Swapan Dasgupta (born 3 October 1955) is an Indian journalist and politician. He is influential within the Indian right wing, writing columns for leading English dailies espousing Hindu nationalism. He is a

nominated A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * ...

member of the

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 ...

. In 2015, Dasgupta was conferred with the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

for his contribution to literature and education.

Early life and education

Dasgupta was born into a Bengali

Baidya Baidya or Vaidya is a Hindu community located in Bengal. Baidyas, a caste ('' jāti'') of Ayurvedic physicians, have long had pre-eminence in society alongside Brahmins and Kayasthas. In the colonial era, the Bhadraloks were drawn primarily, b ...

family on 3 October 1955 in Calcutta, West Bengal. He received his schooling from St. Paul's School and

La Martiniere Calcutta ''La Martiniere ''(informally known as LMC) is an elite, independent private day school located in Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal. It comprises two single-gender boys and girls schools. It was established in 1836 in accordance with the will of ...

before graduating from St. Stephen's College in 1975. He earned his MA and Ph.D. from the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...

and returned to India briefly in 1979 to take up a management position at Calcutta Chemical Company, a family. However, within a year, Dasgupta returned to the United Kingdom as a Junior Research Fellow at

Nuffield College, Oxford Nuffield College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college and specialises in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. Nuffield is one of Oxford's newer c ...

, where he taught and researched South Asian Politics. During this time, an excerpt from his thesis concerning the intersectionality of local politics in the Midnapur district was published in one of the Subaltern Studies volumes.

Career

Dasgupta has served in editorial positions over several English dailies in India including

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

The Statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new o ...

et cetera. He is a frequent guest on news channels in English-language debates on Indian politics and international affairs. In February 2015, Swapan Dasgupta was appointed on the Board of Directors of Larsen and Toubro as a nominee of the

Unit Trust of India UTI Mutual Fund was carved out of the erstwhile Unit Trust of India (UTI) as a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) registered mutual fund from 1 February 2003. The Unit Trust of India Act 1963 was repealed, paving way for the bifurcat ...

. He stepped down from Directorship of Larsen and Toubro upon being appointed to the Rajya Sabha. In 2019, he published '' Awakening Bharat Mata: The Political Beliefs of the Indian Right.'' Dasgupta was conferred Honorary Visiting Professorship at Center for Media Studies (CMS) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in recognition to his excellent expertise on journalism and media.

Politics

Dasgupta started as a Trotskite during college but became a

Thatcherite Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character and general style of manag ...

in England; since then, he has self-identified with centre-right politics. Dasgupta has been active in national politics since the early 90s as a member of the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

(BJP); he believed in the potential of the Mandal Commission recommendations and the

Ram Rath Yatra The ''Ram Rath Yatra'' was a political and religious rally that lasted from September to October 1990. It was organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its Hindu nationalist affiliates, and led by the then-president of the BJP, L. K. ...

to forge a common Hindu identity.

Mushirul Hasan Mushirul Hasan (15 August 1949 – 10 December 2018) was a historian of modern India. He wrote on the partition of India, communalism, and on the history of Islam in South Asia. Education Hasan was the second son of historian Mohibbul Hasan ...

, writing in 1997, held him the chief spokesperson of BJP in the English language press. In the early 2000s, Dasgupta blogged: Throughout these years, Dasgupta emphasized the value of English in reaching out to the elites — who were allegedly mass-committed to the left-liberal cause — and winning them over towards

hindutva Hindutva () is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. The term was formulated as a political ideology by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. It is used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the ...

; he was one of the most fierce critics of the pro-vernacular policies followed by the communist government of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

Legislation

In April 2016, the incumbent BJP government nominated Dasgupta to the

as an eminent personality in literature; his term would have continued till 2022. However, in 2021, Dasgupta resigned from Rajya Sabha to contest the Legislative Assembly election in West Bengal for BJP from

Tarakeswar Tarakeswar (pronounced ''Tarokeshwar'') is a famous sacred city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Tarakeswar is called "Babar Dham" or "The city of Shiva". It is one of the major tourist and holy place ...

; he lost by over 7000 votes. A month later, Dasgupta was renominated to the

for the remainder of his original term — opposition politicians and constitutional scholars questioned the legal soundness of the renomination.

Reception

Meera Nanda finds Dasgupta among India's most prominent center-right public intellectuals. Arvind Tajagopal found Dasgupta among the most vocal enthusiasts for the spread of Hindutva, in English language press in the 80s. Scholars have located parallels between his writings and the thought school of Hindu nationalist organisations.

Personal life

He is married to Reshmi Ray Dasgupta, Lifestyle Editor at

The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language bu ...

and has a son who is a practicing lawyer in the Supreme Court of India. They reside in New Delhi.

Bibliography

* *

External links

*
Swapan Dasgupta
on

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dasgupta, Swapan 1955 births Indian columnists Living people La Martiniere Calcutta alumni St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni Alumni of SOAS University of London Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from West Bengal Indian male journalists 20th-century Indian journalists Journalists from West Bengal Writers from Kolkata Politicians from Kolkata Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha