Blitz Bureau
GUJARAT-born eminent economist and UK House of Lords member Meghnad Desai passed away on July 29 at the age of 85. He was Professor Emeritus at the London School of Economics, where he taught from 1965 to 2003. Born in 1940 at Vododra, Desai completed his Master’s degree from the University of Bombay, after which he did his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania in 1960. Desai was a globally respected Indian-British economist, academic, and political thinker whose career spanned over 60 years.
In 1991, he was elevated as Lord Desai and contributed to the Labour Party’s economic policy without hesitating to challenge its leadership with his fiercely independent thinking. In India, he founded the Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics in Mumbai. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his condolences to the family of Meghnad Desai. Sharing his message on X, the PM wrote: “Anguished by the passing away of Shri Meghnad Desai Ji, a distinguished thinker, writer and economist.
He always remained connected to India and Indian culture. He also played a role in deepening India-UK ties. Will fondly recall our discussions, where he shared his valuable insights. Condolences to his family and friends. Om Shanti”. Desai made a huge impact in academic and political spheres in Britain as a London School of Economics (LSE) professor, Labour politician and honorary associate of the National Secular Society.
His research stretched across five decades, covering a range of topics related to the impact of the private sector and the state in development and Marxian economics, including globalisation and market liberalisation. He started writing about Marxian Economic Theory in the early 1970s and extended his fields of interest to econometrics, monetary economics and economic development.
He founded LSE’s Centre for the Study of Global Governance. A prolific writer, he authored eight books and published over 200 academic papers, while also contributing columns to Indian and British publications. Some of his books include Marxian Economic Theory, Marx’s Revenge: The Resurgence of Capitalism and the Death of Statist Socialism, The Rediscovery of India and Who Wrote the Bhagavat Gita.
