Sarat Chandra Roy obtained MA (1893), and LLB (1895) from University of Calcutta. He worked as Lawyer-Scientist, Chotanagpur, Ranchi.

Academic and Research Achievements: Roy recorded the details of the social organization, economic life, laws of succession and inheritance and religious experience of the tribals of Bihar. The scientific presentation of data on the tribal life of the Mundas soon established him as an authority on the Mundas and this was a landmark in his career. He published several monographs on the tribes of the Chotanagpur plateau. His work on the Oraons, a primitive tribe of the Dravidian linguistic family, revealed the similarity with primitive cultural life, while also bringing out the minute differences that existed between the Oraons and the Mundas. He explored many preshitoric sites in Chotanagpur known as ‘Asura’ sites, and the rich collection of antiquities, he dug up, will always remain a monument to his scholarship and resourcefulness. Roy published many monographs embodying the results of his studies, notably: Oraons (1916), Birhors (1925), Oraon Religion and Customs (1928) and Hill Bhuiyas of Orissa (1935).

Awards and Honours: Roy was conferred Kaiser-i-Hind Medal (1913); and Rai Bahadur (1919). He was also President, Anthropology Section, Indian Science Congress (1920). He was Honorary Member of the Folklore Society of London (1920); and All-India Oriental Conference (1933).