Bhabatosh Datta (21 February 1911 – 11 January 1997) was a noted Indian

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

, academic and writer. He taught at

Chittagong College Chittagong College is a public educational institution in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is a higher secondary school and also a degree awarding college of National University, Bangladesh. It is the second higher secondary school in the region that ...

and later became Professor of Economics,

Presidency College, Kolkata Presidency University, formerly Presidency College, is a public state university located in College Street, Kolkata. Established in 1817 as the ''Hindoo College'', it was later renamed ''Presidency College'' in 1855 and functioned as a leadi ...

, where he later became an

Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

Professor. In 1990, he was awarded the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons w ...

, the second highest civilian award, by

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

Early life and background

Datta was born in

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

, Bihar to Hemendra Kishore Datta and Jogmaya Datta. At the time, his father was a professor of Chemistry at

Bihar National College Bihar National College is a constituent unit of Patna University. It is a multi-faculty college and offers courses in Science, Humanities, and Arts at graduate level. It is a post-graduate college but post-graduate teaching has been stopped for ...

, Patna. Thereafter, he did his schooling at various places, including Daulatpur in

Khulna district Khulna District () is a district of Bangladesh. It is located in the Khulna Division, bordered in the north by Jashore District and Narail District, in the south by the Bay of Bengal, in the east by Bagerhat District, and the west by Satkhira D ...

Mymensingh Mymensingh () is a metropolis, metropolitan city and capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of the Old Brahmaputra River, Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center ...

followed by

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

, now in Bangladesh. At his Dhaka school, he edited the school magazine along with fellow student Buddhadeb Bose, who went on to become a noted poet. He completed his schooling from

Jagannath College Jagannath University (JnU) () is a public university located in Sadarghat, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded as ''Dhaka Brahma School'' in 1858 and renamed ''Jagannath School'' in 1872, and later renamed ''Jagannath College'' in 1884, the institution w ...

Dhaka, and went on to earn B.A. (Hons.) in Economics and Political Science and M.A. Economics from

Career

He started his career by working briefly at

, and Burdwan Raj College, ultimately his received an appointment at Ripon College, Kolkata, later known as

Surendranath College Surendranath College is an undergraduate college affiliated to the University of Calcutta, in Kolkata, India. It was founded in 1884 by the nationalist leader and scholar Surendranath Banerjee. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate level co ...

. Subsequently, he worked at Islamia College in Kolkata, later renamed

Maulana Azad College Maulana Azad College is a government college of liberal arts, commerce and science in India, located in central Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The college is fully government-administered. It is located near the junction of Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road an ...

. In 1948, he went to England on a study leave to submit his doctoral dissertation at

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

after only two years. His dissertation was published in Calcutta as ''The Economics of Industrialization'' (1952). After his returned in 1952, he joined the

, now Presidency University as Professor of Economics. The following year, he joined IMF as chief of South Asia division, however he returned to India in 1956, and rejoined Presidency College, where he continued to work till his retirement in 1962 as Head of the Department. Thereafter, he remained Emeritus Professor at the college, and started working in state education ministry, as he became Director of Public Instruction, Department of General Education and in 1965, Secretary of Education,

Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the Administrative division, principal administrative authority of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal, created by the Constitution ...

. He also remained a member of Fourth Finance Commission of India formed in 1964, and also remained a member of the first working committee of

Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi The Pashchimbanga Bangla Akademi (, , ) is the official regulatory body of the Bengali language in India. It was founded on 20 May 1986 in Kolkata to act as the official authority of the language and is entrusted with the responsibility of ref ...

, Kolkata.

Personal life

He married Amala Basu in 1939, she died in 1989.

Bibliography

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Datta, Bhabatosh 1911 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Indian economists Economics educators Scientists from Kolkata Writers from Patna Academic staff of the University of Calcutta Academic staff of Presidency University, Kolkata Bengali-language writers Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in literature & education 20th-century Indian educational theorists