Swapan Dasgupta: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Indian scholar, journalist and politician}}
{{Short description|Indian journalist and politician (born 1955)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
| name        = Swapan Dasgupta
| name        = Swapan Dasgupta
| image      = File:Swapan Dasgupta in May 2016 (cropped).jpg
| image      = Swapan Dasgupta in May 2016 (3x4 cropped).jpg
| caption    =
| caption    = Dasgupta in 2016
| office1    = [[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha]]
| office1    = [[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha]]
| term_start1 = 1 June 2021
| term_start1 = 1 June 2021
Line 15: Line 15:
| successor2 = ''Himself''
| successor2 = ''Himself''
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1955|10|03}}  
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1955|10|03}}  
| birth_place = [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]
| birth_place = [[Kolkata, West Bengal]], India
| alma_mater  = [[St. Stephen's College, Delhi]] ([[B.A.|BA]])<br/>[[SOAS University of London]] ([[M.A.|MA]], [[PhD]])<br/>[[Nuffield College, Oxford]] (Post-doctoral Fellow)  
| alma_mater  = [[St. Stephen's College, Delhi]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br/>[[SOAS University of London]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]], [[PhD]])<br/>[[Nuffield College, Oxford]] (Post-doctoral Fellow)  
| occupation  = Journalist, Writer, Political analyst  
| occupation  = Journalist, Writer, Political analyst  
| party      = [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (2021–present)
| party      = [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (1990–present)
| spouse      = Reshmi Ray Dasgupta  
| spouse      = Reshmi Ray Dasgupta  
| children    = 1 son
| children    = 1 son
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}}
}}


'''Swapan Dasgupta''' (born 3 October 1955) is an Indian journalist and politician.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/subramanian-swamy-navjot-singh-sidhu-swapan-dasgupta-nominated-for-rajya-sabha/|title=Subramanian Swamy, Sidhu, Suresh Gopi, Swapan Dasgupta nominated for Rajya Sabha|date=23 April 2016|website=The Indian Express|access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref> He is influential within the Indian right wing,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i8M9DwAAQBAJ|title=Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World|last=Ayres|first=Alyssa|date=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780190494520|pages=28|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/rhetoric-of-hindu-india/23F550BAE62DCB5D3884F9345105AA57|title=The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu|last=Basu|first=Manisha|date=August 2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-14987-8|pages=67–68, 139|language=en|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://qz.com/205367/the-real-reason-indian-intellectuals-are-flocking-to-modi/|title=The real reason Indian intellectuals are backing Narendra Modi|last=Joseph|first=Tony|website=Quartz|language=en|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref> writing columns for leading English dailies espousing [[Hindu nationalism]].<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/rhetoric-of-hindu-india/23F550BAE62DCB5D3884F9345105AA57|title=The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu|last=Basu|first=Manisha|date=August 2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-14987-8|pages=16|language=en|chapter=Introductory Matters|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref> He is a [[List of nominated members of the Rajya Sabha|nominated]] member of the [[Rajya Sabha]] the upper house of the [[Parliament of India]]. He had resigned as [[Member of Parliament|MP]] to contest the [[2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/assembly-elections/west-bengal/west-bengal-elections-2021-swapan-dasgupta-resigns-as-rajya-sabha-mp-amid-row-over-candidature/articleshow/81526847.cms | title=West Bengal elections 2021: Swapan Dasgupta resigns as Rajya Sabha MP amid row over candidature | work=[[The Times of India]] | date=16 March 2021 | accessdate=16 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.timesnownews.com/india/west-bengal/article/swapan-dasgupta-faces-disqualification-as-rajya-sabha-mp-after-getting-west-bengal-poll-ticket/732965 | title=Facing disqualification as Rajya Sabha MP, nominated member Swapan Dasgupta tenders his resignation | publisher=Times Now | date=16 March 2021 | accessdate=16 March 2021}}</ref> with a [[BJP]] ticket and lost to [[All India Trinamool Congress|AITC]] candidate Ramendu Sinha. He was renominated as MP again on 1 June 2021.
'''Swapan Dasgupta''' (born 3 October 1955) is an Indian journalist and politician.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/subramanian-swamy-navjot-singh-sidhu-swapan-dasgupta-nominated-for-rajya-sabha/|title=Subramanian Swamy, Sidhu, Suresh Gopi, Swapan Dasgupta nominated for Rajya Sabha|date=23 April 2016|website=The Indian Express|access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref> He is influential within the Indian [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i8M9DwAAQBAJ|title=Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World|last=Ayres|first=Alyssa|date=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780190494520|pages=28|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/rhetoric-of-hindu-india/23F550BAE62DCB5D3884F9345105AA57|title=The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu|last=Basu|first=Manisha|date=August 2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-14987-8|pages=67–68, 139|language=en|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://qz.com/205367/the-real-reason-indian-intellectuals-are-flocking-to-modi/|title=The real reason Indian intellectuals are backing Narendra Modi|last=Joseph|first=Tony|website=Quartz|language=en|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref> writing columns for leading English dailies espousing [[Hindu nationalism]].<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/rhetoric-of-hindu-india/23F550BAE62DCB5D3884F9345105AA57|title=The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu|last=Basu|first=Manisha|date=August 2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-14987-8|pages=16|language=en|chapter=Introductory Matters|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref> He was a [[List of nominated members of the Rajya Sabha|nominated]] member of the [[Rajya Sabha]]. In 2015, Dasgupta was conferred with the [[Padma Bhushan]] for his contribution to literature and education.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=114952|title=Press Information Bureau|website=pib.nic.in|access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref>
 
