Shillong, Sept 27: Former Rajya Sabha member, academician and philanthropist Dr Bidhu Bhusan Dutta, passed away on Monday at a private hospital here.
Having his early education at Karimganj, then a subdivision of Cachar district of Assam, Dr Dutta, born in 1937, joined St. Edmund’s College, Shillong and graduated with honours in Economics. Among some of his illustrious classmates while studying at St Edmund’s college was Hiteshwar Saikia, former chief minister of Assam with whom he almost had a familial bonding. After completing his Masters in Economics, he joined St. Anthony’s College as a lecturer in Economics after a brief stint at the office of the then Accountant General of Assam.,
Dutta’s initiation in politics was in APHLC and he was the Assistant General Secretary of the party. He was actively involved in the movement preceding the formation of Meghalaya.
Eventually, he joined Congress (i) and became the General Secretary of the Meghalaya Pradesh Congress Committee. In later years, he rose to become the General Secretary of the North East India Congress Coordination Committee and had the privilege of working closely with many political stalwarts of the region that includes Capt Williamson A Sangma, SC Jamir, Hokishe Sema, Purno A. Sangma and PR Kyndiah among others.
He was also an active leader in the struggle for independent Bangladesh.
Though in eighty’s, he became deeply involved in politics, he continued with his teaching assignments at St. Anthony’s College, Shillong and even earned his doctoral degree from Gauhati University under the supervision of Professor K. Alam. His initiative on banking in Meghalaya is one of the first of its kind of works in the state. Dr Dutta has also been co author of a number of books some of which standout as pioneering works in the relevant field.
In early ninety, he decided to call it a day to his teaching assignment at St. Anthony’s College, Shillong. In 1993, he was nominated Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha as a distinguished academic.
Among many of the institutes that benefited from his support and guidance are Shillong Academy, Women’s College Higher Secondary School and Women’s College, Shillong.
Apart from academic institutions, he was associated and took lead role in many of social and philanthropic institutions in Meghalaya and beyond. One of his pioneering contributions was establishment of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Indian Culture, Shillong which stands out as a unique institution emphasising on the multitude of the culture that represents India. Asian Confluence, of which he was the founding Chairperson, is another institution founded by him.
