Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya

Late Professor Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya was an outstanding student of Indian philosophy in our times who was a self-proclaimed Marxist, itself unique. Until his death in 1993, he taught at the City College, Calcutta and published a large number of books in English and Bengali on a range of themes which opened up new vistas in the history, philosophy and social movements before scholars and the lay readers alike. Like a true Marxist, he looked upon creation of knowledge as a weapon of struggle for a better life for the masses.

Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya had earned his Doctorate from Calcutta University and had been conferred an Honorary D.Sc. by Moscow University. In his time, he was elected Member of the Academy of Sciences, (erstwhile) German Democratic Republic, Berlin, and National Fellow of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research for 1987-88. As Guest Scientist at the National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies, a CSIR constituent, he published the monumental History of Science and Technology in Ancient India. His Science and Society in Ancient India earned him praise from Professor Joseph Needham and was lauded in a review in Nature. His other prestigious books include Lokayata, Indian Atheism, What is Living and What is Dead in Indian Philosophy, Religion and Society, etc.