[[File:The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Padma Bhushan Award to Dr. Swapan Dasgupta, at a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on March 30, 2015.jpg|thumb|200px| President [[Pranab Mukherjee]] presenting the Padma Bhushan Award to Dr. Swapan Dasgupta, at a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on March 30, 2015]]
Dasgupta was awarded [[Padma Bhushan]] (the third highest civilian award in India) in 2015, for his contribution to Literature and Education.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=114952|title=Press Information Bureau|website=pib.nic.in|access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref>


== Early life and education ==
== Early life and education ==
He was born into a Bengali [[Baidya]] brahmin family on 3 October 1955 in Calcutta, West Bengal.
Dasgupta was born into a [[Bengalis|Bengali]] [[Baidya]] family on 3 October 1955 in [[Calcutta]], [[West Bengal]]. He received his schooling from [[St. Paul's School, Darjeeling|St. Paul's School]] and [[La Martiniere Calcutta]] before graduating from [[St. Stephen's College, Delhi|St. Stephen's College]] in 1975, and was awarded the prestigious Inlaks scholarship. He earned his MA and Ph.D. from the [[SOAS University of London|School of Oriental and African Studies]] and returned to India briefly in 1979 to take up a management position at [[Calcutta Chemical Company]], a family.
 
He received his education at [[St. Paul's School, Darjeeling]], [[La Martiniere Calcutta]] and [[St. Stephen's College, Delhi]], graduating from the latter in 1975. He thereafter went on to earn an MA and PhD from the [[SOAS University of London|School of Oriental and African Studies]] at the University of London, where he received an exhibitionership to fund his studies.
 
Subsequently, he returned to India for a brief period in 1979 to take up a management position at his family's pharmaceutical business ‘[[Calcutta Chemical Company]]’. He eventually returned to the United Kingdom as a Junior Research Fellow at [[Nuffield College, University of Oxford]], where he taught and researched on South Asian Politics.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/rhetoric-of-hindu-india/23F550BAE62DCB5D3884F9345105AA57|title=The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu|last=Basu|first=Manisha|date=August 2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-14987-8|pages=161|language=en|chapter=Between death and redemption|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Soni|first=Aayush|date=6 June 2014|title=Swapan Dasgupta: The Face to Ring in Modi's New India|url=http://www.ozy.com/provocateurs/swapan-dasgupta-the-face-to-ring-in-modis-new-india/31941|url-status=live|access-date=2019-08-03|website=OZY|language=en}}</ref> An excerpt from his thesis concerning the intersectionality of local politics in the [[Purba Medinipur district|Midnapur]] district of Bengal has featured in a volume about [[Subaltern Studies|subaltern studies]], edited by [[Ranajit Guha]].<ref name=":1" />
 
==Personal life==


He is married to Reshmi Ray Dasgupta, Lifestyle Editor at [[The Economic Times]] and has a son who is a practicing lawyer in the [[Supreme Court of India]].<ref name=":2" /> They reside in New Delhi.<ref name=":2" />
However, within a year, Dasgupta returned to the United Kingdom as a Junior Research Fellow at [[Nuffield College, Oxford]], where he taught and researched South Asian Politics.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/rhetoric-of-hindu-india/23F550BAE62DCB5D3884F9345105AA57|title=The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu|last=Basu|first=Manisha|date=August 2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-14987-8|pages=161|language=en|chapter=Between death and redemption|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Soni|first=Aayush|date=6 June 2014|title=Swapan Dasgupta: The Face to Ring in Modi's New India|url=http://www.ozy.com/provocateurs/swapan-dasgupta-the-face-to-ring-in-modis-new-india/31941|access-date=2019-08-03|website=OZY|language=en}}</ref> During this time, an excerpt from his thesis concerning the intersectionality of local politics in the [[Purba Medinipur district|Midnapur district]] was published in one of the Subaltern Studies volumes.<ref name=":1" />


