John Felix Raj is the a professor of economics at

St. Xavier's University, Kolkata St. Xavier's University Kolkata is a Jesuit university located in New Town, Kolkata, India. It was established in February 2018 and inaugurated in July of the same year. Although run by the same Jesuit community which administers St. Xavier's ...

(SXUK), India. He is a

Jesuit priest The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

of the Calcutta province of the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

. He was the Rector from 1996 to 2002 and Principal from 2009 to 2017 of St. Xavier's College, Kolkata.

Early life

Raj was born on 26 August 1954 in Poolangudi,

Ramanathapuram district Ramanathapuram District, also known as Ramnad District, is one of the 38 administrative districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The old Ramanathapuram District consists of Present day Virudhunagar and Sivagangai districts, it touches th ...

, Tamil Nadu. He completed his school education at St. Michael's School, Sengudi and at St. Mary's High School,

Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port city, port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the di ...

Education

He joined the Jesuit Order in 1974 at the age of 20. He graduated from

Loyola College, Chennai Loyola College is a government aided private Catholic higher education institution run by the Society of Jesus in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1925 by the France, French Jesuits, Jesuit priest, Francis Bertram, along with other ...

in 1980 in Economics and acquired a master's degree from St Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli. He underwent his Jesuit training of philosophy in Pune at JDV and theology at Delhi Vidyajothi Institute respectively. He was ordained priest on 23 April 1989. He completed his Ph.D. in economics in

Rabindra Bharati University Rabindra Bharati University is a public research university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on 8 May 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. I ...

, Kolkata.

Career

Since 1996, Raj is the Director and Secretary of the Goethals Indian Library and Research Society in Kolkata. Raj opened a rural campus at

Raghabpur Raghabpur is a census town and a gram panchayat in the Purulia II CD block in the Purulia Sadar subdivision of the Purulia district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Ramchondropur Ramchondropur i ...

for St. Xavier's College, Kolkata in 2014. Raj took over as the first Vice-Chancellor of

(SXUK) from 16 February 2017. Raj was named

Banga Bibhushan Banga Bibhushan Samman () is a title instituted by the West Bengal government to honour the services of personalities in various fields. The Banga Ratna Samman and the Banga Bhushan Samman ("Bengal ornament" বঙ্গ ভূষণ) awards are a ...

in 2014 by the

West Bengal government The Government of West Bengal, also known as the West Bengal Government, is the principal administrative authority of the Indian state of West Bengal, created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial a ...

. In 2021, during Raj's vice-chancellorship at SXUK, an assistant professor resigned and alleged that she was forced to do by Raj and other administrators. According to a police complaint she filed, Raj called her into a meeting, told her that a family had complained about swimsuit photos of her that she had posted on social media, and threatened to fire her if she did not resign. The university claimed the resignation was voluntary and sent the former employee a defamation letter seeking ₹99 crore in damages. An online petition calling for disciplinary action against Raj received over 21,700 signatures by August 2022. In July 2023, the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

refused to hear the case.

Selected bibliography

* Raj Felix (2020). ''Waves – Story Bank'', St. Xavier’s University Kolkata Alumni Association, Kolkata. . * Raj John Felix, Roy Samrat, Hati Koushik (2016). ''Indian Economy: A Visionary Perspective'', New Delhi, Regal Publications, . * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raj, John 1954 births Living people Rabindra Bharati University alumni 20th-century Indian Jesuits Indian economists Indian male writers Indian philanthropists 21st-century Indian Jesuits