Derek O’Brien (born 13 March 1961) is an Indian politician, television personality and quiz master. He is a
Member of Parliament in the
Rajya Sabha (Upper House of India's Parliament) from
West Bengal and member of the
All India Trinamool Congress
The All India Trinamool Congress (English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cur ...
. He is the chief national spokesperson as well as leader of the Trinamool Congress Parliamentary party in the Rajya Sabha. Prior to his Parliamentary career, he became well known as the quizmaster for the Bournvita Quiz Contest and other shows.
Personal background
O’Brien comes from an
Irish family and can trace his paternal origins to an Irish soldier who came to India in the early 1860s and whose descendants married into the
Bengali community. O’Brien is based in Kolkata and speaks, reads and writes
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
. O’Brien's grandfather, Amos O’Brien, was the first Christian to serve as head of the Department of English,
Banaras Hindu University, and also taught at
Ravenshaw College
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
Cuttack.
O'Brien went to
St. Xavier's Collegiate School
, motto_translation = Nothing Beyond
, religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic
, denomination = Jesuits
, patron = Francis Xavier
, established =
, session = April–Mar ...
in
Kolkata and for a short period,
St. Columba's School in
Delhi, and then spent two years at
Scottish Church College, Kolkata.
O’Brien is the oldest of three sons of Joyce and Neil O’Brien (19342016).
Neil O'Brien worked in publishing and retired as the chairman and managing director of
Oxford University Press India as well as leading the
Anglo-Indian community for two decades.
He is married to Tonuca Basu, who is practising medicine in
Brooklyn, New York. He was earlier married to Rila Banerjee and the couple have a daughter Aanya.
Professional and quizzing career
O’Brien's first job was as a journalist at
''Sportsworld'' magazine. After a short stint there, he joined the
advertising agency Ogilvy in 1984 and became its Creative Head for Kolkata and Delhi. Simultaneously, he embarked on a career as a
quizmaster and
quiz show host, having been introduced to quizzing by his father, Neil O’Brien, who had conducted the first open quiz in India in 1967. In 1988, O’Brien hosted his first all-India quizzes as a professional quizmaster: the Bata North Star Quiz and the Maggi Quiz for Schools. In 1990, he joined hands with ''Economic Times'' for the Brand Equity Quiz for business corporations. In 1991, he finally quit Ogilvy and set up his own knowledge, education and publishing company, Big Ideas – since renamed Derek O’Brien and Associates.
Derek O’Brien has conducted quizzes in the
UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi),
Bahrain,
Kuwait,
Qatar,
Oman,
Singapore,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
,
Bangladesh and the
United States. In 2008, he travelled to
Pakistan to host a television quiz for schools from
Islamabad,
Lahore and
Karachi. For three years in a row (2003–05), O’Brien won the
Indian Television Academy award
The Indian Television Academy Awards, also known as the ''ITA Awards'', is an annual award ceremony organised by the Indian Television Academy to honour excellence in Hindi-language television.
Ceremonies
Categories Popular Awards
* ITA A ...
for Best Host in a Television Gameshow.
O’Brien has spoken at, among others,
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
,
Yale and
Columbia
Columbia may refer to:
* Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America
Places North America Natural features
* Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...
Universities in the United States as well as several
Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and
Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the
National Law School of India University
The National Law School of India University (NLSIU or simply NLS) is a public law school and a National Law University located in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was the first National Law University to be established in India as well as one of the f ...
,
Bengaluru
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
,
Hindu College
Hindu College may refers to several colleges around the world, including:
India
*Dharmamurthi Rao Bhahadur Calavala Cunnan Chetty's Hindu College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
* Gobardanga Hindu College, West Bengal
* Gokul Das Hindu Girls College, Moradab ...
, and
Shri Ram College of Commerce in Delhi, and
Loreto College,
Kolkata.
He has served as president of the Dalhousie Institute Club.
Political career
O’Brien joined the
Trinamool Congress in 2004, when the party was still in opposition in West Bengal. He later wrote that he was drawn to the charisma and personality of the Trinamool Congress leader (now chief minister of Bengal)
Mamata Banerjee, and felt she was the only one who could defeat the then
CPI(M)-led government in the state.
Spokesperson for the Trinamool Congress
O’Brien soon became a spokesperson for the Trinamool Congress and was identified as the rare
white-collar,
English-speaking politician in the party. He came to national media attention during Mamata Banerjee's protest against the CPI(M) government's land acquisition attempt in Singur (2006), and then in the run-up to the 2009 Lok Sabha election, in which Trinamool Congress handed the CPI(M) its first defeat in West Bengal since 1977.