==Career==
==Career==
Dasgupta has served in editorial positions over several English dailies in India including [[The Indian Express]], [[The Times of India]], [[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]], [[India Today]] et cetera.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P9-GAwAAQBAJ|title=The Prabhakaran Saga: The Rise and Fall of an Eelam Warrior|last=Murari|first=S.|date=2012-06-13|publisher=SAGE Publications India|isbn=9788132109914|pages=72|language=en}}</ref> He is a frequent guest on news channels in English-language debates on Indian politics and international affairs.<ref name=":1" /> He wrote a foreword to an anthology titled ''Nirad C. Chaudhuri: The First Hundred Years: A Celebration'', wherein he asserted [[Nirad C. Chaudhuri|Chaudhuri]] of having pro-BJP stances.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.questia.com/read/119823759/south-asian-writers-in-twentieth-century-britain|title=South Asian Writers in Twentieth-Century Britain|last=Ranasinha|first=Ruvani|date=2007-02-22|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199207770|location=New York|pages=103|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199207770.001.0001}}</ref>
Dasgupta has served in editorial positions over several English dailies in India including [[The Indian Express]], [[The Times of India]], [[The Statesman (India)|The Statesman]], [[India Today]] et cetera.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P9-GAwAAQBAJ|title=The Prabhakaran Saga: The Rise and Fall of an Eelam Warrior|last=Murari|first=S.|date=2012-06-13|publisher=SAGE Publications India|isbn=9788132109914|pages=72|language=en}}</ref> He is a frequent guest on news channels in English-language debates on Indian politics and international affairs.<ref name=":1" />


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]].<ref name="Teh1">{{cite news|title=Business Standard|newspaper=Business Standard India|date=9 February 2015|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/columnist-dasgupta-joins-l-t-board-115020901148_1.html|access-date=9 June 2015}}</ref> He stepped down from Directorship of Larsen and Toubro upon being appointed to the Rajya Sabha.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/interview/swapan-dasgupta-is-not-untouchable-for-me/20150710.htm|title=Swapan Dasgupta is not untouchable for me|website=Rediff|language=en|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newslaundry.com/|title=Hartosh Bal Versus Swapan Dasgupta. And Others Caught in the Crossfire.|last=Saikia|first=Arunabh|date=10 July 2015|website=Newslaundry|language=en-UK|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref>
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]].<ref name="Teh1">{{cite news|title=Business Standard|newspaper=Business Standard India|date=9 February 2015|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/columnist-dasgupta-joins-l-t-board-115020901148_1.html|access-date=9 June 2015}}</ref> He stepped down from Directorship of Larsen and Toubro upon being appointed to the Rajya Sabha.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/interview/swapan-dasgupta-is-not-untouchable-for-me/20150710.htm|title=Swapan Dasgupta is not untouchable for me|website=Rediff|language=en|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newslaundry.com/|title=Hartosh Bal Versus Swapan Dasgupta. And Others Caught in the Crossfire.|last=Saikia|first=Arunabh|date=10 July 2015|website=Newslaundry|language=en-UK|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref>


In 2019, he published ''[[Awakening Bharat Mata|Awakening Bharat Mata: The Political Beliefs of the Indian Right]].''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theweek.in/review/books/2019/06/10/Understanding-the-Indian-right.html|title=Understanding the Indian right|last=Pushkarna|first=Vijaya|date=10 June 2019|website=The Week|language=en|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/news/interview/no-fear-of-india-turning-authoritarian/20190605.htm|title=No fear of India turning authoritarian|website=Rediff|language=en|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/the-roots-of-hindu-nationalism-119070200064_1.html|title=The roots of Hindu nationalism|last=Bhattacharya|first=A. K.|date=2019-07-02|work=Business Standard India|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/books-our-rashtra-mata-in-heaven/301957|title=Our Rashtra Mata in Heaven|website=OutlookIndia|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref>
In 2019, he published ''[[Awakening Bharat Mata|Awakening Bharat Mata: The Political Beliefs of the Indian Right]].''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theweek.in/review/books/2019/06/10/Understanding-the-Indian-right.html|title=Understanding the Indian right|last=Pushkarna|first=Vijaya|date=10 June 2019|website=The Week|language=en|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref>


Dasgupta was conferred Honorary Visiting Professorship at Center for Media Studies (CMS) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in recognition to his excellent expertise on journalism and media.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CMS Faculty|url=https://www.jnu.ac.in/sss/cms_faculty|url-status=live}}</ref>
He was conferred Honorary Visiting Professorship at Center for Media Studies (CMS) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in recognition to his excellent expertise on journalism and media.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CMS Faculty|url=https://www.jnu.ac.in/sss/cms_faculty}}</ref>
 
Dasgupta led the first edition of the Delhi University Literature Festival as its festival director alongside [[Sanjeev Sanyal]] as the festival patron in March 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-19 |title=It's raining lit fests at Delhi University |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/its-raining-lit-fests-at-delhi-university/ |access-date=2023-04-25 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>


