O.C. Handa

O.C. Handa is a historian of the western Himalayas, noted for his work on the history, architecture, archaeology, and folk arts of this region. He is the author of numerous books on these subjects.

Early life

Handa was born in the Mandi princely state on 2 October 1936. He was born to the fourth wife of Goverdhan Das, a patwari in the Mandi state. All of Das's wives died soon after birth, as did all the babies born to them. So upon the advice of an astrologer, under Mandi's 'bhatka' tradition, soon after his birth, Handa was sent away far from home, and dedicated to Sona Sinhasan, the clan deity of Nyul village in Mandi. The priest of this deity gave Om Chand over to the dalit musician of the deity, who raised the child for the first few years of his life. Afterward the musician returned the child to the temple, from where an uncle of the child picked him up. After a while, the uncle gave Om Chand back to his father, Goverdhan Das.

Education and career

Handa was schooled at Mandi's Vijay High School till tenth standard. He proved to be very skilled at drawing and painting while at primary school - skills that he would later use extensively in his publications. Following school, he took a diploma in draftsmanship from the Industrial Training Institute, Mandi. On the basis of this diploma he got a job at the Public Works Department. Later, he did an MA in History from Mysore University, a PhD in Buddhist Archaeology from Chaudhary [Charan Singh University|Meerut University], and was awarded a D.Litt. form Agra University. Handa retired from the PWD in 1994 as an assistant engineer. He also served as a Census official and at the Department of Language, Art, and Culture in Himachal Pradesh. At DLAC, he served in the fields of museology and archeology, and for a while served as the curator of Himachal Pradesh's State Museum in Shimla. Handa travelled extensively all across Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh, which informed his numerous writings on the history, archaeology, and folk traditions of these regions.

Recognition

Handa has been a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, the Himachal Academy of Art, Culture, and Language, and the Indian Council of Historical Research. He has been a member of various expert committees of the Lalit Kala Academy and the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. He has also been a fellow of the USA-based Infinity Foundation.
In 2002, Handa was awarded the Sahitya Yogdan Samman by the Shabad Manch.
In 2009, Handa was awarded the Abhutpurva Sahitya aur Samajik Yogdan Samman by the Himachal Rajya Patrakar Maha Sangh.
In 2012, Handa was made the Indian curator of the International Roerich Memorial Trust's museum in Naggar, Himachal Pradesh.
In 2017, Handa received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Himalaya Sahitya, Sanskriti Evam Paryavaran Manch, Shimla.
In 2018, Handa received the 'Prerna Srot' Award from the Himachal Pradesh Government.
In 2019, Handa received the 'Naval smriti aajivan shiromani samman' Award.
In 2020, Handa received the Himachal Pradesh Government's 'Himachal Academy Sahitya Shikhar Samman' Award for the year 2018, for his contributions to Himachali traditions, cultures, and languages.
The Himachali writer Nem Chand Thakur brought together several scholars to write a Festschrift in honour of O.C. Handa, which was published in 2020. The Festschrift was titled Himalayi itihaas aur sanskriti ke purodha: O.C. Handa. The title translates into English as 'A Pioneer of Himalayan History and Culture: O.C. Handa '. Contributors to this volume include, among others, Tobdan and .