Barun Dasgupta

[July 24, 1935–October 31, 2021]

Nityananda Ghosh

Barun dasgupta, working as a journalist for the last six decades, having no formal education died on 31st October, 2021 in a private hospital at Saltlake in Calcutta. Barunda, as he popularly known in the journalist circle, was a living encyclopedia and a known face in the left political arena. Born and brought up in a Gandhiite family at Sodepur Khadi Ashram, he was attracted to Marxism and he became a close associate of Pannalal Dasgupta, a revolutionary turned reformist, in his youth. His parents (father Kshitish Dasgupta and mother Sunitibala Dasgupta) were freedom fighters and his uncle (elder brother of Kshitish) Satish Dasgupta was known as Bangler Gandhi (Gandhi of Bengal). Mahatma Gandhi was very much dependent on Dasgupta family during his entourage to undivided Bengal in the period of pre-Independence mass struggle in India. Most of the Congress stalwarts like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Sharat Chandra Bose, Seemanta Gandhi (Khan Abdul Gaffar), Pandit Jawharlal Nehru, Kasturba Gandhi, Aruna Asaf Ali, to name a few used to take shelter at Sodepur Ashram and stayed there to chalk out anti-British programme. Important meeting of the National Congress also being held at Sodepur Ashram in presence of Gandhiji. In this political ambience Barunda’s childhood blooming was accomplished.

Barunda never went to school for his formal education as his uncle Satish Dasgupta abided by Gandhian principle not to send students in the Government run schools or even non -government schools. The reason behind it was, the schools follow the syllabus which was written in praise of British Government. Everything he learnt from his parent (both mother and father) and Sitakanta Jha, a teacher of Ashram also took the cudgel to teach him different subjects who was known as Masterji. Later on he was taught by medical teachers of RG Kar Medical College in the Ashram which was arranged by his uncle Satish Dasgupta. He read Grays Anatomy, books on pathology, medicines etc. and in the practical class he learnt pathological tests including blood, urine etc. He learnt medical sciences for seven years.

Later on he worked at his uncle’s office and assisted him in official works as well as he arranged thousand of books in the library of the Ashram in a scientific manner. During this period he got acquainted with Marx’s books and gradually attracted with Marxism and later became a close associate of Pannalal Dasgupta who was Revolutionary Communist Party of India’s important leader. Barunda also helped Payrralalji who was a Gandhi biographer in the year 1961. Later on he joined ‘Compass’ magazine run by Pannalal Dasgupta and also acquainted with Nikhil Chakraborty in Delhi who was the editor of ‘Mainstream’ and joined the magazine as associate editor. Once he was deputed as a North East correspondent of ‘Mainstream’ by Nikhil Chakraborty and worked in the ‘Patriot’ and “Link’ as a stringer. For the last six decades he worked with many National as well as regional journals. Once he worked as a bureau-chief of ‘The Hindu’ newspaper of North-east. He also worked in the ‘Indian Express’, ‘Indian Press Agency’, ‘Ahomia Pratidin’, ‘Aajkal’ of Bengal, ‘Frontier’ Weekly, ‘Darpane Muktamon’, ‘Saptaha’, ‘Janaswartha Barta’ and other little magazines. Barunda was married with Ruchira Shyam, once his colleague in the Aajkal Newspaper and she died few years ago. Once he joined RCPI and latter resigned in 2000.

In the year 1971 he reported Bangladesh War as a ‘Patriot’ correspondent. Since 1968 he was deputed as a reporter in Guahati. Once he visited Russia and Bulgaria to take stock of the Russian Revolution. He always spearheaded his pen against fascism. A diehard communist and a fully committed journalist had penchant towards social change and he did everything on that ideological line until his last breath.

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Frontier
Vol. 54, No. 23, Dec 5 - 11, 2021