Bhubaneswar: Former Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Odisha (CUO), Prof Sachidananda Mohanty, passed away at the age of 73, leaving a profound void across India’s academic and literary landscape.
According to University of Hyderabad (UOHYD), he breathed his last on October 27 at 8:35 pm.
Mohanty had been appointed Vice-Chancellor of CUO in August 2015 and served for nearly four years before resigning on personal grounds in February 2019. He had studied for his MA in English at the University of Hyderabad as part of its second batch and later returned there as a professor and Head of the Department of English. Over a career spanning more than three decades, he also held positions including Sri Aurobindo Chair Professor at Panjab University, Governing Board Member of the Auroville Foundation, and National Fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla. In April 2024, he was appointed as a member of the University Grants Commission (UGC) for a term of three years,
A scholar of wide-ranging interests, Mohanty authored 29 books in English and Odia, published by houses such as Oxford University Press, Sage, Routledge and Orient Longman. His work opened new ground in travel writing, cosmopolitanism, institutional history and the cultural history of Odisha. Through his work on early women’s writing in Eastern India, he brought forgotten voices such as Sarala Devi and Sailabala Das back into the literary record.
“A two-time Fulbright scholar and winner of the Katha Award and the Katha–British Council Translation Prize, he was also a respected public intellectual and one of the foremost scholars of Sri Aurobindo,” the UOHYD said in its condolence messages, while expressing profound grief over his demised. It further noted that generations of students and colleagues would remember him for his scholarship, generosity and commitment to the humanities. The Department of English also scheduled a condolence meeting on October 28.
Sambalpur MP and former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also paid tribute, describing Mohanty as a distinguished scholar and eminent voice in Indian academia. He further stated that Mohanty’s pioneering efforts had brought Odisha’s rich literary and cultural heritage to wider recognition and that his contributions to literature, cultural history and the humanities had enriched India’s intellectual landscape, leaving a lasting legacy for future scholars and students. “Deeply saddened by the passing of Prof. Sachidananda Mohanty, a distinguished scholar and an eminent voice in Indian academia. Through his pioneering work, he brought Odisha’s rich literary and cultural heritage to wider recognition – his contributions to literature, cultural history and the humanities enriched India’s intellectual landscape and academic traditions. His work in recovering forgotten literary voices and advancing critical thought leaves behind a lasting legacy for generations of scholars and students. My heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, students and colleagues. May his soul rest in peace. Om Shanti.”