Prof. Jagdeep Chhokar, 81, who is survived by his wife Kiran, began his career in the Indian Railways and was drawn into academia after pursuing an MBA degree from the Faculty of Management Studies Delhi University. He then went on to complete his PhD from the Louisiana State University following which he joined the Indian Institute of Ahmedabad as a Professor in the Organisational Behaviour Area in 1985.

He retired in November 2006.

But what brought and kept him in public life was his activism for improving democracy and governance in the country.

In 1999, with a few of his IIMA colleagues, which included Tirlochan Shastry, 14 years his junior, he founded the ADR, which has since played a critical role in enhancing transparency in Indian elections for over two and a half decades. The ADR has won several notable cases at the Supreme Court including the one which paved for the scrapping of the Electoral Bonds scheme. More recently, it is the lead petitioners in the challenge to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls in Bihar.

A fellow petitioner in the Dr Manoj Kumar Jha, Rajya Sabha member with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) expressed his strong sentiments at the demise of Prof. Chhokhar on ‘X’ (formerly twitter. He said, “He believed that democracy is not sustained by the noise of elections, but by their fairness, transparency, and accountability. He reminded us, time and again, that clean politics cannot emerge from tainted processes. His departure leaves behind a void, but also a legacy—an unfinished task that belongs now to all who care about democracy. We must also renew our pledge to the cause he lived for: that elections in India be not just contests of power, but rituals of trust.”

Cannot believe this news!!!
The passing of @JagdeepChhokar is not just the loss of a man; it is the silencing of a conscience that spoke relentlessly for the integrity of India’s democracy. As founder of the Association for Democratic Reforms, he forced the nation to look into… pic.twitter.com/Nv8IoKaxua

— Manoj Kumar Jha (@manojkjhadu) September 12, 2025

His body was donated for medical research. Acknowledging this, the official account of LHMC & Associated Hospitals, New Delhi, India, a premier Central Govt. Institute under Dte General Health Sevices & MoHFW stated, “Department of Anatomy humbly acknowledges the voluntary body donation of late Jagdeep Singh Chhokhar –founding member of the Association for Democratic Reforms & former Dean, IIMA. Our gratitude to Ms. Kiran Chhokhar and family for their invaluable contribution to advancing medical education.

Former Election Commissioner (EC), Election Commission of India, Ashok Lavasa, also expressed his sentiment on social media. “The loss of Prof Jagdeep Chhokhar is tragic. He spearheaded the Association of Democratic Reforms, which has rendered yeoman service in maintaining high standards of electoral democracy. People like him and ADR are vital for questioning authorities.”

Prof Chhokar was also a prolific writer and researcher. His research appeared in several international journals, such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Columbia Journal of World Business (now called the Journal of World Business), International Labour Review, Industrial Relations, Journal of Safety Research. He also contributed chapters to edited books and has written several teaching cases. His also wrote many columns and articles for leading media houses.

Chhokar has also taught in several countries including Australia, France, Japan, and the US. Since his retirement, he had also been associated with ‘Aajeevika’ Bureau for over a decade, working on internal migration related issues.

A little-known aspect was his love for birds. Prof Chhokar obtained a certificate in ornithology from the Bombay Natural History Society in 2001 and enjoyed the company of birds on the IIMA campus and wherever he travelled.

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A founding editor of many journals and prolific commentator, his voice resonated on all matters to do with Urdu language, culture and its politics as things got dire for Urdu in the sub-continent, the place of its birth.

He has been Consultant to the Asian Literature Program of the Asia Society, New York City, Princeton University Press, University of Chicago Press, University of California Press, Feminist Press, Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He had also served as Member, South Asia Regional Council, Association for Asian Studies, 1976-79, of the Committee on Scholars of Asian Descent, Association for Asian Studies, 1981-84, then South Asia Regional Council, Association for Asian Studies, 1990-93. He has been on the Advisory Committee, Berkeley Urdu Language Program in Pakistan, University of California, Berkeley, as well as Member, Board of Trustees, America-Pakistan Research Organization, 1989-93 and also Member, Board of Trustees, American Institute of Pakistan Studies, 1993-95.

Naim unhesitatingly tackled political issues along with his serious work on pure literary debates. In 1989, after a visit to Palestine, he wrote powerful words on what he saw, words that are especially relevant today.

