B. B. Lal

For the civil servant, see B. B. Lal (governor).

B. B. Lal
Born
Braj Basi Lal

(1921-05-02)2 May 1921
Jhansi, United Provinces, British India
Died10 September 2022(2022-09-10) (aged 101)
New Delhi, India
NationalityIndian
Occupation(s)Archaeologist, Director-General Archaeological Survey of India (1968–1972)
Known forWork on Indus Valley civilization sites, Mahabharat sites, Kalibangan, Ramayana sites
Children3

Braj Basi Lal (2 May 1921 – 10 September 2022) was an Indian writer and archaeologist.[1] He was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from 1968 to 1972 and has served as Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla. Lal also served on various UNESCO committees.[2]

His later publications have been noted and criticised for their historical revisionism,[3] taking a controversial[4] stance in the Ayodhya dispute, claiming to have found the remains of a columned Hindu temple beneath the subsequently destroyed Babri Masjid mosque.[5]

He received the Padma Bhushan Award by the President of India in 2000,[2] and was awarded India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2021.[6][7]

  1. ^ "Explained: Who is B B Lal, the Padma Vibhushan awardee who led an excavation at Ramjanmabhoomi site?". Adrija Roychowdhury. The Indian Express. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b B. B. Lal Chair at IIT Kanpur Archived 20 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur website.
  3. ^ Bhan 1997, p. 11; Witzel 2006, p. 205; Droogan 2012, p. 67; Hole 2016.
  4. ^ Coningham & Young 2015, p. 85; Bernbeck & Pollock 1996; Hole 2016; Romey 2006, p. 105-106.
  5. ^ Bernbeck & Pollock 1996; Bhan 1997, p. 11; Romey 2006, p. 105.
  6. ^ "PIB Press Release: This Year's Padma Awards announced". Pib.nic.in. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  7. ^ "Shinzo Abe, Tarun Gogoi, Ram Vilas Paswan among Padma Award winners: Complete list". The Times of India. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.