Archive · 28 Aug 2026
Gouranga Chattopadhyay, Behavioural Science Pioneer, Dies at 95
Gouranga Chattopadhyay was a professor who studied how people behave in groups and organisations.
He died at his home in Kolkata at the age of 95.
He first studied chemistry but later changed to anthropology.
In 1964, he joined IIM Calcutta and helped build its Behavioural Sciences group.
He taught people about leadership, authority, teamwork and decision-making.
He brought a method called Group Relations to India, where people learned by examining how groups work.
He also worked internationally and wrote many papers and books.
Outside work, he enjoyed poetry, translation, yoga and thinking about big ideas.
Professor Gouranga P. Chattopadhyay died at his Kolkata home on August 13, aged 95.
He helped establish the Behavioural Sciences group at IIM Calcutta in 1964.
From 1973, he introduced Tavistock-style Group Relations conferences to India.
His career included anthropology, organisational psychology, management education, poetry, translation and yoga.
He published more than 100 professional papers and five books, including an interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita.
- Who
- Professor Gouranga P. Chattopadhyay, an anthropologist and behavioural science scholar.
- What
- He died at age 95 after a career pioneering behavioural science and Group Relations in India.
- When
- August 13; the year is not specified in the article.
- Where
- His home in Kolkata, India.
- Why
- The article does not state a cause of death.
- Age at death
- 95
- Birth
- April 29, 1931, in Calcutta
- IIM Calcutta
- Joined in 1964 and remained for more than 26 years
- Academic role
- Founding member of the Behavioural Sciences group and later Dean of Academic Programmes
- Group Relations
- Introduced experiential conferences at IIM Calcutta from 1973
- Publications
- More than 100 professional papers and five books
- International work
- Taught at Manchester Business School and Swinburne University and advised the United Nations Development Programme in Tanzania