# Historian Sumit Sarkar, Subaltern Studies founder, dies at 87 2026-08-14T06:17:17+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Eminent Marxist historian Sumit Sarkar died at his Delhi residence on Thursday from age-related ailments, historian and family friend G Arunima told PTI. He was 87. Sarkar, known for his seminal works "The Swadeshi Movement in Bengal", "Modern India: 1885, 1947", and "Writing Social History", challenged leader-centric accounts of Indian nationalism. A founder of the Subaltern Studies Collective, he later critiqued it. He received the Rabindra Puraskar in 2004 but returned it in 2007 to protest the CPI(M) Left Front government's treatment of farmers in West Bengal. Sarkar is survived by his wife, historian Tanika Sarkar, and son Aditya Sarkar, an associate professor at the University of Warwick. Tributes poured in from historians and politicians, with Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha recalling Sarkar's understanding of Gandhi. The Federal reports his last rites are likely on Saturday. ## Coverage - thefederal.com - thehindu.com Tags: historian, Marxist, Obituary, Subaltern Studies, Sumit Sarkar, Swadeshi Movement Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/historian-sumit-sarkar-subaltern-studies-founder-dies-at-87/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/historian-sumit-sarkar-subaltern-studies-founder-dies-at-87/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.