Debi Prasad (D.P.) Chattopadhyaya, eminent scholar and philosopher, passed away on February 13. He was unsung and unrecognised for his scholarship and wisdom.
He had withdrawn from active political and academic pursuits for several years with somewhat failing health. He was, by conscious choice, an understated man. Public memory is regrettably short and nostalgia only lingers in those who were fortunate enough to experience his wit, warmth and wisdom.
Those who knew him well would unhesitatingly say that few men would fit Plato’s description of the philosopher king better: “There will be no end to the troubles of States, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world….”
We knew him as deputy minister for health, and later as commerce minister from 1973 to 1977. He was founder-chairman of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research and chairman of the Centre for Studies in Civilisations, to which he made seminal contributions.
He was also chairman of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, and chairman of the Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation in Kolkata.
By the time he had become commerce minister, he had already written several books, including Individuals and Societies: A Methodological Inquiry (1967) and History, Individuals and World (1976). But his most coveted publication was Sri Aurobindo and Karl Marx (1988).
His books Anthropology and Historiography of Science (1992) and Societies, Cultures and Ideologies (2001) are scholarly works on subjects that have contemporary relevance.
I had the privilege of working with him closely as his special assistant in the commerce ministry from February 1973 till he demitted office in 1977. For some years during this period, I shared this responsibility with Dipak Rudra, an exceedingly talented IAS officer from the West Bengal cadre with a keen interest in art and culture.
I had earlier worked as OSD to L.N. Mishra who, on elevation, became railway minister and Chattopadhyaya, whom I did not know earlier, was generous enough to appoint me as his special assistant.
At the time of his appointment, he looked a young and demure professor with enormous intellectual and administrative capabilities.
I recall that at the welcome dinner, when my wife jokingly enquired who was the new minister, I pointed to Chattopadhyaya and she said, “Oh really? He looks more like a joint secretary than a minister!”
I have recounted some of these incidents in my autobiography, Portraits of Power, in some detail.
During the period I was Chattopadhyaya’s special assistant, India was enamoured with preconceived ideas about enhancing trade controls and regulations. The challenges he encountered included the first oil crisis of 1973, increased cartelisation by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the fourth FYP (1969-1974), which renewed the emphasis on export promotion.
His period synchronised with the fourth five-year plan. He devoted himself to an export promotion strategy coinciding with the oil crisis and the US decision to move away from the gold standard.
I had accompanied Chattopadhyaya on a visit to Iran for an economic arrangement to accept oil payments substantially through commodities rather than scarce foreign exchange. Given the generosity of the Shah of Iran, a memorandum of understanding was signed between India and Iran for investing in the establishment of a fertiliser plant in Odisha, the development of the Rajasthan Canal Command area and the supply of crude oil on deferred and special payment terms.
Soon thereafter, Iran became the biggest crude oil supplier to India with 120 million barrels a year. Chattopadhyaya was integral to our multifaceted efforts in securing assured access to oil and deferred payment arrangements central to the country’s oil management strategy.
Learning from the Iran experience, Chattopadhyaya felt that if the oil countries could hold the world to ransom, what about the collective power of the iron-ore exporting countries? In this endeavour, he sought to set up an international consortium of iron-ore exporting countries that would enable iron-ore producers to extract better value for their products from steel producers.
However, substitute materials and the compact between importers of iron ore in Japan, the US and elsewhere stymied this initiative.
I accompanied Chattopadhyaya for the launch of the Tokyo Round of the Multilateral Trade Negotiations in September 1973. Our focus during the negotiations was on securing and ensuring high bound rates of tariff on most products where domestic producers would feel threatened by cheaper imports.
Our endeavours also extended to improving access to the Multi Fibre Agreement with respect to textiles and garments. We were reasonably successful in giving away little while securing continued protection for the domestic industry.
Little did we realise that in the long run, an excessively protectionist policy would not enable the Indian economy to become competitive and improve productivity.
Last but not least, he was a central figure in retrieving Bengal from the vicious circle of extremism, violence and economic irrationality.
Above all, he was a man deeply devoted not only to his immediate family but to those who were fortunate enough to experience his innate warmth, abiding affection and concern for their families whom he viewed, in more ways than one, as his own extended family.
He was a sensitive person who, while recognising your failings, was equally forgiving of them. For a philosopher of his calibre, his decisions and orders on files and government transactions had the hallmark of precision and clarity. The preachings of a philosopher king outlive his mortal presence. He was a noble soul.
N.K. Singh is chairman, Fifteenth Finance Commission, and president, Institute of Economic Growth