. A. Saletore and others. The institute was later renamed the Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture. The Heras Memorial Lecture is held annually at the institute.[1]
Proto-historian and archeologist
[edit]From 1935 on he turned his attention to the newly excavated archeological sites of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa: he was particularly keen on deciphering the inscriptions of the so-called Indus Valley civilization. He wrote numerous articles on the topic, summing up finally his research in what will remain his master piece: Studies in Proto-Indo-Mediterranean Culture (1953)[2] in which he proposed a solution to the mysterious script of Mohenjo-Daro, and established cultural links between the Indus Valley Civilization, the Sumerian-Egyptian civilization and the ancient Mediterranean cultures. Though the deciphering he proposed is not yet fully convincing, it is "gaining ever greater acceptance by the specialists".[3] Although, fellow Jesuits in India, like father George Gispert (i.e. Jordi Gispert-Saüch) have expressed that his paramount work was his book on Vijayanagar.
Other activities and achievements
[edit]Heras was also the founder of the Bombay Historical Society and was also actively involved in the Indian Historical Records Commission, Indian History Congress and the International Congress of Historical Sciences. Being totally identified with the culture of the country he chose to become an Indian citizen as soon as possible after the independence of 1947.[4] Among his many students is Dr. S.V. Sohoni, who studied under him in the early twentieth century.
The same admiration for Indian culture led him to encourage Christian artists to adopt Indian forms of art and symbols in order to express Christian themes. In painting he enthused over Angelo Fonseca, Olimpio Coleto Rodrigues, et al. In architecture he was personally involved in drawing up the plans of the cathedral of Belgaum. He conducted an exhibition on Indian Christian art for the Holy Year of 1950 in Rome. He is acknowledged to be the "Father of Christian Indian Art".
Selected works
[edit]- The Writing of History, Madras, 1926.
- The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Madras, 1927.
- Beginning of Vijayanagara History, Bombay, 1929.
- The Conversion Policy of the Jesuits in India, Bombay, 1933.
- Studies in Pallava History, Madras, 1933.
- Studies in Proto-Indo-Mediterranean Culture, 1955.
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ British Museum Director to Inaugurate ‘Conservation Centre’ at St. Xavier’s, xaviers.edu. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
- ^ "Studies in Proto-indo-mediterranean Culture Vol-i (1953)". Indian Historical Research Institute. 1953.
- ^ A. L. Basham, Indica, 1978, 2(1).
- ^ Beltramini, Enrico. "The Historical Revolution of Vatican II and the Vision of a PostWestern Christianity in India" (PDF). rupkatha.com. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
Bibliography
[edit]- Correia-Afonso, J. (ed). Henry Heras, the Scholar and his Work, Bombay, 1976.
- Balaguer, Melchior. Fr Henry Heras (1888–1955), in Jesuits in India: in Historical Perspective, Macao, 1992, pp. 297–300.
External links
[edit]- 1888 births
- 1955 deaths
- 20th-century Spanish Jesuits
- 20th-century Spanish historians
- 20th-century Spanish archaeologists
- 20th-century Indian Jesuits
- 20th-century Indian historians
- 20th-century Indian archaeologists
- Spanish emigrants to India
- Naturalised citizens of India
- Indian people of Spanish descent
- Scientists from Mumbai
- Mohenjo-daro
- Spanish historians