Sujit Chattopadhyay
A retired teacher whose Sadai Fakirer Pathshala coaches poor students for Rs 2 a year, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
Sujit Chattopadhyay, also known as Sujit Chatterjee, is a retired schoolteacher from Purba Bardhaman district who runs a free coaching centre, the Sadai Fakirer Pathshala. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2021 in the field of literature and education, from West Bengal [1].
Teacher
Chattopadhyay was born on 3 April 1944 [2]. He took his BA from the University of Burdwan in 1965, and later an MA there and a teaching degree from the University of North Bengal in 1970 [2]. He joined Ramnagar High School as an assistant teacher in 1965 and retired as teacher-in-charge in 2004 [2].
Two rupees a year
After retiring he started the Sadai Fakirer Pathshala, a study centre for students at secondary, higher secondary and degree level [2]. More than 300 students from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and backward class families below the poverty line in the Jungle Mahal area attend; about four in five are girls [2]. His only fee is Rs 2 a year, as guru dakshina [2].
His students also take on social work. For six years they have held an annual programme for people with thalassaemia, and in February 2021 gave Rs 5,000 each to ten patients and their families [2]. During the Covid-19 lockdown they took relief supplies to 250 families [2].
He received a lifetime achievement award from The Telegraph in 2019, and ABP Ananda named him one of its people of the year for 2020 [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2021: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 24 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2021: citation for Sujit Chattopadhyay — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 24 October 2026.
Last updated . First draft prepared with AI assistance; reviewed and fact-checked by a person before publishing. Report a correction