JU bids tearful adieu to Samantak Das: ‘He was brilliant teacher & great human being’

Upon learning about his death, Arindam Banerjee, a former student of Das, flew down to Kolkata from Delhi to have a last glimpse of his former teacher. “I never imagined that one day I will have to drive the pilot car before the hearse. It is a very sad day for me to lose not only my former teacher but also my mentor. He was a brilliant teacher and a great human being. The moment I got the news of his death yesterday, I decided to come to Kolkata to pay my tributes. There was no second thought about it,” said Banerjee, who was Das’ student from 2006 to 2009 at the at the university’s Department of Comparative Literature.

Students during a procession to pay last respects to Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof Samantak Das, who was found dead in his residence, at Jadavpur University on Thursday. Partha Paul

The 56-year-old academician was found hanging from a ceiling fan with a karate belt tied around his neck, police had said. He is survived by his mother, estranged wife, son and two daughters. His first wife had died by suicide.

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In the early nineties, he joined the Department of English and Other Modern European Languages, at Visva-Bharati University. In 2001, he became reader at the department and continued till January 2005. That year, he returned to his alma mater to join as a reader in comparative literature. He also remained head of the department (HoD) from 2007 to 2009. Also, he completed his PhD from JU in 2004. Last year, Das was made pro vice-chancellor of the varsity and his tenure was scheduled to end in September this year.

JU’s Comparative Literature Department HoD Sujit Mondal recalled his association with Prof Das which from the days when he was a student at Visva-Bharati University and was taught by Das.

“I was his student at Visva-Bharati and I can say that he was a brilliant academic. An outstanding professor who believed in positive discrimination among. He helped those who came from marginal sections of the society and improved them academically. Later, when he became my colleague, we worked together on several projects, especially the ones in the Sundarbans in the wake of Cyclone Aila in 2009,” Mondal said.

“He believed in Marxist ideology but he never took part in party politics, not even at the university. He had friends from all walks of life and even referred to non-teaching staff as ‘Sir’. He was also loved by the students,” added Mondal.

He also praised Das for his abilities as a university administrator. “For the last 35 years, he was associated with NGOs which worked for women empowerment in Birbhum district. When Vice-Chancellor Suranjan Das was abroad for university-related work for so many days, Das took charge as vice-chancellor,” added Mondal.

Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) president Partha Pratim Roy said, “He maintained good relations with nearly everyone. If a student faced any issues he would approach Das for solution. He also helped the university in project works, wrote letters to  authorities for the benefit of the institution.

Das also remained vice-president of JUTA.