Shaibal Gupta

Shaibal Gupta was the founder of the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI) in Patna, a leading centre for social science research. He was named for the Padma Shri posthumously in 2022 in the field of literature and education, from Bihar ^[1].

A life spent on Bihar

Gupta was born on 21 June 1953 into a Bengali family in Bihar ^[2]. His central interest was why Bihar had lagged in development, and for four decades he worked to understand it and to build a culture of research in the state despite difficult conditions ^[2].

Building a research centre

He was among the first to argue that Bihar needed a strong research institution to develop, and he built ADRI into one ^[2]. He drew in international partners, including the London School of Economics, the University of Oxford, the International Growth Centre and Tokyo’s Institute of Developing Economies, for joint studies of Bihar ^[2]. His own work, which combined economics, history, sociology, anthropology and politics, appeared in academic journals, reports and newspapers, on development, social justice and the knowledge society ^[2].

He played a key part in getting the Bihar government to publish an annual economic survey, and in memoranda from political parties and professional bodies to the Finance Commission ^[2]. He also worked as a literacy activist in Bihar and Jharkhand for decades ^[2].

He died on 28 January 2021 ^[2].