Lallanji Gopal (1934-99), a Ph.D. from the school of Oriental and African Studies, London, was a scholar of wide repute, recognised with many awards/honours, like the British Council scholarship, the honorary degrees/conferments of Vidya Chakravarti and Vidya Vachaspati, and appointments to prestigious university chairs. And had figured in the top layers of several national bodies of history, archaeology, epigraphy, numismatics, philosophy, and Hindi. As many as 80 students took Ph.Ds under his supervision.

A prolific writer, credited with about two dozen books and over 200 research papers, Dr. Gopal had over three-decade-long association with the Banaras Hindu University, where he held professorial positions in the Departments of Indian Philosophy and Religion as well as Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology. He also had the distinction to be the University’s Rector and three-times Dean.