Padmanath Bhattacharya

Padmanath Bhattacharya (; 1868-1938) was an Indian historian. His works generally centred on the ancient Kamrup region. The Padmanath Vidyabinod Memorial Awards are named after him.

Early life and education Bhattacharya was born in 1868, to a Hindu family in the village of Baniachong in Sylhet district, Bengal Presidency (now part of Bangladesh). The neighbourhood where he was born is now known as Vidyabhushan Para.

He passed his matriculation examinations in 1880, topping the scores across the newly-established North-East Frontier (Assam) province. He then completed his Bachelor of Arts with honours from Dacca College in 1890, having studied English, Sanskrit and philosophy. In recognition of Bhattacharya's talent, he was conferred the titles of Swaraswati and Vidyavinod. In 1892, he completed a Master of Arts in English. He was also the first academic to write a scholarly article on the Sylhet Nagri script, and has also researched about Shashanka and the Gauda Kingdom. Bhattacharya served as a professor in Cotton College and was one of the founding members of Kamarupa Anusandhan Samiti. He was critical and dissatisfied with Gait's perception of historical events and processes of Assam, and his interpretations, constructed meaning and political undertone in his works. Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Prasanga (1924) and Mr. Gait's History of Assam: A Critical Study. He has also written articles that can be found in Epigraphia Indica vol. XII, as well as for the Sahitya Parisad Patrika. In 1931, he submitted his collection of 37 Bhatta poems and biographies of Bhatta poets to the Srihatta Sahitya Parishad.

Death Bhattacharya died in his own home in Baniachong.