He was awarded Eshan scholarship for the highest marks in West Bengal in Presidency College, Calcutta.

Fellow students included Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences winner Amartya Sen and member of planning commission Sukhamoy Chakravarty in 1953.

He was Smuts Fellow in Commonwealth History at Cambridge University (1980-1981), and directeur d'études at the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme in Paris in 1989.

He was a brilliant student and topped state matriculation examination in the year 1949 from Ballygunge Government High School.

He married Narayani Gupta who taught history at Indraprastha College for Women and joined the Jamia Millia Islamia University in 1986.

Eshan scholarship awarded for the highest marks in West Bengal Member of the Indian Council of Historical Research Smuts Fellow in Commonwealth History at Cambridge University Directeur d'études at the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme in Paris Fellow of the Royal Historical Society