Santosh Bhattacharyya (1 November 1924 – 10 March 2011) was a

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 ...

Indian scholar, who served as a Vice Chancellor of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

, in Kolkata, India.

Early life

He was born in Calcutta on 1 November 1924 in a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

family. He studied economics at the renowned

Scottish Church College Scottish Church College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co-educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in A ...

''Some Alumni of Scottish Church College'' in ''175th Year Commemoration Volume'' Scottish Church College, 2008, page 587 and earned his master's degree from the University of Calcutta. Later he would earn a doctorate in economics from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

Career

After earning his master's degree, he worked as a technical assistant at the

Indian Statistical Institute Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is a higher education and research institute which is recognized as an Institute of National Importance by the 1959 act of the Indian parliament. It grew out of the Statistical Laboratory set up by Prasanta C ...

. He taught economics at the University of Calcutta in two phases: 1952–60, and later from 1968 to 1983. He chaired the department (1970–80), and became dean of the faculty of arts (1973–77). He was Senior Economic Affairs Officer at the Development Planning Centre in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

at New York (1966–68), member of the Tariff Commission,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

(1974–75), Chairman of several Pay Committees under

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

during 1977–80. He was a general secretary of Patha Bhavan, Calcutta in the 1980s.

Political beliefs

As a student, Bhattacharyya was a full member of the erstwhile

Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. H ...

, and later continued as an active sympathizer of the parent party till he parted ways as a believer in market economy following the changes in China. As a vice chancellor of the

(1983–1987), he was victimized for his apolitical stance and public criticism of the policies and practices of the

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...

led Left Front regime (1977–2011) that interfered with the autonomy of the university.Once-envied education system looks to Mamata for 'poriborton'
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Works

*''Red Hammer Over Calcutta University (1984–1987)'' *''Management Control Systems : a Framework for Resolution of Problems of Implementation'' *''Land Reforms in West Bengal. A Study on Implementation'' *''Capital Longevity and Economic Growth''

References

20th-century Indian economists Scottish Church College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Vice Chancellors of the University of Calcutta Scientists from Kolkata 2011 deaths 1924 births Place of death missing Indian expatriates in the United Kingdom Scholars from Kolkata {{India-economist-stub