Ratan Lal Basu (

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 ...

: রতন লাল বসু; born 23 December 1948) is an

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 ...

and English

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

author. Most of his books and articles in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

are based on ancient Indian economic ideas, especially embedded in the

epics Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

(

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

and

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

), dharmasastras and

Arthasastra ''Kautilya's Arthashastra'' (, ; ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, politics, economic policy and military strategy. The text is likely the work of several authors over centuries, starting as a compilation of ''Arthashas ...

Kautilya ''Kautilya's Arthashastra'' (, ; ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, politics, economic policy and military strategy. The text is likely the work of several authors over centuries, starting as a compilation of ''Arthashas ...

and their modern relevance. He is also specialized in

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

and

tantra Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian tr ...

cult and has written several books and articles on these topics.

Childhood and parents

The place of birth of Dr. Ratan Lal Basu is the

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

Belakoba in the

Jalpaiguri district Jalpaiguri district () is a district of the Indian state of West Bengal. The district was established in 1869 during British Raj. The headquarters of the district are in the city of Jalpaiguri, which is also the divisional headquarters of Ja ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He was born on 23 December 1948. His father Sri Mahendra Lal Bose was educated from St. Xavier’s School and College,

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, he later on got settled at the village Belakoba and played a pioneering role in establishing many schools in the remote

villages A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...

of the

. Ratan Lal Basu now resides at

Birati Birati is a neighbourhood in North Dumdum of North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). The locality is adjacent to the Netaji Subhas Ch ...

North 24 Parganas North 24 Parganas (abv. 24 PGS (N)) or sometimes North Twenty Four Parganas is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the tropical zone from latitude 22° 11′ 6″ north to 23° 15′ 2″ north and ...

Education

Dr. Basu studied in and passed

Higher Secondary Examination Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC), Higher Secondary School Certificate, Higher Secondary Education Certificate (HSEC) or Intermediate Examination is a secondary education qualification in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. It is equivalent to the f ...

from Belakoba

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

17 km from

Jalpaiguri Jalpaiguri (), is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri district as well as of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal, covering the jurisdiction of the five districts of North Bengal. The city is ...

town. Dr. Basu did his

Honors Honour (or honor in American English) is the quality of being honorable. Honor or Honour may also refer to: People * Honor (given name), a unisex given name, including a list of people with the name * Honour (surname), English-language surnam ...

and M.A. degrees in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from

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 ...

, then affiliated with the

University of Kolkata The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

, and at present upgraded to

Presidency University, 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 ...

, and did Ph.D. on the

Arthashastra ''Kautilya's Arthashastra'' (, ; ) is an Ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, politics, economic policy and military strategy. The text is likely the work of several authors over centuries, starting as a compilation of ''Arthashas ...

, a

treatise A treatise is a Formality, formal and systematic written discourse on some subject concerned with investigating or exposing the main principles of the subject and its conclusions."mwod:treatise, Treatise." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Acc ...

Politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

and

Espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

, written around 300 B.C.

Service

Dr. Basu joined a Government-sponsored college affiliated with the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

, as a

Lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

and later on became a Reader and retired as the Teacher-in-Charge (Acting Principal). He was the Treasurer, Bengal Economic Association (Bangiya Arthaniti Parishad) from June 2009 to May 2014. He has been a faculty of Fundación MenteClara, Berazategui, Buenos Aires, Argentina since 26 September 2020.

Bibliography

Collection of Short Stories

Bengali

* ''অসাধারণ সুন্দর ও অন্যান্য গল্প'' * ''গণেশ ঠাকুরের ভক্ত ও অন্যান্য গল্প'' * ''ডায়ারির পাতা থেকে'' * ''দূরের পাহাড় ও অন্যান্য গল্প'' * ''প্রতিবিম্ব'' * ''ভাত-ডাল দেবেতো! ও অন্যান্য গল্প'' * "নীল পাহাড় ও অন্যান্য গল্প" * ''গল্পের ফুলঝুরি'' * ''স্মৃতির পাতা থেকে''

English

* ''Blue Are the Far Off Mountains'' * ''Dream In A Rainy Day'' * ''Horror Of Yakshini'' * ''Mod Lady and the Prabhus'' * ''Stories for Children'' * ''Blue Bird of the Pacific Island''

Novels

Bengali

* স্বপ্ন স্মৃতি বাস্তব * ''স্বপ্ন''

English

* ''The Oraon and His Tree Friend'' * ''The Curse of the Goddess'' * ''The Tribal and the Divine Tree''

Travelogue

* ''Fantastic Hill Trek'' * ''Tagore, Hepburn and Shahrukh Khan''

Economics

* ''Ancient Indian Economic Thought, Relevance for Today'' * ''Material Progress, Ethics & Human Development'' * ''Kautilya's Arthashastra (300 B.C.): Economic Ideas'' * ''Mahabharata, the Great Indian Epic: Economic Ideas'' * ''Manusmriti, the Hindu Law Book: Economic Ideas'' * ''Glimpses of the Indian Economy: Ancient & Modern'' * ''Economic Concepts: Ancient & Modern'' * ''Global Crisis and Adam Smith'' * ''Democracy and Future of Mankind'' * ''The Political Economy of Ancient India'' * ''Ancient Indian Political Economy'' * ''Price Control Mechanism in Arthasastra'' * ''Poverty, Amartya Sen and Adam Smith'' * ''Price Policy in Arthasastra''

Hindu philosophy

* ''Raj Yoga'' * ''Karma Yoga'' * ''Principles of Hatha Yoga'' * ''Bhakti Yoga'' * ''Lord Krishna Mystery'' * ''Atharva Veda, A Brief Outline'' * ''Tantra Cult'' * ''Tantra Cult and Yoga'' * "Scientific and Beneficial Aspects of Tantra Cult" * "Panchatantra and Its Lessons"

Espionage

* ''Horror of Soviet Secret Police'' * ''Stories of Spies'' * ''Espionage Agency Mossad and Eichmann Drama'' * ''Espionage Mechanism in the Arthasastra of Kautilya'' * ''Espionage Agencies and Remarkable Spies'' * ''Cold War, KGB & Soviet Social Imperialism'' * ''Espionage Methods and The Horror of Echelon-Imint and The CIA'' * ''Atomic Espionage and Atom Spies''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basu, Ratan Lal Writers from Kolkata 1948 births Living people University of Calcutta alumni Academic staff of the University of Calcutta