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Professor Chakravarti is a professor at Babel. He is Robin’s advisor for his independent research project during his third year. Robin likes Professor Chakravarti, and Chakravarti often treats Robin more like a colleague than a student. Late in the novel, Chakravarti reveals that he is a member of the Hermes Society, and he helps Robin and Victoire stage a takeover of Babel. Chakravarti begins to believe, though, that Robin’s actions are motivated by personal vindictiveness, rather than devotion to a higher cause of justice. Chakravarti explains that Robin’s increasingly violent actions go against his guiding philosophy of ahimsa, or non-harm and nonviolence, which leads Chakravarti to leave the group.
Professor Chakravarti Quotes in Babel
The Babel quotes below are all either spoken by Professor Chakravarti or refer to Professor Chakravarti. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 28 Quotes
‘You know,’ said Professor Chakravarti, ‘you know, one of the most commonly misunderstood Sanskrit concepts is ahimsa. Nonviolence.’
‘I don’t need a lecture, sir,’ said Robin, but Professor Chakravarti spoke over him.
‘Many think ahimsa means absolute pacifism, and that the Indian people are therefore a sheepish, submissive people who will bend the knee to anything. But in the Bhagavad Gita, exceptions are made for a dharma yuddha. A righteous war. A war in which violence is applied as the last resort, a war fought not for selfish gain or personal motives but from a commitment to a greater cause.’ He shook his head. ‘This is how I have justified this strike, Mr Swift. But what you’re doing here is not self-defence; it has trespassed into malice. Your violence is personal, it is vindictive, and this I cannot support.’
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Professor Chakravarti Character Timeline in Babel
The timeline below shows where the character Professor Chakravarti appears in Babel. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6
Robin then has individual lessons in Chinese with Professor Anand Chakravarti . Professor Chakravarti doesn’t lecture. Instead, the class is structured like a conversation. As the...
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Chapter 11
For his independent study project, Robin works with his advisor, Professor Chakravarti , to make a list of loanwords from Sanskrit to Chinese. He and Professor Chakravarti...
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Chapter 13
...he’s ever been. During the exam, he trips over his words as he explains to Professor Chakravarti his theory for his match-pair. When he etches the words onto the silver bar and...
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Chapter 26
...her gun out and shoots Playfair. Playfair falls backward as blood streams from his stomach. Professor Chakravarti retrieves Playfair’s gun. He says that he got Robin and Victoire’s message and congratulates them...
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...file in Babel once they do. Several people go. The only people who stay are Professor Chakravarti , Professor Craft, and a handful of students. All of them are people of color,...
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Chapter 27
...those problems worse because it will destroy all the silver-work inside. The crowd doesn’t listen. Professor Chakravarti throws a silver bar into the crowd, which has the effect of causing them to...
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Chapter 28
...see that a series of makeshift barriers and barricades have been erected around the building. Professor Chakravarti then tells Robin and Victoire that there’s someone who wants to speak to them outside....
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...to pay. They decide to hold a vote. Robin’s side narrowly wins. After the vote, Professor Chakravarti asks Robin if he really wants the bridge to collapse. Chakravarti says if it does,...
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...responsible for the fallout that comes from resistance, when really the empire is morally culpable. Professor Chakravarti says that he has been following the principle of ahimsa, or nonviolence. He says that...
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Chapter 29
The mood in the tower grows despondent after Professor Chakravarti leaves. The food supply also begins to dwindle. There are seven days left until Westminster...
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