One of his more recent works, an example of his enduring connection to all that was Urdu, was Urdu Crime Fiction, 1890–1950: An Informal History  which came out in 2023.

How did Naim feel on his first day in the United States? His observations were recalled as friends and colleagues remembered his contributions and tributes poured in.

For The Wire, Naim wrote sadly on how there is now no major Urdu newspaper or magazine that is edited by a non-Muslim and how in the past 75 years, the culture of Urdu magazines read by families of all faiths has disappeared. In another piece full of characteristic edge, Naim gently chastised  brands for never using the letter ‘j’ while transliterating Urdu words.

Courtesy: The Wire

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Recalling her varied contributions, Aflatoon wrote on Meta-Facebook how Dr Sanghamitra worked with providing livelihood for the widowed Muslim women, survivors of the Gujarat 2002 carnage through sowing and dying cloth products with natural dyes. On the issue of nuclear energy Dr Sanghamitra Gadekar had made significant contributions working closely with her life partner Dr Surendra Gadekar on scientifically conducted surveys on the harmful impacts of nuclear energy and plants on health of those living in close proximity. Dr Sanghamitra was also involved as Medical Officer in Vasant Women’s University and also as a doctor at the Sanjeevani Hospital, Sarai Mohana, Varanasi.

Recalling her contribution to the peace movement on the sub-continent, film maker Anand Patwardhan recalled that Uma (Sanghamitra), Suren (dra) and Narayanbhai (Desai) featured in the 2002 film “War and Peace”. The global family of peace activists expressed condolences at her death.

In 2012, the partnership of the Gadekar’s had publicly challenged the decision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in Rajasthan after it gave a clean chit to the Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant (RAPP) in Rawatbhata, ignoring the fact that there was heavy tritium leak in unit 6 of the plant early this year.

That year, on June 23 this year, more than 40 persons working at unit 6 were exposed to tritium. On July 19, four maintenance workers were exposed to tritium radiation while repairing a faulty pipe in the pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) of unit 4, which the agency members visited during the “in-depth safety review” from October 29 to November 14. The IAEA assembled the Operational Safety Review Team (OSART), led by Miroslav Lipar of the agency’s Division of Nuclear Installation Safety, at the request of the Indian government. The team comprised experts from Canada, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and the IAEA.

However, an Independent health survey conducted around the RAPP by noted experts Sanghamitra Gadekar and Surendra Gadekar, had revealed to the contrary: the scientists and peace activists said it revealed high occurrence of cancer, leukaemia and other diseases.
“This study was published in a reputed and peer-reviewed medical journal but the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has ignored it,” the activists had alleged in a statement.

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His cremation took place at the Dadar electric crematorium on Thursday afternoon attended by over five hundred social and political activists, advocates. He was cremated to slogans of worker solidarity and unity. In a poignant moment that brought out the personal in the intensely political, Jane Cox placed a rose on his chest and bid farewell to her longstanding partner before the final moment of parting.

Sanjay Singhvi was the elder of two sons of senior advocate K K Singhvi and advocate, Pushpa Singhvi, both members of the undivided Communist Party of India (CPI) in their youth. He was educated at St Xavier’s School and then St Xavier’s College. He went on a hunger fast along with Ravindra Hazari when both of them were refused admission to their third year of B.Sc and BA respectively because of their “activities against the Principal and efforts to highlight pressing student issues”. In fact, their battle was for fair wages for the canteen workers. After a nine-day hunger strike, the college authorities had to give them admission, but not before a legal battle in which Indira Jaising appeared for both students!..

Recalling his immense contribution to the national and international worker’s movement as also the left–progressive movement in general, senior colleagues from the CPI (ML) commented on how Sanjay Singhvi’s approach and analysis always overcame organisational sectarianism. He consistently worked with the broader interests of the working class in mind and took on the responsibility of leadership with great dedication. He firmly believed in building a broad political front to resist anti-worker policies and fascist tendencies in the country, never allowing narrow-mindedness to weaken the movement. Whether it was the successful student struggle against fee hike during his studentship, the workers’ movement in Wagle Estate in Thane, international movement coordination, slum-dwellers’ rights struggles, struggle to defend democracy, Dalit liberation issues or any matter concerning the common people, Sanjay Singhvi left a strong mark.