==Politics==
==Politics==
Despite being initially attracted to [[Trotskyism]], Dasgupta became a [[Thatcherism|Thatcherite]] in his days at England. Since then, he has self-identified with [[centre-right politics]] and has been heavily active in the national political theater, as a member of [[Bharatiya Janata Party]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/09/narendra-modi-the-divisive-manipulator-who-charmed-the-world|title=Narendra Modi: the divisive manipulator who charmed the world|last=Mishra|first=Pankaj|date=2015-11-09|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-08-03|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jEUdPqYQjhoC|title=Contesting the Nation: Religion, Community, and the Politics of Democracy in India|last=Ludden|first=David|date=April 1996|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=9780812215854|language=en}}</ref> [[Mushirul Hasan]] noted him to be the effective chief-spokesperson of BJP in the English language press during the 90s.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.questia.com/read/9049802/legacy-of-a-divided-nation-india-s-muslims-since|title=Legacy of a Divided Nation: India's Muslims since Independence|last=Hasan|first=Mushirul|publisher=Westview Press|year=1997|isbn=9780429701207|location=Boulder, Colorado|pages=303|doi=10.4324/9780429039690|oclc=1110150477}}</ref> Arvind Rajagopal saw this shift to BJP to immediately arise after the implementation of Mandal Commission recommendations along with the near-simultaneous Rathyatra by Advani, which Dasgupta held to be a potential event that can bridge the internal divide among Hindus.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.questia.com/read/105171686/politics-after-television-religious-nationalism|title=Politics After Television: Hindu Nationalism and the Reshaping of the Public in India|last=Rajagopal|first=Arvind|date=2001-01-25|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521648394|location=Cambridge, England|pages=343, 194|language=en}}</ref>
{{Conservatism in India|Intellectuals}}
Dasgupta started as a [[Trotskyism|Trotskite]] during college but became a [[Thatcherism|Thatcherite]] in England; since then, he has self-identified with [[centre-right politics]]. Dasgupta has been active in national politics since the early 90s as a member of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP); he believed in the potential of the [[Mandal Commission|Mandal Commission recommendations]] and the [[Ram Rath Yatra]] to forge a common Hindu identity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rajagopal |first=Arvind |url=https://www.questia.com/read/105171686/politics-after-television-religious-nationalism |title=Politics After Television: Hindu Nationalism and the Reshaping of the Public in India |date=2001-01-25 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521648394 |location=Cambridge, England |pages=343, 194 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jEUdPqYQjhoC|title=Contesting the Nation: Religion, Community, and the Politics of Democracy in India|last=Ludden|first=David|date=April 1996|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=9780812215854|language=en}}</ref>
 
[[Mushirul Hasan]], writing in 1997, held him the chief spokesperson of BJP in the English language press.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.questia.com/read/9049802/legacy-of-a-divided-nation-india-s-muslims-since|title=Legacy of a Divided Nation: India's Muslims since Independence|last=Hasan|first=Mushirul|publisher=Westview Press|year=1997|isbn=9780429701207|location=Boulder, Colorado|pages=303|doi=10.4324/9780429039690|s2cid=242620789 |oclc=1110150477}}</ref> In the early 2000s, Dasgupta blogged:<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Basu |first=Manisha |title=The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu |date=August 2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-14987-8 |pages=140–144 |language=en |chapter=Between death and redemption |access-date=2019-08-03 |chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/rhetoric-of-hindu-india/23F550BAE62DCB5D3884F9345105AA57}}</ref>


In April, 2016, Dasgupta was nominated by the President of India [[Pranab Mukherjee]] to the Rajya Sabha. His term was to continue till 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-official-swamy-sidhu-swapan-dasgupta-and-mary-kom-nominated-to-rajya-sabha-by-the-centre-2205080|title=Official: Swamy, Sidhu, Swapan Dasgupta and Mary Kom nominated to Rajya Sabha by PMO - Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis|date=22 April 2016|website=dnaindia.com|access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref> However on 16 March 2021, he resigned as a member of the [[Rajya Sabha]], facing legal action from the ruling Trinamool Congress party, since a nominated member cannot contest on any party ticket while continuing to hold the post in the House.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-16|title=Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu's office receives Swapan Dasgupta's resignation letter|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/rajya-sabha-chairman-venkaiah-naidu-s-office-receives-swapan-dasgupta-s-resignation-letter-101615878314115.html|access-date=2021-03-16|website=Hindustan Times|language=en}}</ref>
{{cquote|The Right is an endangered community in India's English-language media. I happen to be one of the few to have retained a precarious toe-hold in the mainstream media.
}}


