author
J. D. (James Drummond) Anderson
1852–1920
A scholar of Bengali and the languages of northeast India, he brought together the work of a civil servant, teacher, and careful collector of folklore. His books open a window onto the languages and customs of Assam, Chittagong, and neighboring regions in the late nineteenth century.
2 Audiobooks
A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes
by J. D. (James Drummond) Anderson
The Peoples of India
by J. D. (James Drummond) Anderson
About the author
Born in Calcutta on November 11, 1852, James Drummond Anderson grew up with Bengali from childhood and later studied in England. He joined the Indian Civil Service in 1873 and served until 1900, much of that time in Assam, where his administrative work ran alongside a deep interest in local languages, oral traditions, and social customs.
Writing as J. D. Anderson, he became known for books and studies on Bengali and on the peoples and languages of northeast India. Sources consulted for this overview describe him as a leading authority on Bengali and note his work on Kachari folktales, Chittagong proverbs, and several Tibeto-Burman languages.
After leaving the civil service, he taught Bengali at the University of Cambridge from 1907 until 1920. He died in Cambridge on November 24, 1920, leaving behind a body of work that still interests readers of folklore, linguistics, and colonial-era South Asian studies.