People, Positions and Obituaries · 12 March 2026

Prof Hermann Kulke passes away at 87; Padma Shri awardee and global voice of Odisha history.

Exam-focused facts from the 12 March 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

  • Prof Hermann Kulke, eminent historian and Indologist, died on Tuesday at the age of 87.
  • He was born in Berlin in 1938 and held the position of Professor Emeritus of South and Southeast Asian History at Kiel University in Germany.
  • He was conferred the Padma Shri in 2010 for his contributions to Indology and Odisha studies.
  • Kulke was a founding member and coordinator of the first two Orissa Research Projects of the German Research Council.
  • He completed his PhD in Indology on the temple city of Chidambaram from Freiburg University in 1967.
  • He earned his D.Litt on Gajapati Kingship and the Jagannath Cult from Heidelberg University in 1975.
  • Former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo condoled his death and highlighted his pioneering research on Odisha’s heritage.

View this story in the full daily briefing

Earlier coverage selected by topic similarity to help connect developments over time.

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