Bhubaneswar: Prof. Sachidananda Mohanty, the former Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Odisha (CUO), breathed his last on October 27 (Tuesday).

Mohanty (70) had been appointed as a member of the University Grants Commission (UGC) some days ago. He had served as the VC of CUO for around four years.

As per reports, Mohanty had been appointed as the CUO VC in August 2015. He had resigned from his post on personal grounds in February 2019.

Mohanty had studied MA in English at the University of Hyderabad (UoH). He had also served as a professor and Head of the Department of English at UoH.

Over a career of more than three decades, Mohanty went on to serve as Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Odisha, Sri Aurobindo Chair Professor at Panjab University, Governing Board Member of the Auroville Foundation, and National Fellow at IIAS Shimla, reports said.

He was a scholar of rare range. Mohanty had authored 29 books in English and Odia. These books, published by some reputed publishers including Oxford, Sage, Routledge and Orient Longman, broke new ground in travel writing, cosmopolitanism, institutional history, and the cultural history of Odisha, they added.

UoH condoles Mohanty’s demise

“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. Generations of students and colleagues will remember him for his scholarship, his generosity, and his commitment to the humanities,” said the UoH in a condolence message.

Sambalpur MP and former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan condoled the demise of Mohanty. In his condolence message, Pradhan described Mohanty as a distinguished scholar and an eminent voice in Indian academia.

“Through his pioneering work, Mohanty 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. Mohanty’s work in recovering forgotten literary voices and advancing critical thought leaves behind a lasting legacy for generations of scholars and students,” said Pradhan while paying rich tributes to Mohanty.