Dasgupta contested the [[2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election]] from [[Tarakeswar (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Tarakeswar]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Babul Supriyo, Swapan Dasgupta Named In BJP's Second List Of Candidates|url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/current-affairs-trends/west-bengal-elections-2021-babul-supriyo-swapan-dasgupta-named-in-bjps-second-list-of-candidates-6645141.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-16|website=Moneycontrol}}</ref> but lost to his opponent from the AITC Candidate [[Ramendu Singha Roy]] by over 7000 votes.
Throughout these years, Dasgupta emphasized the value of English in reaching out to the elites — who were allegedly mass-committed to the left-liberal cause — and winning them over towards [[Hindutva]];<ref>{{Cite book |last=Basu |first=Manisha |title=The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu |date=August 2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-14987-8 |pages=xi |language=en |chapter=Preface |access-date=2019-08-03 |chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/rhetoric-of-hindu-india/23F550BAE62DCB5D3884F9345105AA57}}</ref> he was one of the most fierce critics of the pro-vernacular policies followed by the communist government of [[West Bengal]].<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Kapoor |first=Richa |title=Understanding and Interpreting English as a School Discipline in Postcolonial India |date=2008 |publisher=[[University of Minnesota]]}}</ref>


He was renominated to the [[Rajya Sabha]] by the [[President of India]] on 1 June 2021. His renomination drew criticism from the opposition parties, with [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] [[Member of Parliament (India)|MP]] [[Jairam Ramesh]] asking if this was the first time in history of the [[Rajya Sabha]] that such a thing had happened.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/swapan-dasgupta-renominated-to-rajya-sabha-7339940/|title=Swapan Dasgupta renominated to Rajya Sabha|date=2 June 2021}}</ref>
=== Legislation ===
In April 2016, the incumbent [[Premiership of Narendra Modi|BJP government]] nominated Dasgupta to the [[Rajya Sabha]] as an eminent personality in literature; his term would have continued till 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-official-swamy-sidhu-swapan-dasgupta-and-mary-kom-nominated-to-rajya-sabha-by-the-centre-2205080|title=Official: Swamy, Sidhu, Swapan Dasgupta and Mary Kom nominated to Rajya Sabha by PMO - Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis|date=22 April 2016|website=dnaindia.com|access-date=20 July 2017}}</ref> However, in 2021, Dasgupta resigned from Rajya Sabha to contest the [[2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election|Legislative Assembly election in West Bengal]] for BJP from [[Tarakeswar (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Tarakeswar]]; he lost by over 7000 votes. A month later, Dasgupta was renominated to the [[Rajya Sabha]] for the remainder of his original term — opposition politicians and constitutional scholars questioned the legal soundness of the renomination.


== Reception ==
== Reception ==
[[Meera Nanda]] notes him to be one of the most prominent center-right public intellectuals in the Indian polity.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=https://www.questia.com/read/125291531/the-god-market-how-globalization-is-making-india|title=The God Market: How Globalization is Making India More Hindu|last=Nanda|first=Meera|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=2011|isbn=9781583672501|location=New York|pages=ix}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis|last=Basu|first=Manisha|title=Fathers of a Still-born Past: Hindu Empire, Globality, and the Rhetoric of the Trikaal|date=2008|publisher=[[University of Pittsburgh]]|url=http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/7604/}}</ref> [[Tanika Sarkar]] et al. have located parallels between Swapan's writings and the thought-school of Hindu nationalist organisations like [[Vishva Hindu Parishad]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Datta|first1=Pradip|last2=Pati|first2=Biswamoy|last3=Sarkar|first3=Sumit|last4=Sarkar|first4=Tanika|last5=Sen|first5=Sambuddha|date=1990|title=Understanding Communal Violence: Nizamuddin Riots|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=25|issue=45|pages=2487–2495|jstor=4396965|issn=0012-9976}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis|last=Thakore|first=Aloke|title=Reporting ethnic violence: context, text, and practice of journalism in an Indian city|date=2004|publisher=[[University of Wisconsin–Madison]]|url=https://www.academia.edu/627467}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sarkar|first=Sumit|date=1993|title=The Fascism of the Sangh Parivar|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=28|issue=5|pages=163–167|jstor=4399339|issn=0012-9976}}</ref> Manisha Basu, writing in ''The Rhetoric of Hindu India'', deems Dasgupta similarly and further notes of his consistent attacks upon left-liberal commentators—people who have supposedly leveraged their [[social privilege]] to dominate the socio-political consciousness of the "Anglophone national bourgeoisie" for long enough—in his process of becoming one of the few self-appointed interpreters of the Indian Right.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/rhetoric-of-hindu-india/23F550BAE62DCB5D3884F9345105AA57|title=The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu|last=Basu|first=Manisha|date=August 2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-14987-8|pages=39|language=en|chapter=Time's victims in a second republic|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref>
[[Meera Nanda]] finds Dasgupta among India's most prominent center-right public intellectuals.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=https://www.questia.com/read/125291531/the-god-market-how-globalization-is-making-india|title=The God Market: How Globalization is Making India More Hindu|last=Nanda|first=Meera|publisher=Monthly Review Press|year=2011|isbn=9781583672501|location=New York|pages=ix}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis|last=Basu|first=Manisha|title=Fathers of a Still-born Past: Hindu Empire, Globality, and the Rhetoric of the Trikaal|date=2008|publisher=[[University of Pittsburgh]]|url=http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/7604/}}</ref> Arvind Tajagopal found Dasgupta among the most vocal enthusiasts for the spread of Hindutva in English language press in the 80s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rajagopal |first=Arvind |url=https://www.questia.com/read/105171686/politics-after-television-religious-nationalism |title=Politics After Television: Hindu Nationalism and the Reshaping of the Public in India |date=2001-01-25 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521648394 |location=Cambridge, England |pages=170 |language=en}}</ref> Scholars have located parallels between his writings and the thought school of Hindu nationalist organisations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Datta|first1=Pradip|last2=Pati|first2=Biswamoy|last3=Sarkar|first3=Sumit|last4=Sarkar|first4=Tanika|last5=Sen|first5=Sambuddha|date=1990|title=Understanding Communal Violence: Nizamuddin Riots|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=25|issue=45|pages=2487–2495|jstor=4396965|issn=0012-9976}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis|last=Thakore|first=Aloke|title=Reporting ethnic violence: context, text, and practice of journalism in an Indian city|date=2004|publisher=[[University of Wisconsin–Madison]]|url=https://www.academia.edu/627467}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sarkar|first=Sumit|date=1993|title=The Fascism of the Sangh Parivar|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|volume=28|issue=5|pages=163–167|jstor=4399339|issn=0012-9976}}</ref>


