Bibek Debroy gave a special interview to India TV.
New Delhi: Bibek Debroy, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), passed away on Friday morning. His age was 69 years. Giving information about this, a senior official of EAC-PM said that he was admitted in AIIMS. Debroy was educated at Ramakrishna Mission School, Narendrapur, Presidency College, Kolkata, Delhi School of Economics and Trinity College, Cambridge. A few years ago, in a special conversation with India TV, he had given a big statement regarding ‘intolerance’. Let us tell you that around 2015, the issue of ‘intolerance’ was very much in the news in the country.
What did Debroy say on intolerance?
In an interview to India TV, Debroy, then a member of NITI Aayog, had said that intolerance has always existed in academic circles in India and it has been promoted by leftist groups protected by the government. He had then said, ‘As far as intolerance is concerned in the academic world, it has always existed, except where it has been practiced by a certain section of the Left, which has traditionally flourished under government patronage. Now that class is unhappy because its monopoly on that patronage is being challenged.
Gave example of ‘Heart of India’
Taking his point further, Debroy had said, ‘No book has been banned since this government (Modi government) came to power in May 2014. Most of the book bans were actually imposed during the Congress governments. One such special book is ‘Heart of India’ by Alexander Campbell, published in 1958. There was no lewdness or obscenity in it. The only reason it was banned was that it criticized Jawaharlal Nehru and his socialism.
Debroy was also the director of UNDP project.
Debroy then said in the interview that there is no factual evidence, and no evidence, to prove that intolerance, however defined, has increased since May 2014. Let us tell you that Debroy had served in Presidency College, Kolkata, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi and was also the director of the Finance Ministry/UNDP project on legal reforms. Debroy, a former member of NITI Aayog, had written/edited several books, research papers and popular articles and was also a consultant/contributing editor to several newspapers.
Watch Bibek Debroy’s full interview here
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