Newsletter - Indian Council of Philosophical Research

Life-time Achievement Award
Honouring ICPR Silver Jubilee Award For Distinguished
Life-time Achievement In Philosophy For 2010
Professor Debi Prasad Chattopadhyaya
Professor Debi Prasad Chattopadhyaya is a person
with an astonishing array of achievements in diverse
areas. We in the Indian philosophical community are
proud to bask in his many splendored glories as a
philosopher statesman like Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and
Dr. Karan Singh. Dr. Chattopadhyaya is an encyclopaedic
scholar in philosophy, history of science and
social sciences. Indeed, he was also a practising politician
and academic leader, an unusual combination of
both.
Born in East Bengal in 1931, Professor Chattopadhyaya
had his education at the University of Calcutta
and the London School of Economics where he
studied and excelled in law, philosophy and history.
He researched, studied and taught for forty years at
various universities of India, Europe and USA from
1954 to 1994. Besides being the Union Cabinet
Minister of Commerce and later on as the Governor
of Rajasthan, he was the founder Chairman of the
Indian Council of Philosophical Research (1981-
1990) and also the President-cum-Chairman, Indian
Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla. Currently, as the
Director of multi-disciplinary 100 volumes Project
of History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in
Indian Civilizations (PHISPC) and as the Chairman
of the Centre for Studies in Civilizations (CSC), he
has been actively engaged in research in the science
and philosophy of world civilizations. He is a Life
Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a
Member of the International Institute of Philosophy,
Paris. He is also a National Distinguished Professor at
Andhra University, Waltair. Besides the above, he was
the Chairman of Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation,
Calcutta, of the First International Conference
on Buddhism and National Culture, and also of the
Indian Philosophical Congress. Not only Professor
Chattopadhyaya has earned a name for himself, but
he has also glorified the name of this country by his
contributions in the fields of philosophy and culture.
With all the achievement as a scholar and a thinker,
Professor Chattopadhyaya is a model of a unique
combination of academic excellence, active statesmanship
and astute leadership, which is very difficult
to achieve and even more difficult to excel.
Professor Chattopadhyaya, with his wide knowledge
of philosophy, political theory, economics, history,
and science is one of the leading propounders of
interdisciplinary studies in our country. Professor
Chattopadhyaya is the author of 18 books, editor
of 17 other volumes and the author of about 200
research articles. He was the founder Editor of the
Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research
and he is presently editing the journal named Sandhan,
the journal of the PHISPC. For his contribution in
the fields of education and culture, he was conferred
national civilian titles like Padmabhushan and Padmavibhushan
by the President of India. A large number
of universities in the country also conferred honorary
D.Litt. degrees on him in recognition of his scholarship,
leadership and statesmanship.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to
the field of philosophy, interdisciplinary research in
human sciences, the study of science and cultures, and
also his unceasing efforts in bringing about increasing
awareness about science, society and Indian culture,
the Indian Council of Philosophical Research feels
honoured to confer upon Professor Debi Prasad
Chattopadhyaya the ICPR Silver Jubilee Life-Time
Achievement Award for the year 2010.