Basu also notes him to be a vocal exponent of exploiting English as a tool in reaching out to the masses and substituting the appeal of prevalent ideologies of the so-called "socialist left-liberals" with that of [[hindutva]];<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/rhetoric-of-hindu-india/23F550BAE62DCB5D3884F9345105AA57|title=The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu|last=Basu|first=Manisha|date=August 2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-14987-8|pages=xi|language=en|chapter=Preface|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref> he was one of the most fierce critics of the pro-vernacular policies followed by the communist government of [[West Bengal]].<ref>{{Cite thesis|last=Kapoor|first=Richa|title=Understanding and Interpreting English as a School Discipline in Postcolonial India|date=2008|publisher=[[University of Minnesota]]}}</ref> Back in the early 2000s, Dasgupta had noted in his blog:<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/rhetoric-of-hindu-india/23F550BAE62DCB5D3884F9345105AA57|title=The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu|last=Basu|first=Manisha|date=August 2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-14987-8|pages=140–144|language=en|chapter=Between death and redemption|access-date=2019-08-03}}</ref>- {{cquote|The Right is an endangered community in India’s English-language media. I happen to be one of the few to have retained a precarious toe-hold in the mainstream media.}}
== Personal life ==
 
He is married to Reshmi Ray Dasgupta, Lifestyle Editor at [[The Economic Times]] and has a son, Soumya Srijan Dasgupta, who is a practicing lawyer in the [[Supreme Court of India]].<ref name=":2" /> They reside in New Delhi.<ref name=":2" />
Arvind Tajagopal notes Dasgupta to be one of the most vocal and enthusiast columnists for Hindutva, in English language press in the 80s.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.questia.com/read/105171686/politics-after-television-religious-nationalism|title=Politics After Television: Hindu Nationalism and the Reshaping of the Public in India|last=Rajagopal|first=Arvind|date=2001-01-25|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521648394|location=Cambridge, England|pages=170|language=en}}</ref>


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==


* {{Cite book|title=[[Awakening Bharat Mata|Awakening Bharat Mata: The Political Beliefs of the Indian Right]]|publisher= [[Penguin Random House]] |year=2019|isbn= 9788185990309|pages=440|place= India}}
* {{Cite book|title=[[Awakening Bharat Mata|Awakening Bharat Mata: The Political Beliefs of the Indian Right]]|publisher= [[Penguin Random House]] |year=2019|isbn= 9788185990309|pages=440|place= India}}
* {{Cite book|title= ''The Ayodhya Reference: The Supreme Court Judgement and Commentaries'' |publisher= South Asia Books |year=1995|isbn= 9780670091690|pages= 208|place= India}}
* {{Cite book|title=The Ayodhya Reference: The Supreme Court Judgement and Commentaries |publisher= South Asia Books |year=1995|isbn= 9780670091690|pages= 208|place= India}}
 
== See also ==
 
* [[Arun Shourie]]
* [[Rajiv Malhotra|Rajeev Malhotra]]
* [[Sanjeev Sanyal]]
* [[Bibek Debroy]]
* [[J. Sai Deepak|J Sai Deepak]]
* [[Vikram Sampath]]


