Biplab Dasgupta (2 January 1938 – 17 July 2005) was a

Marxian economist Marxian economics, or the Marxian school of economics, is a heterodox school of political economic thought. Its foundations can be traced back to Karl Marx's critique of political economy. However, unlike critics of political economy, Marxian e ...

, former member of

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

and the Bengal state committee of the

CPI(M) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the nati ...

. He was the author of several books on the agrarian economy of India.

Biography

Dr. Biplab Dasgupta received his MA in economics from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

. In 1967 he received the PhD of London University as a member of SOAS for the thesis "Oil prices and the Indian market, 1886-1964" where his supervisor was

Edith Penrose Edith Elura Tilton Penrose (November 15, 1914 – October 11, 1996) was an American-born British economist whose best known work is ''The Theory of the Growth of the Firm'', which describes the ways which firms grow and how fast they do. Wri ...

. He also received an MSc degree in computer science from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. Dasgupta was a popular student leader of 1950s and became a member of

CPI A consumer price index (CPI) is a price index, the price of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. Changes in measured CPI track changes in prices over time. Overview A CPI is a statistic ...

in 1955. He joined

in 1964. He was elected a member of the state committee in 1980. He became a central committee member of the CPI(M) in 1985. A teacher at London and Sussex universities, Dasgupta acted as adviser to UN bodies including

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

ILO The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

UNRISD The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) is "an autonomous research institute within the United Nations that undertakes multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on the social dimensions of contemporary develo ...

and

UNEP The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

between 1972 and 1978. He was also the editor of Nandan Patrika, the cultural monthly of

. He was elected to

in 1989.

Death

Biplab Dasgupta died from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

at age 66.

Notable Works

Books

*''The Oil Industry in India : some economic aspects'' (1971) *''The Naxalite Movement'' (1975) *''Patterns and Trends in Indian Politics'' (1976) *''Migration from Rural Areas'' (1977) *''Village Society and Labour Use'' (1977) *''Agrarian Change and the New Technology in India'' (1977) *''Village Studies in the Third World'' (1977) *''The New Agrarian Technology and India'' (1980) *''Naxalbadi Andolon (In hindi)'' (1980) * ''Urbanisation Migration and Rural Change'' (1984) *''Calcutta's Urban Future: Agonies from the Past and Prospects for the Future'' (1992) *''Urbanisation in India : Basic Services and People's participation'' (1993) *''Structural Adjustment, Global Trade and the New Political Economy of Development'' (1998) *''European Trade and Colonial Conquest (Anthem South Asian Studies)'' (2005) *''Globalization: India's Adjustment Experience'' (2005) He also wrote a number of books in Bengali on a variety of topics like his experiences as an administrator in CADC. His last book was a treatise the development of the Bengalis, their history, society, economics, culture and language. He was also widely travelled and he regularly contributed about his experiences in forty countries and inside India in various Bengali periodicals like Pratikshan and Nandan . His experience in various part of Africa is compelled in 'Africa Omnibus' (in Bengali).

References

Obituary
at India Times
Obituary
at Express India 1938 births 2005 deaths Academics of the University of Sussex Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of the University of London Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from West Bengal Neurological disease deaths in India Deaths from Parkinson's disease 20th-century Indian economists India MPs 1989–1991 Marxian economists Rajya Sabha members from West Bengal University of Calcutta alumni Lok Sabha members from West Bengal Indian agricultural economists Indian political writers Indian male writers 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers Scientists from West Bengal Writers from West Bengal People from Kolkata district {{CPIndiaMarxist-politician-stub