Probal DasGupta was born in Calcutta (present-day Kolkata), West Bengal in India. He spent his school years in Daly College, a residential boarding school, in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, and finished his final year at school as its head prefect in 1988-1989. He completed his undergraduate studies from the University of Mumbai with a Bachelor’s in Commerce in 1992.
About Probal DasGupta
Days in The Army
Captain Bipradas DasGupta served in the infantry and saw action in the 1965 India Pakistan war. Following in his footsteps as a second-generation officer in uniform, his son Probal joined the Indian Army as a commissioned officer. Having completed his training at the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun, he was commissioned in 1994. He served as a commissioned officer in 11 Gorkha Rifles regiment of the Indian army for a decade. As an infantry officer, he served in several areas including in Kashmir, North East India and in Bhutan.
Becoming a Business Leader
After taking premature retirement from the army, he attained a masters degree in International Affairs from School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University in New York (USA), where he was a Braun-Myers Fellow, JN Tata Scholar and RD Sethna Scholar.
Probal has worked in leadership positions with multinational consulting firms in the US and India. He has advised global firms on strategic investment risks, business and political risks in South Asia and other countries. He has spoken extensively on India-China affairs, strategy, business risks, leadership, motivation and on writing at various forums such as CNN, BloombergQuint, Huffington Post, StratNews Global, Columbia Law School, Gateway House, CII, IVCA and eminent corporate firms. He is also a guest lecturer at his alma mater, Columbia University.
His Author Journey
Probal made his debut as an author with “Watershed 1967 – India’s Forgotten Victory over China” which was published by Juggernaut Books. This work of historical non-fiction was released in February 2020 and is the first-ever book that covers the battles of Nathu La and Cho La and its remarkable repercussions on history that followed.
Probal has extensively written on South Asia, armed conflicts, history, political and strategic risks in eminent journals and publications. His views have featured in Yale Journal of International Affairs, The Times of India, Nikkei Asian Review, Economic Times, Scroll, Deccan Herald, Asian Age, Huffington Post, Mint, Quint and ThePrint.
Watershed 1967 has been reviewed in several prominent newspapers and media journals. Probal has appeared on interviews on national television, print and new media.