Even while facing serious health challenges, he remained determined to return fully to the movement and continued to nurture that hope until the very end. He also gave a sharp edge to the working-class struggle with the vision of the Ambedkarite movement. Most notably, Sanjay Singhvi, as a founder and chief organizer of the T.U.C.I. (Trade Union Centre of India), worked tirelessly to nurture the organisation, which today has grown into a powerful tree with roots across the country.

As an advocate in the Bombay High Court, he appeared for workers, be it manual scavengers or others, pro bono with a zeal and commitment that is rare. He was also a regular counsel for the Bombay Union of Journalists (BUJ). Indira Jaisingh, co-founder of the Leaflet noted in the journal, how Sanjay Singhvi had argued against the validity of the law which extended working hours for factory workers beyond a twelve-hour day and won the fundamental issue of limited hours of work for the working class.

Sanjay Singhvi, too, belonged to a disappearing class of labour lawyers who did not represent management for ideological reasons. Today it is fashionable to say: “I will take any case that comes my way,” wrote Jaising. “Some of us make choices and he made his choices regarding which side of the line he wanted to be on,” she said.

His partner, Jane Cox, a law graduate from the Wadham College, Oxford, also a specialist in labour law, has also been representing trade unions and workers before the Bombay High Court for three decades.

On Thursday, April 24, at the Shivaji Park Dadar Electric Crematorium it was a rare and eclectic variety of mourners who had gathered. From fellow unionists and advocates like MJ Pande, Mihir Desai, Vijay Hiremath and others, journalist and writer, Geeta Seshu who with, MJ Pande was with both Sanjay and Jane in the final, gruelling months of medical treatment, there were workers from the TUCI who bid farewell. Filmmaker Anand Patwardhan and writer and academic, Anand Teltumbde were also present.

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In the death of Pope Francis, the world has lost one of the greatest personalities of modern times! We are saddened that he is no longer in our midst!

He was truly a compassionate pastor with a warm, loving heart for the poor and marginalised, the excluded and the exploited, the refugees and the migrants, the LGBTGIA+ community, the victims of war and human trafficking and in fact, with all sub-alterns and those who live on the peripheries of society.

Pope Francis transcended boundaries and exclusiveness, divisions and discrimination of every kind. He was convinced that humans should build bridges and not walls, to reach out to others, particularly the lost, the last and the least. His Encyclical ‘Fratelli Tutti’ speaks strongly about this.

Pope Francis was deeply troubled by what is happening to the environment. He cared for our common home and wished that all take responsibility to ensure that our planet earth is liveable for all. His writings ‘Laudato Si’ and ‘Laudate Deum’ on the environment, bear testimony to his concern.

Pope Francis was a man of peace! He spoke out unequivocally against every war and the industrial military complex; he took a strong stand against the ‘culture of death’. He spoke directly to the most powerful people on earth reminding them of what they should be doing. His last tweet on 20 April evening began with “I would like us to renew our hope that peace is possible…”

Above all, Pope Francis was a man of God, sent to be a pilgrim on earth; to motivate all of us with a newer, deeper and more meaningful hope! He was a complete human being who left no stone unturned to make our world a more just, peaceful and humane place for all! He was and is a SAINT!

Millions all over will miss him! In his death the world is orphaned!    

(The author is a human rights, justice, reconciliation & peace activist/writer)

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That was Anil da—firm, clear, and unsparing in his political clarity. He never sought the spotlight. He chose, instead, the long, hard road of process-building, capacity-strengthening, and nurturing leadership from the grassroots. He passed away on 14th April 2025 after long battle with cancer, and though he would have resisted any personal homage, it is impossible not to speak of the man who shaped so many of us and the political spaces we inhabit.

For many of us, the loss is personal. I was fortunate to meet him at the PEACE gathering marking its 30 years, just a few weeks ago. We had planned a breakfast meeting, but I left Delhi before it could happen. Now, it never will. Over the years, since I moved out of Delhi in early 2020, whenever I visited the city, I would make time to meet him. He was always generous—with his time, his home, and his deep, reflective insight into political processes, not only with me but with everyone. During the pandemic, when I began writing about resistance movements across the world, he was often the first to respond—encouraging me, commenting thoughtfully, and nudging me to keep going. He did this with so many of us, encouraging the younger generation and always available in PEACE library in a corner holding addas conspiring initiatives and welcoming people.