He pioneered his party's
social media outreach.
O’Brien is frequently seen on news television shows and is a regular commentator on political and policy issues. He wrote a weekly column for ''
NDTV'' and his articles have appeared in ''
Times of India,'' ''
Hindustan Times'' and
''Indian Express''.
In 2011, following the Trinamool Congress victory in the West Bengal assembly election, O’Brien was sent to the
Rajya Sabha.
First term in Rajya Sabha
He was sworn in as Member of Parliament on 19 August 2011 and is one of 16 MPs elected to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal. In 2012, Trinamool Congress named him as its Chief
Whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
in the Rajya Sabha.
In 2012, O'Brien cast a vote in the
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
to elect the 13th
President of India. His vote is believed to be the first presidential vote cast by an elected member of the Anglo-Indian community—as members of the community have previously been ''nominated'' to the
Lok Sabha and other assemblies and are not eligible to vote.
In 2012, he addressed the
United Nations General Assembly as a member of the Indian parliamentary delegation.
Parliamentary Committee assignments
He was the Chairman of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, from September 1, 2017, to September 12, 2019. Presently, he serves as a member on the following key parliamentary committees - General Purposes Committee, Business Advisory Committee, Ethics Committee, Transport, Tourism and Culture Committee, Human Resource Development Committee. He served on the Railway Convention Committee
and has also been a member of parliamentary select (specific issue) committees on the Goods and Services Tax Constitutional Amendment Bill, the Insurance Bill, the Land Acquisition Bill, the Citizenship Act Amendment Bill. He has spoken in Parliament on a range of issues, from
demonetisation, to
net neutrality,
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to:
* Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent
* Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory
* Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
,
railways
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
and
juvenile justice, and participated in the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President of India's address to Parliament.
Second term in Rajya Sabha
His second term as an MP of the Rajya Sabha began on 19 August 2017 and is slated to end on 18 August 2023.
On 20 September 2020, when the Farm Reform Bill was placed in the Rajya Sabha for passage, Derek O’Brien protested, tore and threw the Rule Book as he, along with other members, heckled the
Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh
Harivansh Narayan Singh (born 30 June 1956) is an Indian journalist and politician, who is the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament. He is a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha representing Bihar. ...
. Apparently, in the ensuing melee with other members also protesting, and papers being flung in protest towards the deputy chairman, then the Rule Book in question was torn by Derek O’Brien. Media verifiable sources mention that the house was under complete chaos and unrest to protest the bill.
This chaos led to a 10-minute suspension of the house.
Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs sought his suspension, along with some other members, as a consequence for his actions under rule 256 of procedure and conduct of business. He along with eight other MPs were suspended for one week on account of his unruly and unparliamemtary behaviour.
He was suspended once again on 21 December 2021 for allegations of throwing a rulebook, as he was protesting against the
Elections Law (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
Parliamentary Committees
He is a member of the Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Home Affairs
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs (SCOHA) is a department related standing committee (DRSC) of selected members of parliament, constituted by the Parliament of India, for the purpose of legislative oversight of the domestic ...
.
On 6 January 2022 he wrote to
Anand Sharma
Anand Sharma (born 5 January 1953) is an Indian politician and former Cabinet of India, Union Cabinet Minister in charge of Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India), Commerce and Industry and Ministry of Textiles (India), Textiles in the Governm ...
, head of the committee to discuss the secret app "
Tek Fog
Tek Fog is an alleged mobile phone software application supposedly used by the India's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was first purported by Indian news and opinion website ''The Wire'', who has since suspended, and later formally retracted ...
" that "has serious ramifications and could jeopardise national security". He wrote, "This application is capable of penetrating encrypted messaging platforms and secure social media conversations, in order to heavily manipulate and exploit narratives on said platforms."
Other work
O’Brien is also a celebrated author. His books include the bestseller, ''Inside Parliament: Views for the Front Row'', ''Derek Introduces the Constitution and Parliament of India'', ''My Way'', a motivational book, ''Speak Up Speak Out'', a compilation of elocution pieces, and several reference, quiz and text books''.''
References
External links
Official websiteDerek O Brienat
PRS Legislative ResearchDerek O'Brienat
Penguin India
{{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Derek
1961 births
Trinamool Congress politicians from West Bengal
Living people
Indian television presenters
Politicians from Kolkata
Indian Christians
Scottish Church College alumni
University of Calcutta alumni
Indian people of Irish descent
St. Columba's School, Delhi alumni
Rajya Sabha members from West Bengal
Anglo-Indian people