Archaeologists, historians remember Debala Mitra, 1st woman ASI director general

Kendrapada: Eminent archaeologists and historians paid tributes to Debala Mitra, the first woman director general of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on her 100th birth anniversary.

Mitra, born on Dec 14, 1925, in Khulna (now in Bangladesh), joined ASI in the 1940s and rose to head the organisation in 1981.

She passed away in 2003.Mitra is celebrated for her pioneering excavations at Odisha’s Buddhist sites — Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Udayagiri —known as the ‘Diamond Triangle’. Between 1958 and 1961, her work revealed a sprawling monastic complex dating from the 5th to 13th century, a massive stupa at Lalitgiri, and an apsidal ‘chaitya griha’ with a circular stupa — the first of its kind in Odisha.

Her most remarkable find was a golden casket containing relics believed to be of Lord Buddha, nested within four intricately crafted caskets.“She was a distinguished scholar of art, architecture and Buddhism,” said Sunil Patnaik, former secretary of OIMSEAS.Mitra also led conservation efforts at Konark Sun Temple, Khandagiri-Udayagiri caves, and unearthed 92 bronze images at Achyutrajpur. Her books, including ‘Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India’ (1981), remain seminal works. Scholars hailed her lasting impact on Buddhist studies in India and Nepal.