I will always remember Sumit Chakravartty as such a friend and personality to be both loved and respected. Sumit Ji breathed his last on July 26 in Kolkata. He was 80 years of age. He is survived by his wife Gargi, an eminent historian and left activist, and son Sagnik, also an editor.
There was nothing artificial or made-up about his extraordinary gentleness and friendliness. I was one of the most regular contributors to the weekly journal he inherited and edited (Mainstream) and we often spoke to each other on the phone (apart from meeting sometimes). I cannot recall a single time when our conversation was not pleasant or constructive, although we generally discussed serious and rather worrying issues. I cannot at present remember a single occasion of any disagreement with him. His deep concern for the most basic issues was as sincere as was the gentleness of his personality and his regard and care for his friends.
Once when some anniversary or special event relating to Mainstream was to be observed, Sumit Ji told me that he would be contacting as many of the old contributors and associates as he could. I thought this meant he would be writing letters or making phone calls to them for a meeting. However, I found later that he was personally visiting many of them, somehow locating their present addresses.
I cherish the fact that I have had the opportunity to meet all the editors of Mainstream and contribute writings to all of them, beginning about 1977 and continuing right up to now.
I met the founder of Mainstream, the legendary editor Nikhil Chakravartty, when I was 20 years old, and despite my lack of experience, Nikhil Ji was very welcoming and encouraging. This started my journey with Mainstream which has continued to this day. While I am grateful to all the editors of this journal for the freedom they provided to me in writing, the relationship that I had with Sumit ji was something very special, as in the course of our long relationship I do not remember a single time when we had any difference of opinion. Limited by his responsibilities as an editor, that constrained travel opportunities, he looked forward to hearing from me whenever I returned after covering some social movements.
We shared our admiration for some many among these, and I could be sure that there was at least one assured place for early publication when I was writing about social movements. At that time, I was also writing for many of the larger, more established newspapers. I however had the confidence that while the big newspapers may not publish my writings on these social movements, Mainstream surely would.
At a wider level, this also brings out the special importance of independent, alternated media. Sumit ji took this forward with great responsibility at a time when it was becoming increasingly more difficult to do so.
One reason why he could do so was because of the support he got from his family. His wife Gargi Chakravartty, a prominent academic and historian, has been active in left women’s movement yet also found the time to be very helpful for strengthening Mainstream.
Sumit will be remembered of course for his great contributions to Indian journalism in particular and to justice-based democracy more broadly, but in addition he’ll always be remembered by many, many people as a very gentle and caring human being and a friend for all seasons.
(The writer is an independent journalist and author who has been writing for over five decades with a strong perspective of peace, justice and protection of environment)
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