Sankari Prasad Basu

Sankari Prasad Basu (21 October 1928 – 6 July 2014, also credited as Sankariprasad Basu) was an Indian scholar, writer and critic who wrote mainly in the Bengali language. He was a researcher on Swami Vivekananda and his books on the subject include Sahashya Vivekananda and Bandhu Vivekananda. One of his notable publications is his seven-volume research work Vivekananda o Samakalin Bharatbarsha, for which he won the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1978.

Basu was born on 21 October 1928 in Howrah, West Bengal. He was a student at the Howrah Vivekananda Institution. He received an M.A. degree from Calcutta University, and later became a professor of Bengali literature there. He was appointed the head of the department in 1985, and remained in that position until his retirement in 1993.

He has been associated with the Swami Vivekananda Archives of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture in Kolkata from its founding in 1995 to the present day, and has served as director of the Archives. He died on 6 July at the Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratishthan.

Basu had written 48 publications by 1999. Many of his printed works have been in Bengali, including biographies, essays, and criticism: Vivekananda o Samakalin Bharatbarsha (seven volumes), Sahasya Vivekananda, Nivedita Lokmata (four volumes), Samakalin Bharate Subhaschandra, Madhya Yuger kabi o Kabya, Chandidas o Bidyapati, Amader Nivedita, Krishna anad Rasasagar Vidyasagar. His English language books have included Comparative Religion and Swadeshi Movement in Bengal and Freedom Struggle of India, and he was the chief editor of the book Letters of Sister Nivedita. He has also penned books on cricket. Basu's seven-volume Vivekananda o Samakalin Bhartbarsha is considered a monumental work, for which he was honoured with Sahitya Akademi Award in 1978 by the Government of India.