== External links ==
== External links ==
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[[Category:Alumni of SOAS University of London]]
[[Category:Alumni of SOAS University of London]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from West Bengal]]
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[[Category:Indian male journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian journalists]]
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[[Category:Journalists from West Bengal]]
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[[Category:Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha]]
[[Category:Politicians from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni]]
[[Category:Writers about Hindu nationalism]]
[[Category:Writers from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Writers from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Politicians from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha]]

Latest revision as of 08:16, 18 March 2026


Swapan Dasgupta
Dasgupta in 2016
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
In office
1 June 2021 – 24 April 2022
ConstituencyNominated (Journalism)
In office
25 April 2016 – 16 March 2021
Succeeded byHimself
ConstituencyNominated (Journalism)
Personal details
Born (1955-10-03) 3 October 1955 (age 70)
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party (1990–present)
Spouse(s)Reshmi Ray Dasgupta
Children1 son
Alma materSt. Stephen's College, Delhi (BA)
SOAS University of London (MA, PhD)
Nuffield College, Oxford (Post-doctoral Fellow)
OccupationJournalist, Writer, Political analyst
AwardsPadma Bhushan (2015)

Swapan Dasgupta (born 3 October 1955) is an Indian journalist and politician.[1] He is influential within the Indian right-wing,[2][3][4] writing columns for leading English dailies espousing Hindu nationalism.[5] He was a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha. In 2015, Dasgupta was conferred with the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to literature and education.[6]

Early life and education[edit | edit source]

Dasgupta was born into a Bengali Baidya family on 3 October 1955 in Calcutta, West Bengal. He received his schooling from St. Paul's School and La Martiniere Calcutta before graduating from St. Stephen's College in 1975, and was awarded the prestigious Inlaks scholarship. He earned his MA and Ph.D. from the School of Oriental and African Studies and returned to India briefly in 1979 to take up a management position at Calcutta Chemical Company, a family.

However, within a year, Dasgupta returned to the United Kingdom as a Junior Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford, where he taught and researched South Asian Politics.[7][8] During this time, an excerpt from his thesis concerning the intersectionality of local politics in the Midnapur district was published in one of the Subaltern Studies volumes.[7]

Career[edit | edit source]

Dasgupta has served in editorial positions over several English dailies in India including The Indian Express, The Times of India, The Statesman, India Today et cetera.[7][9] He is a frequent guest on news channels in English-language debates on Indian politics and international affairs.[7]

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] He stepped down from Directorship of Larsen and Toubro upon being appointed to the Rajya Sabha.[11][12]

In 2019, he published Awakening Bharat Mata: The Political Beliefs of the Indian Right.[13]

He was conferred Honorary Visiting Professorship at Center for Media Studies (CMS) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in recognition to his excellent expertise on journalism and media.[14]

Dasgupta led the first edition of the Delhi University Literature Festival as its festival director alongside Sanjeev Sanyal as the festival patron in March 2023.[15]

Politics[edit | edit source]

Template:Conservatism in India Dasgupta started as a Trotskite during college but became a Thatcherite in England; since then, he has self-identified with centre-right politics. Dasgupta has been active in national politics since the early 90s as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); he believed in the potential of the Mandal Commission recommendations and the Ram Rath Yatra to forge a common Hindu identity.[16][7][17]

Mushirul Hasan, writing in 1997, held him the chief spokesperson of BJP in the English language press.[18] In the early 2000s, Dasgupta blogged:[19]

The Right is an endangered community in India's English-language media. I happen to be one of the few to have retained a precarious toe-hold in the mainstream media.

Throughout these years, Dasgupta emphasized the value of English in reaching out to the elites — who were allegedly mass-committed to the left-liberal cause — and winning them over towards Hindutva;[20] he was one of the most fierce critics of the pro-vernacular policies followed by the communist government of West Bengal.[21]

Legislation[edit | edit source]

In April 2016, the incumbent BJP government nominated Dasgupta to the Rajya Sabha as an eminent personality in literature; his term would have continued till 2022.[22] However, in 2021, Dasgupta resigned from Rajya Sabha to contest the Legislative Assembly election in West Bengal for BJP from Tarakeswar; he lost by over 7000 votes. A month later, Dasgupta was renominated to the Rajya Sabha for the remainder of his original term — opposition politicians and constitutional scholars questioned the legal soundness of the renomination.

