Apply Now

Debraj Bhattacharya

Areas of Interest & Expertise

  • Rural Development and Panchayati Raj in India
  • West Bengal
  • Marx and Marxism
  • Modernity and its critiques

Biography

Debraj is an alumnus of Presidency College, Calcutta and Calcutta University where he studied History for his BA and MA degrees. 

He has worked in various NGOs in the development sector of India for the last two decades and learnt about ​“development”, or the lack of it, while working. 

Debraj’s research, broadly speaking, falls in two disciplines – History and Development Studies. He has worked on themes such as local democracy in India, West Bengal, migration, modernity in South Asia, colonial Calcutta, 19th century perceptions of Karl Marx, etc. 

His latest published work is an edited book, ​‘Theory, Policy, Practice’ published in 2021 by Routledge. https://​www​.rout​ledge​.com/​T​h​e​o​r​y​-​P​o​l​i​c​y​-​P​r​a​c​t​i​c​e​-​D​e​v​e​l​o​p​m​e​n​t​-​a​n​d​-​D​i​s​c​o​n​t​e​n​t​s​-​i​n​-​I​n​d​i​a​/​N​a​t​h​-​B​h​a​t​t​a​c​h​a​r​y​a​/​p​/​b​o​o​k​/​9​7​8​0​3​6​7​6​34544

He is at present working on an oral history of the Self-Help Group movement in West Bengal. 

Certificate Courses

Publications

Books

  • Nath, S, Bhattacharya, D (Eds.) (2021) Theory, Policy, Practice: Development and Discontents in India, London: Routledge

  • Bhattacharya, D. (Ed.), (2018) Karl Marx: Nineteenth Century Memories and Reflections, Kolkata: Parchment

  • Debraj Bhattacharya, (2016) Exploring Marxist Bengal: History, Memory and Irony, & Co. Kolkata: KP Bagchi

  • Bhattacharya, D (Ed.) (2008) Of Matters Modern: The Experience of Modernity in Colonial and Postcolonial South Asia. London: Seagull Books

Journal Articles

  • Bhattacharya, D (2021). The Many Faces of Parivartan: West Bengal under Mamata Banerjee, Economic and Political Weekly, 56(17). https://​www​.epw​.in/​j​o​u​r​n​a​l​/​2​0​21/17

  • Mitra, M, Bhattacharya, D, Ghosh B, (2014). Innovation in Local Governance: a case study of Durgapur Gram Panchayat’s efforts at eradicating poverty, in Decision, 41 (2). 229 – 238.

  • Bhattacharya, D (2013). Memories of Marxism in a Postcolonial Province – Calcutta c. 1971 – 1992, Purbadarshan: A Journal of Asian Studies.

  • Bhattacharya, D (2013). Centralised Decentralisation: Left Front and Panchayati Raj in West Bengal (1978 – 2013), Dialogue, 15,(2).

  • Bhattacharya, D (2004). Kolkata Underworld in the Early Twentieth Century, Economic and Political Weekly, XXXIX(38), 4276 — 4282

Chapters in Edited Books

  • Chaudhuri, D, Bhattacharya, D, Ghosh, B (2017), Food Security and Gram Panchayats. In Anjan Chakrabarti (ed.) Interrogating Development, Kolkata: Setu

  • Bhattacharya, D, (2008), Three Narratives on Modernity in a Colonial Metropolis – Calcutta during Early Twentieth Century. In Bhattacharya, D (Ed.) Of Matters Modern: The Experience of Modernity in Colonial and Postcolonial South Asia, London: Seagull Books

Technical Reports

  • Bhattacharya, D, (2021) Janamanas Community Mental Health Programme: An Evaluation. Report submitted to Anjali.

  • Roy, MN, Ghosh, D, Bhattacharya, D, Banerjee, S, Dutta, P, Sen, M (2020) Gram Panchayat Development Plans in Maharashtra: An Analysis. Report submitted to UNICEF Maharashtra.

  • Roy, MN, Ghosh, D, Bhattacharya, D, Choudhary, G, Ahamad, I, (2019) Developing Gram Panchayats in a Backward District: A study of Gaya, Bihar. Report submitted to UNICEF, Bihar.

  • Roy, MN, Ghosh, D, Bhattacharya, D, Banerjee, S, Dutta, P (2019) Time and Work Study in Gram Panchayats of West Bengal. Report submitted to NIRDPR, Government of India.

  • Roy, M, Ghosh, D, Pal, DK, Bhattacharya, D, Dutta, P, (2017) A Roadmap for Panchayati Raj in Bihar. Report submitted to UNICEF Bihar.

  • Roy, MN, Ghosh D, Bhattacharya, D, (2017) Situational Analysis of Gram Panchayat Development Plans in Rajashtan. Report submitted to UNICEF India 

  • Roy, MN, Ghosh, D, Bhattacharya, D (2017) Situational Analysis of Gram Panchayat Development Plans in Madhya Pradesh. Report submitted to UNICEF India.

  • Roy, MN, Ghosh, D, Bhattacharya, D (2017) Situational Analysis of Gram Panchayat Development Plans in Maharashtra. Report submitted to UNICEF India.

  • Roy, MN, Ghosh, D, Bhattacharya, D, Dutta, P (2017) Situational Analysis of Gram Panchayat Development Plans in Bihar. Report for UNICEF India.

  • Roy, MN, Ghosh, D, Bhattacharya, D, Dutta, P (2016) Power to the People: Case Studies on Decentralised Planning in West Bengal. Report submitted to NIRD & PR, Government of India.

  • Roy, MN, Ghosh, D, Chattopadhyay, R, Mukherjee, K, Mukherjee, N, Sen M, Bhattacharya, D (2016) Jute Mill Workers of West Bengal: A Situational Analysis towards enhancing their well-being. Report Submitted to Jute Board of India.

  • Ghosh, B, Khasnabis, R, Mitra, M, Bhattacharya, D, Chaudhuri, DK, (2014) Revenue Mobilization by Gram Panchayats in West Bengal. Report Submitted to ISGP Project of World Bank.

  • Ghosh, A, Mitra, M, Chaudhuri, DK, Bhattachaya, D (2013) Children of Migrant Poor in Kolkata: A Study in Human Development Perspectives. Report Submitted to UNICEF, West Bengal.

  • Ghosh, B, Chaudhuri, DK, Mitra, M, Bhattacharya, D (2013) Case Studies on Best Practices in Panchayati Raj. Report submitted to Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India.

  • Narayan, S, Bhattacharya, D, (2012) Why I Left my Village: Migration from rural Bihar, India. Report submitted to the European Union Delegation to India.

  • Ghosh, B, Bhattacharya, D, Mitra, M (2012) A Study on Decentralisation in Selected States. Report submitted to UNDP India. 

  • Ghosh,B, Bhattacharya, D, Mitra, M (2010) Political Economy of Panchayats in West Bengal. Report submitted to the World Bank.

  • Ghosh, D, Datta, P, Bhattacharyya, A, Sinha, D, Bhattacharya, D (2008) The Backward Villages of West Bengal: An Exploratory Study. Report submitted to Government of West Bengal. 

Online Articles