Few understood Bihar better than social scientist Shaibal Gupta January 29, 2021, 8:59 PM IST
Avijit Ghosh is a associate editor with The Times of India. He is addicted to films, music, cricket and football and not necessarily in that order. He is the author of Bandicoots in the Moonlight, Cinema Bhojpuri, 40 Retakes, and now, Up Campus, Down Campus, a novel set in 1980s JNU. He tweets from the handles @avijitghoshtoi and @cinemawaleghosh LESS. MORE
Meeting Shaibal Gupta was indispensable for any journalist on assignment to Bihar. Be it the state’s assembly election, its political economy or its industrial sector, the social scientist was a one-stop storehouse of knowledge, his perspective much sought-after. Gupta, who passed away on Thursday after prolonged illness in Patna, belonged to that rare breed of academics who could offer both information and insight. He was 67.