Conversation with Vipul Dutta

Dr. Vipul Dutta is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Guwahati. He holds a PhD from King’s College London, specializing in diplomatic and economic history. His research interests include South Asian diplomatic and military history as well as Indian business history. His monograph, Making Officers out of Gentlemen (2021), explores the development of military institutions in colonial and post-colonial India. At IIT Guwahati, he teaches modern Indian history and business history, including the NPTEL course Indian Business History. His teaching approach is interdisciplinary, drawing on case studies to connect historical themes with contemporary issues.

In this episode, we explore his intellectual journey so far.

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References:

“Vipul Dutta | Department of Humanities and Social Sciences :: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati.” n.d. Accessed June 23, 2025. https://www.iitg.ac.in/hss/faculty_page_profile.php?name=RWRObkhUNVJURk9rVEt0dWpvbEhTUT09.

Dutta, Dr Vipul. 2021. MAKING OFFICERS OUT OF GENTLEMEN. New Delhi: OUP India. Link

“Indian Business History – Course.” n.d. Accessed June 23, 2025. https://onlinecourses.nptel.ac.in/noc20_hs38/preview.

“Vipul Dutta – History Literature Festival.” 2024. January 22, 2024. https://historylitfest.com/Speakers/vipul-dutta/.

History Lit Fest, dir. 2024. Day 3: History Lit Festival 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btxTSsK5Nxc.

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Author: G.V. Pavan Kumar

Namaste, Hola & Welcome from G.V. Pavan Kumar. I am a Professor of Physics at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, India. My research interests are : (1) Optics & Soft Matter: Optically Induced Forces – Assembly, Dynamics & Function; (2) History and Philosophy of Science – Ideas in Physical Sciences. I am interested in the historical and philosophical evolution of ideas and tools in the physical sciences and technology. I research the intellectual history of past scientists, innovators, and people driven by curiosity, and I write about them from an Indian and Asian perspective. My motivation is to humanize science. In the same spirit, I write and host my podcast Pratidhvani – Humanizing Science.

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