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Upendra Krishna Dutt
‐
Cambridge-based doctor who was father to future Communist leader Rajani Palme Dutt
Place of birth
Date of arrival to Britain
Location(s)
Cambridge
CB1 1LL
United Kingdom
Place of death
Leatherhead
About
Born in Calcutta, India in 1857, Upendra Krishna Dutt travelled to Britain in 1875 or 1876 on a Gilchrist Scholarship to study medicine at London University. After qualifying, he remained in Britain, practising at Leicester and then buying a medical practice in Cambridge. He faced a great deal of racial prejudice in securing employment as a doctor after qualifying. Dutt married the Swedish writer Anna Palme in England. She was a distant relative of Olaf Palme, later Swedish Prime Minister.
The Dutt family were close-knit despite financial insecurity. From 1891 Dutt hosted the Cambridge Majlis society meetings in his home. Two of Dutt's sons, Rajani and Clemens, became active members of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Their involvement in politics was influenced by their father's work as a doctor in working-class areas of Cambridge. Upendra and Anna also had a daughter called Elna. All three children were born in Cambridge.
Callaghan, John, Rajani Palme Dutt (London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1993)
Lahiri, Shompa, Indians in Britain: Anglo-Indian Encounters, Race and Identity, 1800–1930 (London: Frank Cass, 2000)
Visram, Rozina, Asians in Britain: 400 Years of History (London: Pluto Press, 2002)
R. P. Dutt Papers, Communist Party Archives, University of Central Lancashire
Image credit
© Remaking Britain: South Asian Connections and Networks, 1930s – present