A Life Dedicated to Collective Struggle

Anil Chaudhary was a lifelong organiser, dissenter and political educator whose activism spanned over four decades starting with his early days of student activism in JNU. He remained a lifelong dissenter, got expelled from CPIM, left Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), PRIA, some of the big established structures in 80s. But remained a steadfast member of the broader Left, critically engaging with several processes, bringing thought to action and was an epitome of unconditional support and solidarity to innumerable initiatives – big or small, local or national. An independent left outside of political Party factionalism was a dream and always a part of his ideological frame, somethings which guided his associations with many autonomous processes. To name a few, Coalition of Nuclear Disarmament and Peace, Aman Ekta Manch, Delhi Solidarity Group, Sangharsh, the People’s Council for Shrinking Democratic Spaces (PCSDS), Jan Adhikar Andolan, Nation for Farmers, Bhumi Adhikar Andolan, and so many other processes and movements, the list is too long to be counted. He was instrumental in creating a space which became the harbinger for so many campaigns around toxic waste, nuclear waste, UID, neo-liberal attack on education, rights defenders and so on were launched over the years. He remained committed to the ethics of solidarity, self-reflection, and critical engagement, which he would often refer as sawaliya sanskriti. He disagreed politically—often, sharply—but never disengaged and that’s the reason that when needed he became part of so many processes where Left parties played a crucial role. His belief that differences are not divisions was rooted in a deep democratic sensibility.

In 1995, he founded the Popular Education and Action Centre (PEACE)—not as just another NGO, but as a capacity-building organisation committed to popular education. PEACE was built on the belief that education could be a transformative tool—especially for the oppressed and marginalised. It sought to enable people to critically examine the structures affecting their lives, and to engage with the world in ways that disrupted the status quo. In that, he found the Marxist framework and used Marx, Lenin and Mao to his own interpretation of South Asian reality.

PEACE became known for advancing the philosophy of Sawaliya Sanskriti—the culture of questioning. Anil da strongly believed that questioning, especially by the marginalised, is a radical political act. It is through questioning that we begin to peel away the “constructed realities” that hide injustice, as Paulo Freire taught us, and begin to build political consciousness rooted in lived experience.

Participants in PEACE’s training programmes came from field-based social action groups across India—organising on land, forest, water, displacement, and social rights. The pedagogy focused on creating safe, supportive, democratic spaces where learners could engage in dialogue, return to their communities to apply what they’d learned, and come back with reflections. The learning was cyclical, political, and rooted in the movements participants belonged to. In the words of PEACE, “Those who own the issue must own the struggle. Those who own the struggle must lead it.” That principle guided Anil da’s life and work.

Importantly, PEACE did not engage in direct community action. Instead, it saw itself as a supporter of social movements, offering tools, reflection, and training. Anil da insisted that organisations should never replace or co-opt people’s struggles. “The issue belongs to the people. So must the leadership,” he would often say.

His pedagogy was steeped in the Freirean idea of critical consciousness—that social change begins with people becoming aware of the hidden structures of power that shape their lives. And for Anil da, power was not abstract. It lived in relationships: between citizen and state, between the landless and landowner, between men and women, between adults and children, even between human beings and nature. He believed that when individuals begin to ask critical questions about these relationships, they begin to reclaim their agency.

A Political Thinker and Movement Builder

Anil da’s understanding of Indian civil society was deeply historical and nuanced. He often spoke about the shift from community-based voluntary efforts in the post-Independence years to the increasingly professionalised, bureaucratised, and externally funded NGO sector 90s onwards. He worried that this shift was disconnecting civil society from grassroots movements and democratic politics. He was wary of external influences, including large donors, and remained deeply critical of organisations that lost sight of their political purpose in the pursuit of funding or recognition. He was perhaps one of the best analysts around on the transformation of feudalism in the context of South Asia and how 90s shaped India in a much perverse way for which he never shied away from attacking Congress. Pre or post 2014, he never missed an opportunity to attack the fundamentals of the Congress politics in Indian history, which to him was not only represented by the dual mix of Nehruvian and Gandhian frameworks, but also had abandoned the framework of welfare, social democracy and equality which paved the way for the communal and neo-liberal politics of BJP.

