Basil Cunningham Allen (B.C. Allen) was an efficient ICS officer of the British era and a renowned historian who played an extremely important role in preparing the gazetteers of the then undivided India, especially East Bengal and Assam. In the early twentieth century, he compiled the 'District Gazetteers' based on Dhaka, Dhaka district, and various regions of Assam, which are still used as primary sources for understanding the demography, economy, and social systems of that time. The skillful descriptions of rural life, topography, and administrative structures of the then Bengal found in his writings are essential for historical research. Along with being an administrator, the way he documented the history of this region as a keen observer has made him a memorable figure in British-Indian research.
