Economist and Chairman of Prime Minister Modi’s Economic Advisory Council, Dr. Bibek Debroy died on Friday. He was 69 years old. In a statement issued by AIIMS Delhi, it was said that he had an intestinal disease (intestinal infection). He breathed his last at around 7 am. Padma Shri awardee Debroy has been a member of the NITI Aayog. He had written an easy translation of all the Puranas in English for the new generation. Dr. Debroy’s early education was at the Ramakrishna Mission School in Narendrapur, Kolkata. After this, he completed his higher education from Presidency College, Kolkata, Delhi School of Economics and Trinity College, Cambridge. PM wrote on X – Debroy left an indelible mark on India’s intellectual landscape Prime Minister Modi posted on social media and wrote – Dr. Bibek Debroy ji was a brilliant scholar. He was well versed in economics, history, culture, politics, spirituality and other diverse fields. Through his works, he left an indelible mark on India’s intellectual landscape. Apart from his contribution to public policy, he also enjoyed working on our ancient texts and making them accessible to the youth. Jairam Ramesh said – Debroy had special skills
Jairam Ramesh said that Bibek Debroy was an excellent economist. He worked on various aspects of the Indian economy. He had special skills, due to which people could easily understand difficult economic issues from his articles and books. Jairam Ramesh wrote that Debroy will be remembered as a true knower of Sanskrit. His translations include 10 volumes of Mahabharata, 3 volumes of Ramayana and 3 volumes of Bhagavata Purana. He also translated Bhagavadgita and Harivansh. Jairam Ramesh said, ‘I knew Bibek Debroy for almost four decades. We used to talk on all kinds of topics. Recently, I sent him two books, which I knew he would like. He will always be remembered.’ Debroy’s academic career started in 1979 There was a controversy over an article by Bibek Debroy Bibek Debroy wrote an article on changing the Constitution on 14 August 2023 in the news website The Mint. On this, JDU had said that Debroy had written this article at the behest of RSS. Debroy had written in his article that our current Constitution is largely based on the Government of India Act of 1935. In 2002, a commission formed to review the functioning of the Constitution submitted a report, but it was a half-hearted effort. We should start from the first principles, as was done in the Constituent Assembly debate. Debroy further wrote in the article – What Constitution does India need for the year 2047? Some amendments in the Constitution will not work. Now we should go back to the drawing board and start from the first principles. It should be discussed what words like socialist, secular, democratic, justice, freedom and equality in the Preamble of the Constitution mean now. We have to give ourselves, the people, a new constitution.