His brief association Voluntary Action Network India (VANI) in the 1990s was aimed at articulating a collective identity for India’s voluntary sector, from which he moved on once differences developed, leading to founding of PEACE. He also played an important role in INSAF (Indian Social Action Forum), which brought together over 750 organisations across the country on issues of displacement, environmental justice, and civil liberties. Later, he was among the key figures behind the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), which emerged after India’s Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998 or formation of Aman Ekta Manch after 2002 riots.

In recent years when several NGOs and civil organisations faced scrutiny or several critical voices lost their FCRA—he stood his ground. He defended several CSOs with which he was associated as transparent, legally sound, and rooted in the Constitutional values. What troubled him was not just the attack on NGOs, but the shrinking of democratic space and the erosion of critical public discourse. He was never to backdown from any challenge and continued to come up with campaigns and extended support to processes, be it the People’s Council for Shrinking Democratic Spaces (PCSDS) or Committee Against Assault on Journalists (CAAJ).

A Legacy of Thoughtfulness and Trust

Anil da’s strength lay in how he engaged—with movements, with people, with ideas. He had the rare ability to be both deeply political and profoundly kind. He could critique you and support you in the same breath. He made time for everyone, whether you were a young intern just finding your way or a seasoned activist navigating difficult terrain.

He also left behind a political culture—of mutual respect, long-term commitment, and thoughtful disagreement. He reminded us that organisations must serve people, not the other way around. That we are here to strengthen movements, not build careers. That leadership is about trust, not authority.

In recent years, when his ability to travel was limited, he remained a constant presence in our lives through forwarded essays, long emails, and thought-provoking messages. These were not just information dumps; they were ways of continuing the political dialogue, of nudging us to reflect more deeply, act more thoughtfully, and remain grounded.

It is hard to say goodbye to someone who was so much a part of our collective journey. He would have refused a grand farewell. But this much must be said: he mentored us, challenged us, supported us, and changed us. In ways big and small, he helped shape the Indian civil society landscape—not from the stage, but from behind the scenes.

For Anil da, process was always more important than recognition. And yet, in choosing the process, he left behind something far more lasting than fame: he left behind a political culture that continues to thrive in collectives, organisations, and individuals across the country.

Rest in power, comrade. You will be deeply missed.

But your ideas, your questions, and your example will continue to guide us.

Madhuresh Kumar is a former National Convener of National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM India)

Courtesy: CounterCurrents

The post He Chose the Process, Not the Spotlight: Remembering Anil Chaudhary (5th June 1951 – 14th April 2025) appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The first of these Shaheed (1965) can lay claim to a place in any listing of the greatest films made in Hindi, particularly in the context of films made for social change. This film was based on the life of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his companion freedom fighters, with the role of Bhagat Singh played by Manoj Kumar very effectively. While several films on Bhagat Singh have been made in Hindi, many regard this as the best among these films.

This success was partly due to the very deep commitment of Manoj Kumar to this subject and his deep emotional involvement in it. In part the great popularity is also due to the great popularity of the songs of this film and the tremendous impact these songs have created over the years. Six decades later, these continue to be the most sung solidarity songs and freedom movement songs. The great lyricist Prem Dhawan and top singers like Mohammad Rafi combined their skills to create very memorable songs, and Manoj Kumar ensured the very moving and inspiring filming of these songs. Most pertinently, rare as this is, Prem Dhawan, was the lyricist as well as the composer of these songs. At times he has picked up a few lines of well-known freedom songs, such as from the poetry of Ramprasad Bismil, but developed this in his own creative style so that this these songs then resonate easily among people in their rhythm being which was then closer to contemporary times.

Ae watan, ae watan, humko teri kasam is a song sung by Bhagat Singh in this film in a very determined voice at a time when his palm is burning due to a pledge he is taking of sacrificing his life for the freedom of the country. This song was sung by Mohammad Rafi in a voice which is restrained yet emits a deep sense of commitment and determination.

The second song Sar Faroshi ki Tamanna uses some famous lines penned by Ram Prasad Bismil, who too had sacrificed his life in the freedom movement, very effectively in the scene where Shahid Jatindra Nath Das is dying after a very long fast in the jail.

Rang de basanti chola is again a very popular song from the freedom movement which is still sung whenever the spirit of sacrifice for a great cause is evoked. In this film this song, punctuated with slogans, and has been used in a very memorable way in the sequence in which the three great martyrs Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev are hanged. This has been sung jointly by Mukesh, Mohammad Rafi, Rajendra Mehta and Lata Mangeshkar.

