Swapan Chakravorty, a much loved former professor of English at Jadavpur University, died on Saturday evening after battling Covid-related complications for several weeks. He was 67.
Chakravorty is survived by his wife and son.
Doctors said he had tested negative for Covid but complications that followed triggered a multi-organ failure.
A former student of the erstwhile Presidency College, Chakravorty joined the department of English at JU in 1985.
He became the director-general at the National Library in 2008 and was instrumental in the creation of a directory of electronic resources.
After his alma mater was converted into a university in 2010, Chakravorty had been anointed one of the mentors of the fledgling Presidency University in June 2011.
In 2014, after he retired from JU, Presidency brought back its old boy as the Rabindranath Tagore Distinguished Chair Professor in Literature and Cultural Studies.
He retired from Presidency in 2019. Early last year, he joined as chairman of the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta.
Supriya Chaudhuri, JU emeritus professor and Chakravorty’s former colleague at the English department, said: “His death is an irreparable loss.”
JU vice-chancellor Suranjan Das said: “Our association dated back to 1972. Swapan’s most striking feature was that he could combine a great level of intellectual expertise and great personal concern for his friends and acquaintances.”
“After I took the extension at JU in July, he texted me saying that I should take care of my health, considering the trying circumstances prevalent at the university,” Das said.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in her condolence message: “The world of academia suffered an irreparable loss following his death.”