Department Of History

The Department of History and Archaeology is one of the foundation departments of the Andhra University, which was originally started as the Department of History, Economics and Politics in 1931. Prof.Mamidipudi Venkataramgaiya, a scholar and teacher, whose academic excellence was recognized with the honor of Padmabhushan by the Union Government, first headed it. Prof. V.S. Krishna, who later became the Vice Chancellor of the Andhra University and Chairman of University Grants Commission, was another eminent scholar who served as a teacher in the department. Prof. Hiren Mukherjee and Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma, the distinguished historians and scholars served as the faculty members of the department.

The combined department was later bifurcated into the Department of History and Politics and the Department of Economics. Prof. Gurty Venkat Rao, an eminent scholar in Medieval Indian History came over here from Allahabad University and became the Head of the Department during 1944-1956. Prof. N. Srinivasan, an eminent Political Scientist and Padma Vibhushan Prof. Sarvepalli Gopal served the department as the faculty members. Prof. Oruganti Ramachandraiya and Rayaprolu Subrahmaniyam obtained their Ph.D degrees in History from this University. Prof. O Ramachandraiya visited U.K under the Commonwealth Modified Overseas Scholarship and received advanced training in Archaeology for two years in the London School of Archaeology. After his return from Britain, Archaeology courses were started in the Department.

One of the notable events in the Department was the hosting of the 16 th and 40 th Annual Sessions of Indian History Congress in 1953 and 1979 respectively. Dr. Sarvepalli Radha Krishna inaugurated the 16th Session while Prof G.H. Khare presided over the 40 th Session. From 1958 onwards, the Department underwent several changes relating to staff and curriculum. There were also changes in the pattern of the courses, which facilitated the expansion of the Department. The M.A. Course was introduced in 1960 with specialization in Ancient History and Archaeology. In 1964, the department got separated as History and Archaeology and it has been offering two Postgraduate courses –M.A. in History and M.A in Ancient History & Archaeology. It also offers M.Phil and Ph.D programmes in History and Ancient History and Archaeology. The department has conducted archaeological excavations at Jami in Vizianagaram District in 1970 and was rewarded with rich experience in field archaeology. The field studies and exploration surveys conducted by the faculty and researchers resulted in the discovery and collection of a few copper plate grants of the medieval times which were published and reported in the academic and professional journals by the faculty members. Several unnoticed temples and Buddhist monuments and prehistoric sites in and around Visakhapatnam District were brought to light through the regular and systematic studies conducted by the faculty from time to time. Starting the courses in two affiliated colleges - VSM college, Ramachandrapuram and MRVG College, Vizianagaram, further strengthened the History courses in the University.