Bibek Debroy, renaissance man

bibek-debroy

What plans fate has will never be known, neither will the instruments it often and unknowingly slips into our hands. Scarcely did I realise that the man Jerry Pinto was describing last Friday morning as having done the best 10 volume translation of the Mahabharata in English, Bibek Debroy would have breathed his last the morning after noisy Diwali celebrations in Delhi.

Jerry Pinto was speaking to a packed audience on creative writing along with professor Sam North of Exeter University at Shiv Nadar University and responding to a student question on the value of translations. Translations he was explaining are criticised for undermining the original context, but praised because they bring different language writings within the reach of a larger audience and in his mind that is invaluable in itself. But he added that there are a few translations that are praised for retaining the original socio-cultural-spiritual essence while at the same time providing illuminating notes for the new audience. He singled out Bibek’s 10 volume English translation of the Mahabharata as having passed that test. 

Celebrated Translator and Scholar 

It is according to him as one of the most comprehensive English translations and as I heard the news of Bibek passing this morning, I remembered vividly what Jerry had said for it was only two days ago. Jerry appealed to the student audience to read Bibek’s translation and then engage in a constructive conversation about translations in general and the Mahabharata in particular with him. I hope the English students of Shiv Nadar University will pick up the challenge that Jerry has thrown at them. 

Bibek was anything but unidimensional. I met him for the first time when he came to work in the International Management Institute (IMI) where project LARGE (Legal Adjustments and Reforms for Globalising the Economy) was located. The project was established by the Ministry of Finance and UNDP to examine legal reforms in India and Bibek was the Director. Very few, beyond those who knew him, will recognise that a number of subsequent legal reforms that have taken effect in India post 1991 were based on the many reports done under Project LARGE. Another very large report he directed was on restructuring of the Indian Railways. It was a multi volume report.  The only other Indian economist to have written such extensive reports on Indian infrastructure reform I know is Rakesh Mohan, currently Chairman Emeritus of CSEP. 

Contributions to Indian Reforms 

Bibek embodied the courage of conviction, while some might say he was unpredictable. When full time with the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation as Economist, he produced an index of economic freedom for Indian states in which Gujarat featured as number one for two consecutive years. Bibek held several full time positions as Professor in Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, as Chief Economist at the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry among others. He was advisor and mentor to many more. He had a very characteristic style of speaking on public platforms-always very engaging and full of interesting anecdotes, incisive in his analysis, often lacing it with humour. He shared the stage with ministers, secretaries, academics and researchers with equal ease and poise. He could slip into a conversation as easily with a minister as with a budding economist. It was not easy to be a co-panelist with him though, for he was always well informed, well read, well prepared and perceptively insightful. 

A Loss to Academia and Beyond 

India has lost many economists too soon. Bibek is the second in less than five years that I know of. The other was Isher Ahluwalia the former Chairperson of ICRIER, where I was Director and Chief Executive and where Bibek also had a short stint. I vividly recall Bibek accepting an invitation to speak at the release of Montek Ahluwalia’s book on Indian Policy: Backstage-the Story Behind India's High Growth Years organised by ICRIER. The Delhi launch was at hotel Taj Mansingh in which the former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was present. The year was 2020 and we all knew that Dr. Singh would be justifiably critical of contemporary government economic policy. 

Bibek was at that time a key member of the governments brains- trusts besides being the head of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. It would have been easy for Bibek to decline the invitation to participate in the panel discussion. But having known Isher and Montek Ahluwalia for many years, he accepted and spoke at the panel.  With polish I might add, and with a conviction in which he was critical not only about the past as documented by Montek but also about the government in power. He was there of course in his individual capacity and not representing the government. But we know that such a nicety is often lost in most media, especially social media, that dominates news and views today. For Bibek, his relationship with Isher and Montek triumphed everything else. In the panel, Bibek was true to himself and to his convictions and that is the legacy the leaves behind. 

A quintessential scholar of numerous dimensions, unafraid to speak his mind, having done work that would take most many lifetimes to produce. The translation of the Mahabharata is just one example!  He also translated the Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita, and made these ancient spiritual texts accessible to a wider audience. He will be sorely missed, in government, in academia and among friends who he would regale over coffee and wine with enchanting stories of our rich past and with contemporary chatter in the corridors of power!