Biography
Banerjee spent the first half of his life in India, and the second half in the U.S.Life in India
Banerjee grew up in Calcutta (now Kolkata). His father Jitendra Nath Banerjee (1924-2017) was a grassroots political organizer in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its erstwhile political wing Bharatiya Jana Sangh (now Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP). Banerjee received his first training in political organizing from his father while with RSS, and later by his maternal uncle Buddhadev Bhattacharjee who belonged to Congress Party. Banerjee quit RSS out of ideological disillusionment with the organization's militant, fundamentalist doctrine, yet without disavowing his deep roots in ecumenical and secular Hinduism. In 1985, Banerjee came to USA as an international student in biology.Educator and Organizer
Banerjee has been a human rights activist and organizer with a focus on immigrants and workers. Since moving to New York, he has worked first as a grassroots immigrant rights organizer, and then as a labor educator. He has also written major articles to champion the rights of women especially women in the Indian subcontinent.Life in USA
Writer
Publications in the U.S., India and Bangladesh have published Dr. Banerjee's books and articles in English and Bengali languages. He has written both professional and popular articles on a diverse array of subjects. He has also translated Bengali short stories, poetry and songs. A Bangladesh-based, online literary magazine has published ''Ghotikahini'', his Bengali-language memoir, in weekly segments. Ghotikahini is now published as a 350-page book (December, 2015) by Ravan Prakashana, Calcutta, India. In February 2018, his translation of Bengali short stories Music Box and Moonshine came out.Educator
Dr. Banerjee has taught for many years – first in India, and then for over thirty years in the U.S. Since 2007, he has been teaching as the labor educator at IBEW Local 3 and Joint Board of Electrical Industries in New York. His critical-thinking interactive workshops are enormously popular: he has taught on political, economic, social, scientific, and environmental subjects. He speaks fluently in English and Bengali.Public Speaker
Dr. Banerjee has earned reputation as a public speaker addressing large and small gatherings in indoor and outdoor settings. In April 2019, he was the keynote speaker at IBEW Local 3's Annual Scholarship Breakfast program for college-bound children of the union members.Work with Media
Noted publications such as the New York Times, CNN, the Progressive, Outlook India, Ananda Bazar Patrika, Ebela, The Statesman and Aajkaal have published his letters and articles, or quoted him on various issues, especially his work on human rights and rights and justice for underprivileged immigrants. A number of Bengali-language newspapers from USA have published his articles and interviews.=Media Criticism and Ethics
= A student of Noam Chomsky, world-renowned intellectual and critic of U.S. foreign policy and corporate media, Dr. Banerjee has written extensively on political and economic interests of mainstream media. His interview with Noam Chomsky has been picked up by many news outlets and blogs. Dr. Banerjee's association with Noam Chomsky is well known across the peace and justice community. In 2005, after having worked as the post-production translator of Oscar-winning documentary ''Born into Brothels'', he came out with a strong critique of the movie, pointing out its "ethical and stylistic flaws."=Bengali and Indian Diaspora
= Dr. Banerjee has remained involved with the Bengali and Indian immigrant communities. Voice of America's Bengali radio section has found him as a speaker on many of their shows especially those pertaining to immigrants and human rights.Musician and Cultural Activist
Banerjee wrote and spoke—both in English and Bengali—on the subjects of cultural erosion and "kitsch," and drew illustrations from the life and creations of Nobel Poet=Recording Tagore's Music
= In 2012, Banerjee published "''Aro Ektu Bosho''" (Stay a Little More), his solo CD album of Tagore songs.Political philosophy: Second circle
Dr. Banerjee began his political career in India as a member of right wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) because of familial connections: his father has been a lifelong activist of the organization. He quit RSS and its political wing haratiya Janata Party(BJP) and student wingBooks and journal articles
Books (1) Banerjee, Partha. 2018. Music Box and Moonshine. Rubric Publishing, New Delhi. . (2) Banerjee, Partha. 2015. Ghotikahini. Ravan Prakashana, Calcutta, India. . (3) Banerjee, Partha. 1998. In the Belly of the Beast: Hindu Supremacist RSS and BJP of India – An Insider's Story. Ajanta Books International, Delhi, India. (4) Banerjee, Partha. 2005. Straight Terror Warped Terror, Half Terror Full Terror. Ankur Publishers, Dhaka, Bangladesh (in Bengali). Books in Press: (1) Rainforest and Raging Fire. Rubric Publishing, New Delhi. (2) Gandhi's Killers India's Rulers – RBE Books, Kolkata. (3) The Kolkata I Loved (in Bengali) – Gangchil Publications, Kolkata. (4) Bengali book of poetry – Book Terminus, Kolkata. Peer-reviewed Journal Articles (outside of science) (1) Banerjee, Partha. A Matter of Extreme Cruelty: Bride Burning and Dowry Deaths in India. Injustice Studies, 1(1), 1997. (2) Banerjee, Partha. Second Circle: Middle Majority of the Working People: A Simple Spin Wheel Model to Build Alliance and Power across the Soft "Left and Right". International Journal of the Humanities, 9(2), 2011. (3) Banerjee, Partha, et al. The Unprecedented Income Inequality in America. Published on website of 19 July 2017. Selected Science Articles (1) Banerjee, Partha. Successful isolation and growth of tissue cultures of ''Pluteus'' species (2) Banerjee, Partha. Preliminary observations on germination of ''Pluteus'' basidiospores (3) Banerjee, Partha. A Systematic and Phylogenetic Study of the Genus Pluteus with Special Reference to Section PluteusReferences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banerjee, Partha Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Indian human rights activists