Amartya was born in Shantiniketan in 1933. He was deeply affected by the death and hunger caused by the Bengal famine in 1943. He studied Economics in many Indian Institutes and then became a professor at the Delhi School of Economics. He went on to teach in many international universities of repute like London School of Economics and Harvard University. He is now a Master of Trinity College at Cambridge. No Indian before him has ever held this position.
In 1998 Professor Amartya Sen became the first Asian to be honoured with the Nobel Prize for Economics. He got the award for his study on famines and his contribution to welfare economics. Professor Sen has decided to use a part of the prize money for charity. He has established a trust named ‘Pratiti Trust’ after his house. It will use this money for education and health care purposes for the people of India and Bangladesh. Though he lives abroad, Professor Sen retains his Indian nationality which he values very much.