Amiya Bagchi, the man who made economics a tool for devpt, dies
Times of India | 29 November 2024
12 Kolkata: Emeritus professor, an economic historian and founder director of Institute of Development Studies Kolkata (IDSK) Amiya Kumar Bagchi passed away at 88 in a city nursing home on Thursd-ay. He is survived by two daughters.
Bagchi studied in Presidency College and was dubbed the "best student of economics" by economist Bhabatosh Datta, who taught him at the college. "He joined Presidency during the second year of intermediate in science stream. We stayed at the Hindu Hostel. Bagchi ranked 13th in intermediate exams and pursued economics honours," said Jyotirmoy Pal Chaudhuri, Bagchi's friend and batch mate, who studied history at Presidency.
Pal Chaudhuri said he spoke to Bagchi on Tuesday afternoon and was thinking of calling him on Friday to enquire about his health. "Bagchi came from a humble background. Presidency, during those times, was an illustrious seat of learning with brilliant minds. Amartya Sen was two years our senior. Both Bagchi and I were involved in politics and were part of the Students' Federation. He won as a class representative," Pal Chaudhuri said, adding that Bagchi got a first class and stood first in the Masters at Calcutta University.
Bagchi started his career teaching in Presidency College soon after his Masters. In 1963, he was awarded the PhD from Trinity College, Cambridge. In the 1960s, he was a faculty in the economics department at Cambridge, where he was a fellow of Jesus College. Bagchi resigned from his post in 1969 and resumed teaching at Presidency College. Along with professor Tapas Majumdar, he was instrumental in starting the Centre for Economic Studies, which incubated generations of bright economists who served the academy and govt with distinction. He joined the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta, in 1974 and later became the RBI professor and also the director. He founded IDSK in 2002.
IDSK professor Achin Chakraborty, also the former director, said, "Bagchi's contribution to the intellectual world of Kolkata and also to academia is immense. He worked relentlessly from 2004 to 2013 to build up IDSK. He was a great institution-builder, which is rare among Bengalis. He is well-known world-wide for his contribution to economic history and political economy." Former professor of Indian Statistical Institute and a student of Bagchi at Presidency College, Abhirup Sarkar said study of Indian economic history would be incomplete Bagchi's book, ‘The Private Investment in India'. Sarkar was his student in CU as well. Ishita Mukhopdhyay, professor of economics in CU and a student of Bagchi between 1983-85, said he had written the foreword for her book. "I was in touch with him since 1981," she said.
Presidency University registrar Debajyoti Konar said, "It is a great loss for the field of economics as well as Presidency."