17 Facts About Swapan Dasgupta

Swapan Dasgupta was born on 3 October 1955 and is an Indian journalist and politician.

Swapan Dasgupta is influential within the Indian right wing, writing columns for leading English dailies espousing Indian nationalism.

Swapan Dasgupta is a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha.

In 2015, Dasgupta was conferred with the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to literature and education.

Swapan Dasgupta was born into a Bengali Baidya family on 3 October 1955 in Calcutta, West Bengal.

Swapan Dasgupta received his schooling from St Paul's School and La Martiniere Calcutta before graduating from St Stephen's College in 1975.

However, within a year, Swapan Dasgupta returned to the United Kingdom as a Junior Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford, where he taught and researched South Asian Politics.

Swapan Dasgupta has served in editorial positions over several English dailies in India including The Indian Express, The Times of India, The Statesman, India Today et cetera.

Swapan Dasgupta is a frequent guest on news channels in English-language debates on Indian politics and international affairs.

In February 2015, Swapan Dasgupta was appointed on the Board of Directors of Larsen and Toubro as a nominee of the Unit Trust of India.

Swapan Dasgupta stepped down from Directorship of Larsen and Toubro upon being appointed to the Rajya Sabha.

Swapan Dasgupta was conferred Honorary Visiting Professorship at Center for Media Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in recognition to his excellent expertise on journalism and media.

Swapan Dasgupta led the first edition of the Delhi University Literature Festival as its festival director alongside Sanjeev Sanyal as the festival patron in March 2023.

Swapan Dasgupta started as a Trotskite during college but became a Thatcherite in England; since then, he has self-identified with centre-right politics.

Swapan Dasgupta has been active in national politics since the early 90s as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party ; he believed in the potential of the Mandal Commission recommendations and the Ram Rath Yatra to forge a common Hindu identity.

However, in 2021, Swapan Dasgupta resigned from Rajya Sabha to contest the Legislative Assembly election in West Bengal for BJP from Tarakeswar; he lost by over 7000 votes.

Swapan Dasgupta is married to Reshmi Ray Dasgupta, Lifestyle Editor at The Economic Times and has a son who is a practicing lawyer in the Supreme Court of India.