Abhijit Sen, a prominent Indian economist and a former member of the planning commission passed away at the age of 72 on Monday.

A leading expert on rural economy, Sen died of an heart attack last night.

Dr. Pronab Sen, his brother said, “He suffered a heart attack around 11 PM. We rushed him to the hospital, but it was all over by the time we got there.”

Sen had a career that spanned over four decades. He taught economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and also held various important government positions including the chair of the commission of agricultural cost and prices.

He was a member of the planning commission from 2004 to 2014, in the government led by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.