Ultimately the credit for assembling such great team work to create a truly great film, which still continues to be an inspirational film 60 years later, goes to Manoj Kumar.

The second film of enduring significance from Manoj Kumar is Upkar (1967). While in terms of quality of film making and deep emotional impact this film may not be in the same class as Shaheed, in terms of raising the spirit of the country in difficult times, in an inspirational way, this film is important in the history of Hindi cinema and must be seen by students of sociology of cinema in this context too.

After watching and admiring Shaheed, the then Prime Minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri, for whom people had great affection, had suggested to Manoj Kumar that he should create a film around the theme ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’, a slogan Shastri had given to the country in the middle of increasing security risks to ensure the security of the country’s borders as well as to ensure food self-reliance so that the country is not dependent on food imports. Manoj Kumar, the sensitive young man that he was, took the message to heart and immediately plunged into this task, completing the well-made film rather quickly. Despite this, Shastri was not alive to see the film that was born from his suggestion. This remained a matter of lasting regret for Manoj Kumar.

However Upkar proved to be a highly popular film that really captured the imagination of the country at that time. As a child growing up in Delhi Cantonment I still remember the great enthusiasm for this film, first the efforts to buy the ticket to see the film in the only cinema we had there, and then the endless discussion that followed about the film. At least for some months, Manoj Kumar was the most celebrated film personality back then.

His role was greatly admired, and in addition the famous actor Pran in an entirely different role from the one he had been playing since and after, was also greatly appreciated.

Manoj Kumar went on to make popular films like Roti, Kapda our Makaan, Kranti and Shor, but these two (Shaheed and Upkar), I feel, represented the high point of his cinematic achievements at a rather early stage of his career.

The writer has jointly authored a book with Madhu Dogra titled ‘Hindi Cinema and Society’. His collections of stories and poems include A Day in 2071, Navjeevan and Kathin Daur Mein Ummeed.

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Cinema & Secularism

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Dr Biswas was born at a time when there was chaos and sharp communal polarisation of the pre partition era. He was born on February 6, 1946 in Baraichara in district Jessore, now in Bangladesh. He passed his matriculation in first division in 1962 from Bunagati High school, Magura. At the age of sixteen, he had to leave his home and come to Bongaon, now part of 24 Pargana district, West Bengal after traversing about 70 kilometres barefoot to his sister’s home there. There was swelling in the feet of the innocent boy and his sister washed them in hot water and put him with her children. The traumatised young boy taught the children of his sister in Bongaon. He graduated from Thakurnagar, again a place known to be related to the founder of Matua Mahasangha Guru Hari Chand. Later he was teaching in a school and preparing for various state exams and got selected in the West Bengal Civil Services and was appointed as an administrative officer, as Sub Divisional Magistrate. Later, he completed his Masters in Economics from Calcutta University and got selected in the West Bengal Provincial Civil Services and got appointed as Deputy Collector. His friend and senior at Thakurnagar college, Mr Amar Krishna Biswas, who is now retired informs that Dr A K Biswas was a very hard-working person who never shared his hardships with anyone. He was always working harder and aiming high.

In 1973, Mr Atul Krishna Biswas was selected by the UPSC in All India Civil Services examinations and got the Bihar cadre where he served in different capacities throughout his career. As a Member of Indian Administrative Service, he held charge as Sub Divisional Officer, District Magistrate, Divisional Commissioner and rose to the coveted positions of Principal Secretary, Home Secretary, Energy Secretary of Government of Bihar. He was instrumental in formation of university named after Baba Saheb Ambedkar and was appointed as the first Vice-Chancellor, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University, Muzaffarpur.

Interestingly, his zeal and dedication towards education never ended.  He always pursued his interests. Though, there was no need for him to focus on education once he became a civil servant, qualified after his graduation. He actually completed his masters as a private candidate after he joined services and his thirst for knowledge did not end there as he followed it with his Ph.D. later. His dissertation on ‘Inland and Overseas Emigration of Working Classes in the Nineteenth Century from Bihar got him Ph.D awarded by Patna University.

Dr A K Biswas retired from his services in 2007 but started writing extensively on issues he felt extremely important. Though he was not in great health yet his convictions made him write lengthy pieces on the subject which have been either ignored or left out. On matter of Dalit question in Bengal, he was an undisputed authority.

