Bibek Debroy: A Towering Intellectual With Profound Humility

A few minutes ago, I saw a post on X announcing the demise of Shri Bibek Debroy. My eyes refused to believe the news and I searched desperately, hoping that it was another one of those awful rumours that frequent the web these days. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.

Bibek Da, as I called him, was a towering figure, not just in his primary career as an economist but also as someone who was a prolific translator of Sanskrit texts into English. He has translated the Mahabharata, Valmiki Ramayana, the Bhagavad Gita, the Harivamsa, the Vedas, the Bhagavata Purana, Markandeya Purana, Vishnu Purana, Shiva Purana, Brahmanda Purana and various other works. 

But it is not for these works, that I would remember him. It is for the kind, gentle, encouraging person that he was. I first came into contact with him when I had reached out to him, through a common acquaintance, to see if would read and endorse the first book of my Battle of Vathapi trilogy. I really didn’t have much hope of hearing from him. After all, someone as eminent as he, holding the position that he was, wouldn’t surely spend time reading a book by a no-name, newbie, author now, would he? 

I was wrong. Not only did he respond, but he also asked me for the full manuscript and a date by which he needed to respond with the full blurb. And he did, much earlier than the date given. 

He was one of those rare people who actually read the entire book before endorsing it. And he had helpful, insightful feedback that enhanced the quality of my subsequent books. Bibek Da, at the height of the Covid period, also agreed to launch my book through an online event. He endorsed the next two books of the trilogy as well.

One of my most cherished memories is of meeting him at the 2023 Mysore Literature Festival and of spending a couple of hours talking to him along with my family. I had expressed my admiration for his work ethic that allowed him to churn out his books with such prolificity. He, in his usual humble manner, brushed aside the compliment, saying that he just felt the urgent need to do it as quickly as he could. He also told me a couple of deeply personal stories about why he was doing this, which I cannot share publicly. 

Now that he is gone, I wonder. Did he have some inkling that he didn’t have much time left? Was his rapid pace of publication dictated by his own assessment of the time left to achieve his goals? 

My last contact with him was a couple of months ago when I had requested him to help launch the third book of the trilogy at an event in Delhi. He had regretfully and gracefully declined, since he had a book launch event of his own. How was I to know that that would be my last conversation with the great man?

In his passing, we have lost not just a great scholar, academic and author but also a great nationalist and a patriot. More importantly, Santana Dharma has lost one of its warriors in the fight towards decolonisation. I am heartbroken at this loss as I am sure are millions of his fans. He was a man who wore greatness lightly on his shoulders. A gentle soul. A Sanatani. 

Om Shanti.