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Dr. Pradipto Bandyopadhyay presents his credentials...

Dr. Pradipto Bandyopadhyay developed fascination for the northeast-the enchanting frontiers of India even in his boyhood. When he read the transcript of a Radio  talk  on the then NEFA ( now Arunachal) in an issue of the Betar Jagat, a Bangla version of the Akashvani Group of Journals (now defunct),  he was simply carried away by the lilting  names of the rivers, Kameng,Subansiri, Siang, Lohit and Tirap  and the districts bearing the same names. He got the opportunity to interact with the people of the  seven sisters, ( now eight with the inclusion of  Sikkim) in 1976 and remained in the region till 1984.  The north east had been reorganized in 1972 and a new Council, the North Eastern Council (NEC) charged with the responsibility of coordinated development was set up.

           Dr.Bandyopadhyay as an officer of the central Government of India was posted in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting ( Directorate of Field Publicity) and the Ministry of Defence (Public Relations Unit).  The continued stay in the region gave him a golden opportunity of travelling  in the entire length and breadth of the region both extensively and intensively. Both the unparalled natural beauty , the red rivers and the blue hills  and the colourful and extraordinary people and their society  captivated him so much so that he could not resist the temptation of closely studying the  people with their variety and uncommon socio-economic and cultural dimensions.

          As a result he wrote several books and papers on the North east like `Mizo Leadership`,`North East Saga` and so on, as described in the concerned LINKS. He did not follow the pattern of early Britiah authors , mostly administrators, army officials, Christian missionaries,  and medical practitioners who wrote excellent monographs and books on the tribes,their customs and culture which still remain important source books on those people. Nor did he pursue the method of researchers who mostly depended on occasional field visits and collection of data with a particular framework. He was also not beholden to the glorified style of the autochthons .Being in the field himself for quite a long time Dr. Bandyopadhyay observed the people and their society with an abiding empathy and studied them with a deep insight and incisive, analytical and objective methodology

          Dr Bandyopadhyay as a Life Member of the North East India Council for Social Science Research (NEICSSR) carried out his academic pursuits in his spare time during his stay in the north east under the able guidance of Dr. B. Datta Ray and Dr. D.N.Majumdar.

       Later as Director General (News), All India Radio, Dr. Bandyopadhyay introduced some innovations in Radio broadcasts and media scenario in some parts of the northeastern region.
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