Bibek Debroy Passes Away: From Kalibanga to Coffee Break, an unforgettable journey with Bibek Debroy

Author- Sanjay Sanyal: On the morning of November 1, I lost a friend, mentor, and colleague, Bibek Debroy. he/she was a man whose deep scholarship ranged from economics and Sanskrit literature to the history of Indian-made fountain pens. he/she wrote and lectured on these diverse subjects and his/her readers benefited from them over the years. he/she will be deeply missed by his/her colleagues on the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), his/her friends and admirers around the world and his/her family. It is a personal loss for me. Almost every morning, after the first official meeting of the day, between about 11 and 11:15, I would walk down the corridor to Bibek da’s office. Sometimes he/she would also come to my room. After this we both would order a cup of coffee each, his/her would be Spartan Black, and mine would be strong and sweet. In the next 20 minutes of conversation, we will be discussing latest developments in international politics, economic reforms, macro-stability, age-old laws and procedures, ancient history, age of Vedic texts, upcoming EAC-PM reports and Finance Ministry office gossip of the 1990s. Used to discuss topics.

Bibek da remembered everything

It was amazing how detailed he/she could remember certain things. For example, if I was working on a particular process improvement they would know the exact subsection of the old regulation that I needed to study. Sometimes he/she would tell me the exact date of a Planning Commission meeting 30 years ago or refer to a state government report published in the 1980s. And all the while asking me to write with my latest fountain pen or suggesting rewording of an article we were writing.

These coffee breaks would often end abruptly when a member of our team would come and tell us that the guests had already arrived for the next meeting. Of course, we met often in formal meetings and social events, but what I will remember most are these informal 20-minute coffee meetings.

Bibek da and I had many things in common

We were both proud Bengalis from families affected by Partition, with a strong desire to see India as a global economic power, a distaste for red tape and inefficiencies caused by archaic laws, we were both macroeconomic conservatives, Indian history And passionate about the intricacies of Hindu philosophy. We used to visit old temples and archaeological sites together (our visit to the Harappan site Kalibanga in 2022 resulted in an episode about the Saraswati River in his/her Sansad TV show).

The year 2024 was very difficult for Bibek da. he/she had to be admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences again and again. But this never weakened his/her spirit. Even while connected to various tubes and monitors in the ICU, he/she kept sending comments on my articles, papers and interviews through WhatsApp. In fact, in September he/she participated online from his/her hospital bed in interviews conducted to recruit young professionals to the EAC-PM team.

In the last few weeks, few of us were aware of his/her delicate health condition. But we were holding out hope, because he/she had resumed sending instructions with his/her witty comments, he/she was giving instructions to his/her Arthashastra team, and was also planning to translate the next Purana. Bibek Debroy was given a I will be remembered as an economist who greatly influenced policy thinking at a critical juncture in India’s history, as a translator of arguably the greatest ancient Sanskrit texts, and as a mentor to policy makers of my generation. Bibek da, you will be missed very much!

(Sanjay Sanyal is a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council)