 As his "Guru" in history he named Prof. K. R. Qanungo, while recognizing the Bengali historian Jadunath Sarkar (1870-1959) as "greatest authority on the history of India".He died in his 74th year from stomach cancer.Srivastava is a recipient of Sir Jadunath Sarkar Gold Medal of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta (1953) for his research work on medieval Indian history.