Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi
Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi (31 July 1907 – 29 June 1966) was an
Indian polymath with interests in
mathematics,
statistics,
philology,
history, and
genetics. He contributed to genetics by introducing the ''Kosambi map function''. In statistics, he was the first person to develop orthogonal infinite series expressions for stochastic processes via the
Kosambi–Karhunen–Loève theorem. He is also well known for his work in
numismatics and for compiling critical editions of ancient Sanskrit texts. His father,
Dharmananda Damodar Kosambi, had studied ancient Indian texts with a particular emphasis on Buddhism and its literature in the Pali language. Damodar Kosambi emulated him by developing a keen interest in his country's ancient history. He was also a
Marxist historian specialising in ancient India who employed the
historical materialist approach in his work. He is particularly known for his classic work ''
An Introduction to the Study of Indian History''.
He is described as "the patriarch of the
Marxist school of
Indian historiography". Kosambi was critical of the policies of then prime minister
Jawaharlal Nehru, which, according to him, promoted
capitalism in the guise of
democratic socialism. He was an enthusiast of the
Chinese Communist Revolution and its ideals, and was a leading activist in the world
peace movement.
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