Stanley Wolpert
Encyclopedia
Stanley Wolpert is an American Indologist, author, and academic. He is considered one of the world's foremost authorities on the political and intellectual history of modern India
and Pakistan
and has written fiction and nonfiction books on the topics. He taught at the University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA) from 1959-2002.
to Russian Jewish parents. While serving as an engineer aboard a U.S. Merchant Marine ship he arrived in Bombay, India
for the first time on February 12, 1948. Upon arriving, he was both fascinated and overwhelmed by the extraordinary outpouring of grief over the death of Mahatma Gandhi
- who he then knew very little about- just two weeks earlier. Atop a hill, he witnessed numerous mourning Indians who were rushing to touch the ashes of Gandhi as the ship on which the urn was placed weighed anchor to scatter a portion of his ashes into the water below. On returning home, he abandoned his career in marine engineering for the study of Indian history. He received a B.A.
from City College in 1953, and an A.M.
and Ph.D.
from the University of Pennsylvania
in 1955 and 1959. with a dissertation (published as Tilak and Gokhale) on the revolutionary and reform wings of the Indian National Congress
.
" to promote his 2010 book, India and Pakistan: Continued Conflict or Cooperation. Topics discussed included British rule of India; the partition of India
; the Kashmir dispute; as well as the current political situation of the two nations, including religious wars between Hindu
s and Muslim
s.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and has written fiction and nonfiction books on the topics. He taught at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
(UCLA) from 1959-2002.
Early life
Stanley Albert Wolpert was born on December 23, 1927 in Brooklyn, New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to Russian Jewish parents. While serving as an engineer aboard a U.S. Merchant Marine ship he arrived in Bombay, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
for the first time on February 12, 1948. Upon arriving, he was both fascinated and overwhelmed by the extraordinary outpouring of grief over the death of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
- who he then knew very little about- just two weeks earlier. Atop a hill, he witnessed numerous mourning Indians who were rushing to touch the ashes of Gandhi as the ship on which the urn was placed weighed anchor to scatter a portion of his ashes into the water below. On returning home, he abandoned his career in marine engineering for the study of Indian history. He received a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
from City College in 1953, and an A.M.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1955 and 1959. with a dissertation (published as Tilak and Gokhale) on the revolutionary and reform wings of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
.
Career
Wolpert began his academic career in 1959, when he took a job as an instructor in the Department of History at UCLA. He was promoted in 1960-63 to assistant professor; 1963-66 associate professor; 1967 full professor. In 1968 he was appointed department chair. He is now an emeritus professor.Recent years
In March 2011 Wolpert appeared on the TV interview show "Connie Martinson Talks BooksConnie Martinson
Constance Frye Martinson is an American writer and television personality. Since its 1979 debut, she has hosted the syndicated television show Connie Martinson Talks Books, which airs on public television. She is married to American film director Leslie H. Martinson...
" to promote his 2010 book, India and Pakistan: Continued Conflict or Cooperation. Topics discussed included British rule of India; the partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
; the Kashmir dispute; as well as the current political situation of the two nations, including religious wars between Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s.
Personal life
He has been married to Dorothy Wolpert (née Guberman) since June 12, 1953. They met in an American government class at UCLA, where Dorothy studied law. She is now a senior partner in a Century City law firm, and has made several visits to India with her husband. They have two sons—Daniel and Adam, and three grandchildren—Sam, Max, and Sabine.Non-Fiction
- TilakBal Gangadhar TilakLokmanya Tilak –, was an Indian nationalist, teacher, social reformer and independence fighter who was the first popular leader of the Indian Independence Movement. The British colonial authorities derogatorily called the great leader "Father of the Indian unrest"...
and GokhaleGopal Krishna GokhaleGopal Krishna Gokhale, CIE was one of the founding social and political leaders during the Indian Independence Movement against the British Empire in India. Gokhale was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and founder of the Servants of India Society...
: Revolution and Reform in the Making of Modern India (1962) - Morley and India, 1906-1910 (1967)
- A New History of India (1977, 1982, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2008)
- Roots of Confrontation in South Asia : Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and the Superpowers (1982)
- JinnahMuhammad Ali JinnahMuhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....
of Pakistan (1984) - Congress and Indian Nationalism : The Pre-Independence Phase (co-edited with Richard Sisson) (1988)
- India (1991)
- Zulfi BhuttoZulfikar Ali BhuttoZulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
of PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
: His Life and Times (1993) - NehruJawaharlal NehruJawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
: A Tryst With Destiny (1996) - Gandhi's Passion : The Life and the Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi (2001)
- Shameful Flight:The Last Years of British Empire in India (2006)
- India and Pakistan: Continued Conflict or Cooperation (2010)
Fiction
- Aboard the Flying Swan (1954)
- Nine Hours to Rama (1962)
- The Expedition: A Novel (1967)
- An Error of Judgment (1970)