It is with extreme sadness that we announce the passing of Prof. Jyotirindra (“Jyoti”) DasGupta, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at UC Berkeley, at the age of 88 on March 17, 2022.
Professor DasGupta spent 61 years of his life in Berkeley; he loved both the university and the town. He first came to Berkeley from Kolkata, India as a doctoral student in August of 1961. He completed his PhD in 1966, joined the faculty in 1965, and taught in the department until his retirement as a full Professor of Political Science in 1995. His accomplishments were many, among them establishing and chairing the Development Studies program, his groundbreaking work on language politics and ethnicity in South Asia, and his work with the Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies (now the Institute for South Asia Studies), which he also chaired for a short time. He served in the Faculty Group in Asian Studies and on the board of the journal Asian Survey for many years as well. As Professor Emeritus, he kept up in his field, published regularly, and advised graduate students for decades after his official retirement. A fixture at the old Barrows Hall, he spent nearly 60 years of his life walking the halls of that building and kept an office there until just a few years ago. His most recent works focused on issues of federalism and elections in India.
Our heartfelt condolences go out to his wife of 57 years, Rupasree, daughter Modhurima (Rima), son-in-law Jonathan Eldridge, and his beloved granddaughter, Mira.
If you'd like to drop a condolence note to his family, please write to Rima DasGupta at rimadasgupta415 at gmail.com