Reception[edit | edit source]

Meera Nanda finds Dasgupta among India's most prominent center-right public intellectuals.[23][24] Arvind Tajagopal found Dasgupta among the most vocal enthusiasts for the spread of Hindutva in English language press in the 80s.[25] Scholars have located parallels between his writings and the thought school of Hindu nationalist organisations.[26][27][28]

Personal life[edit | edit source]

He is married to Reshmi Ray Dasgupta, Lifestyle Editor at The Economic Times and has a son, Soumya Srijan Dasgupta, who is a practicing lawyer in the Supreme Court of India.[8] They reside in New Delhi.[8]

Bibliography[edit | edit source]

  • Awakening Bharat Mata: The Political Beliefs of the Indian Right. India: Penguin Random House. 2019. p. 440. ISBN 9788185990309.
  • The Ayodhya Reference: The Supreme Court Judgement and Commentaries. India: South Asia Books. 1995. p. 208. ISBN 9780670091690.

See also[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "Subramanian Swamy, Sidhu, Suresh Gopi, Swapan Dasgupta nominated for Rajya Sabha". The Indian Express. 23 April 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  2. ↑ Ayres, Alyssa (2018). Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World. Oxford University Press. p. 28. ISBN 9780190494520.
  3. ↑ Basu, Manisha (August 2016). The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu. Cambridge University Press. pp. 67–68, 139. ISBN 978-1-107-14987-8. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  4. ↑ Joseph, Tony. "The real reason Indian intellectuals are backing Narendra Modi". Quartz. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  5. ↑ Basu, Manisha (August 2016). "Introductory Matters". The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu. Cambridge University Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-107-14987-8. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  6. ↑ "Press Information Bureau". pib.nic.in. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Basu, Manisha (August 2016). "Between death and redemption". The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu. Cambridge University Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-1-107-14987-8. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Soni, Aayush (6 June 2014). "Swapan Dasgupta: The Face to Ring in Modi's New India". OZY. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  9. ↑ Murari, S. (13 June 2012). The Prabhakaran Saga: The Rise and Fall of an Eelam Warrior. SAGE Publications India. p. 72. ISBN 9788132109914.
  10. ↑ "Business Standard". Business Standard India. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  11. ↑ "Swapan Dasgupta is not untouchable for me". Rediff. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  12. ↑ Saikia, Arunabh (10 July 2015). "Hartosh Bal Versus Swapan Dasgupta. And Others Caught in the Crossfire". Newslaundry. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  13. ↑ Pushkarna, Vijaya (10 June 2019). "Understanding the Indian right". The Week. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  14. ↑ "CMS Faculty".
  15. ↑ "It's raining lit fests at Delhi University". The Indian Express. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  16. ↑ Rajagopal, Arvind (25 January 2001). Politics After Television: Hindu Nationalism and the Reshaping of the Public in India. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp. 343, 194. ISBN 9780521648394.
  17. ↑ Ludden, David (April 1996). Contesting the Nation: Religion, Community, and the Politics of Democracy in India. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 9780812215854.
  18. ↑ Hasan, Mushirul (1997). Legacy of a Divided Nation: India's Muslims since Independence. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. p. 303. doi:10.4324/9780429039690. ISBN 9780429701207. OCLC 1110150477. S2CID 242620789.
  19. ↑ Basu, Manisha (August 2016). "Between death and redemption". The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu. Cambridge University Press. pp. 140–144. ISBN 978-1-107-14987-8. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  20. ↑ Basu, Manisha (August 2016). "Preface". The Rhetoric of Hindu India by Manisha Basu. Cambridge University Press. pp. xi. ISBN 978-1-107-14987-8. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  21. ↑ Kapoor, Richa (2008). Understanding and Interpreting English as a School Discipline in Postcolonial India (Thesis). University of Minnesota.
  22. ↑ "Official: Swamy, Sidhu, Swapan Dasgupta and Mary Kom nominated to Rajya Sabha by PMO - Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". dnaindia.com. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  23. ↑ Nanda, Meera (2011). The God Market: How Globalization is Making India More Hindu. New York: Monthly Review Press. pp. ix. ISBN 9781583672501.
  24. ↑ Basu, Manisha (2008). Fathers of a Still-born Past: Hindu Empire, Globality, and the Rhetoric of the Trikaal (Thesis). University of Pittsburgh.
  25. ↑ Rajagopal, Arvind (25 January 2001). Politics After Television: Hindu Nationalism and the Reshaping of the Public in India. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 170. ISBN 9780521648394.
  26. ↑ Datta, Pradip; Pati, Biswamoy; Sarkar, Sumit; Sarkar, Tanika; Sen, Sambuddha (1990). "Understanding Communal Violence: Nizamuddin Riots". Economic and Political Weekly. 25 (45): 2487–2495. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 4396965.
  27. ↑ Thakore, Aloke (2004). Reporting ethnic violence: context, text, and practice of journalism in an Indian city (Thesis). University of Wisconsin–Madison.
  28. ↑ Sarkar, Sumit (1993). "The Fascism of the Sangh Parivar". Economic and Political Weekly. 28 (5): 163–167. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 4399339.
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