Swapan Dasgupta

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Swapan Dasgupta
স্বপন দাশগুপ্ত
MP of Rajya Sabha (Nominated)
Assumed office
25 April, 2016
Preceded by H. K. Dua
Personal details
Born (1955-10-03) 3 October 1955 (age 67)
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Residence New Delhi
Alma mater University of Delhi
SOAS, University of London
University of Oxford
Occupation Political analyst
Journalist
Columnist
Parliamentarian

Swapan Dasgupta (Bengali: স্বপন দাশগুপ্ত Shôpon Dashgupto) (born 3 October 1955) is a senior Indian journalist and Member of Parliament, being a Presidential Nominee to the Rajya Sabha (Council of States, or India's Upper House of Parliament).[1]

At various points in his career, he has held senior editorial posts at The Statesman, The Daily Telegraph, The Times of India, The Indian Express and India Today, where he was Managing Editor till 2003. He has published his works in The Pioneer, The Telegraph, Dainik Jagran, The Times of India, The New Indian Express, Outlook, The Free Press Journal [archive] and several other newspapers and magazines, and is currently a freelance writer for various publications. Over the last decade, he has acquired the fame of being one of the most frequently appearing faces on Indian television. He is seen in all major political debates featured in the English electronic media, and was well known for appearing on NDTV's weekly segment, Politically Incorrect, with Mani Shankar Aiyar. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in the field of Literature and Education in 2015.[2] He has often been seen to be supportive of the BJP and its politics.[3][4]

Dasgupta was awarded Padma Bhushan (India's third highest civilian award) in 2015, for his contribution to Literature and Education.[5]

Early life[edit]

Swapan Dasupta was born in Calcutta in 1955 into a Bengali family. His father, S.C. Dasgupta, was the Chairman of Calcutta Chemicals, a well-known pharmaceutical company started by his grandfather, the Late K.C. Das during the period of Swadeshi upsurge in Bengal. His mother, Rekha (née Sen), was the daughter of the successful barrister Susil Chandra Sen, author of India's first Companies Act, and after whom a road is named (formerly Nandan Road) in the posh locality of Bhowanipore, South Calcutta. The Sen family were the erstwhile Rajas of Kalna (Zamindars) in West Bengal. He was educated at La Martiniere school in Calcutta, where he was a contemporary of Chandan Mitra and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. He went on to do a BA degree in history at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, standing second in Delhi University. He then went on scholarship to complete his MA in history at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) as well as his PhD. He completed his thesis in 1980, entitled "Local politics in Bengal, Midnapur District".

In 1982 he was appointed Junior Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford, for which he received the INLAKS Scholarship.

Career[edit]

After his stint in Oxford, he returned to India in 1986 and started off his journalistic career at The Statesman. He worked in newspapers like The Times of India, The Telegraph and The Indian Express before joining India Today. He currently is a freelancer and resides in Delhi with his wife Reshmi, also a journalist, and son, Soumya.

Dasgupta is a journalist in the English media. He has been appearing constantly on news channels like CNN-IBN,[6] NDTV[7] and Times Now[8] to debate on current issues pertaining to India and international affairs. He has edited a collection of essays: Nirad Chaudhuri—The First Hundred Years. He is a co -participant of the weekly show Politically Incorrect with Mani Shankar Aiyar on NDTV.

He also lectures extensively in both India and abroad on topics relating to history, politics & current affairs, and was recently lauded for his series on 'Indian Conservatism' at the King's India Institute, London's Distinguished Lecture Series at the Tagore Centre for Global Thought.[9]

Larsen and Toubro Board[edit]

In February 2015, Swapan Dasgupta was appointed on the Board of Directors of Larsen and Toubro as a nominee of the Unit Trust of India.[10] Dasgupta's appointment to this post has given rise to some controversy.[11][12]

Nomination to the Rajya Sabha[edit]

In April, 2016, Dasgupta was nominated by the President of India Pranab Mukherjee to the Rajya Sabha. His term would continue till 2022. [13]

References[edit]

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  1. ↑ http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/subramanian-swamy-navjot-singh-sidhu-swapan-dasgupta-nominated-for-rajya-sabha/ [archive]
  2. ↑ "Padma Awards 2015" [archive]. pib.nic.in. Retrieved 25 ജനുവരി 2015. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  3. ↑ http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/the-real-truth/swapan-dasgupta-needs-to-declare-his-bjp-leanings/ [archive]
  4. ↑ http://friendsofbjp.org/taxonomy/term/17 [archive]
  5. ↑ http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=114952 [archive]
  6. ↑ Should Govt step into the CWG mess? [archive]
  7. ↑ Barkha Dutt, other editors on Radia tapes controversy [archive]
  8. ↑ Debate: WikiLeaks hits India [archive]
  9. ↑ [1] [archive]
  10. ↑ "Business Standard" [archive]. Retrieved 9 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  11. ↑ "India Samvad" [archive]. Retrieved 9 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  12. ↑ "Hartosh Singh Bal on Dasgupta" [archive]. Retrieved 9 June 2015.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  13. ↑ [2] [archive]

External links[edit]

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