Question

How did Ananthakrishna Iyer and Sarat Chandra Roy come to practice social anthropology?

Answer 1

Ananthakrishna Iyer came to practice social anthropology by voluntarily helping the British administrators in ethnographic surveys of India. He was initially a clerk and then became a college teacher at Ernakulum. In 1902, he was asked by the Dewan of Cochin to assist with an ethnographic survey of the state. Later, he worked for the British government as an unpaid Superintendent of Ethnography. His work received appreciation from British anthropologists and administrators. Iyer became a reader at the University of Madras and set up the post-graduate department of anthropology at the University of Calcutta. Thus, he became the first self-taught anthropologist.

Sarat Chandra Roy was educated in law and English. He gave up his law practice and became a school teacher in Ranchi. He was appointed as the official interpreter in the court after he resumed his law practice. Gradually, he became interested in the tribal society, as he had to interpret the tribal customs in the court. He gained considerable knowledge of the culture and society of the tribal people of Chhotanagpur. Roy produced valuable monographs and research articles on this subject. He travelled and did intensive fieldwork pertaining to the tribal community.

Thus, the experiences gained by Iyer and Roy in the course of their work led to their interest in social anthropology.