Bidhu Bhusan Das, also spelled Bidhubhusan Das (11 April 1922 – 2 June 1999), was a public intellectual, educator, professor, senior government official, and university president/Vice Chancellor from India.

Background and education

Bidhubhusan Das was born in

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...

, Orissa, in 1922, the eldest child of Rai Bahadur Durga Charan Das, a senior government official in both British India and independent India, and the poet Nirmala Devi. Das received an A.M. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and an M.Litt. from Christ Church,

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Earlier, he earned an M.A. in English from Patna University.

Career

Das started teaching in

Ravenshaw University Ravenshaw University, formerly known as Ravenshaw college, is a co-educational state university situated in Cuttack, Odisha on the eastern coast of India. Founded as Ravenshaw College in 1868, the institution became a university in 2006. The un ...

in 1944. He became Sonepur Professor of English at Ravenshaw in 1950. In 1959, he was appointed Advisor to King Mahendra of Nepal as part of the Indian Aid Mission under the Colombo Plan, and wrote the entire set of statutes that established Kathmandu's Tribhuvan University. He was Principal of

Ranchi College Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University, formerly Ranchi College, is a state university located in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India. It is named after the Indian politician Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. It was established as a college in 1926 and upgraded to ...

(now Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University) from 1963 to 1968, and Principal of

in 1968. After this, from 1968 until 1980, he was Director of Public Instruction and Vice Chancellor of

Utkal University Utkal University (UU) is a Public university in Bhubaneswar, Khordha district, Khordha, Odisha, and is the oldest university in Odisha, the state, and the 17th-oldest university in India. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university. The pre ...

. Das taught English and American literature, comparative literature, linguistics and philosophy at Ravenshaw, Tribhuvan, Ranchi, Utkal and NEHU (Shillong) Universities. He was appointed advisor to chief minister Jamir of Nagaland and helped set up

Nagaland University Nagaland University is a Central University established in the state of Nagaland by an Act of Parliament by the Government of India in 1989. It is headquartered at Lumami, Zünheboto District. Two other permanent campuses are located at Meriem ...

, a central university, in 1989.

Family

Das and his wife,

Prabhat Nalini Das Prabhat Nalini Das (19 December 1927 – 14 November 2018) was an Indian public intellectual, academic and university president. She served as a professor of English and head of the English Department at Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University; I ...

, had three children, including

Oopali Operajita Oopalee Operajita (also spelled Oopali Operajita), is a classical Odissi and Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer. As well as the chair and founder of the Al Gore Sustainable Technology Venture Competition. The competition is named for former ...

. Das's maternal aunt was the leader, feminist, writer and social activist

Sarala Devi Sarala may refer to: People * Kovai Sarala, Indian actress * Sarala Dasa, Oriya poet and scholar * Sarala Devi Chaudhurani (1872–1945), founder of Bharat Stree Mahamandal * Sarala Devi (1904–1986), Indian activist, feminist, and writer * Sara ...

. Das's maternal uncle,

Nityanand Kanungo Nityanand Kanungo was one of India's prominent politicians from the state of Odisha, who held successive high-profile portfolios in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet. Nityanand Kanungo was born in Cuttack on 4 May 1900 and was educated ...

, was a prominent Indian politician from the state of Odisha.http://www.rajbhavan.gujarat.gov.in/honorable-governors/past-governor-details.aspx?PastGovernerId=2#.

Publications

* * *

Background and education

Career

Family

Publications

References

Further reading