His research articles got published in English and Bengali journals and magazines of repute. The Telegraph, Calcutta, The Hindustan Times, The Times of India, [Patna Edition], Social Scientist, Mainstream, Outlook, Velivada, Countercurrent.org, Frontier, etc.  carried large number of his writings on different occasion. Off late, he continued to write pieces in Mainstream and countercurrents.org.

Dr A K Biswas wrote several books since 1996. Some of his books are following

1. Social and Cultural Vision of India: Facts against Fiction, Pragati Publication, Delhi,1996.
2. Understanding Bihar, Blumoon Books, New Delhi, 1998.
3. The Namasudras of Bengal, Profile of a persecuted people, Blumoon Book, New Delhi, 2000.
4. Sepoy Mutiny and Indian Perfidy [1857-58] (Monograph) (1998)
5. Sati: Saga of a Gory Custom (Monograph) (1999)
6. The Namasudras of Bengal: Profile of a Persecuted People (Monograph) (2000)
7. A Study of Feudalism in Eastern India with special reference to Bihar (Monograph) (waiting for publication)
8. অন্বেষণ (ছদ্মনাম) শিপ্রা বিশ্বাস, কলিকাতা, ১৯৯৬।
9. স্মৃতিকথা [প্রকাশিত হবার মুখে]
10. বঙ্গ জীবনে অপরাধ এবং অপরাধপ্রবণতা—সামাজিক বিন্যাস[প্রকাশিত হবার মুখে]

He was busy writing his autobiography but one does not know whether that work got completed or not. He had been sharing ideas with me and was keen to work together on a conversation with me. I had requested him for a detailed interview which could be used in a book format. He told me that he would be happy to do so but only once his work in Bangla language is completed. In fact, he said that he had already responded to some of my questions that I had put to him. I hope the work that he had initiated with publishers would be out. His writings in Mainstream and countercurrents.org need to be compiled in book format so that people could understand the depth of his knowledge.

He was widely travelled person but most importantly he never lost touch with the ground. His writings reflected the power of his consistently looking for the original texts and documents. It would be important for us to have a relook at some of his writings. Right now, we are witnessing a movement regarding the Mahabodhi Vihar issue in Bihar. Dr Biswas was in a position to give a first-hand answer as he was Home Secretary, Bihar in 2005 when Principal Secretary to the President of India, Dr APJ Abul Kalam wrote a letter asking him to respond some of President’s concern about the rights of the Buddhists in relation to this Buddha Vihar. This is a very informative article which appeared in the mainstream on September 24, 2024 issue.

There is very little understanding about how Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar was elected to Constituent Assembly from Jessore and Khulna constituency of Bengal. In an interview Dr Biswas told me, ‘Dr. Ambedkar, at that point of time, was a member of the Executive Council of the Governor General of India. With Independence was approaching, they needed to frame the Constitution, or write the Constitution for Independent India. Elections were held all over the country, so that members could draft Constitution for the new nation. The Congress Party was against Ambedkar, and they decided that his entry into the Constituent Assembly had to be stopped, or prevented. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, in one of his statements, said that we have closed the doors and windows of the Constituent Assembly, and we’ll see how does he enters in this house. He could not get elected from Bombay Presidency, his home province, so he was thinking of getting elected from Bengal, with the help of Anglo-Indian members of the State Assembly of Bengal. Few months before the election, when he came to Calcutta and tried to get their support, he was told that the Anglo-Indian members have decided first to not participate in the election, and second that they will not vote [for] anybody in the election. So, Ambedkar was pretty disappointed and went back to Delhi. At this point of time, Jogendranath Mandal invited Ambedkar to come to Bengal and contest the election. He was the MLC of the Scheduled Castes Federation of India founded by Dr. Ambedkar. And he was the solitary member of the Bengal Assembly. Just 21 days before the election, Ambedkar came to Calcutta, had a meeting with the supporters and volunteers of the Scheduled Castes’ Society here, after which he agreed to contest elections. Mandal proposed his name and Biswas supported or seconded his candidature for the election. Elections are held on the appointed day and as many as seven MLCs voted for Ambedkar. In fact only five MLCs were required for any person to be elected as the member of the Constituent Assembly. When the results of the first round were declared it was found that Ambedkar had secured the best number of votes from Bengal. Incidentally Sarat Chandra Bose, elder brother of Subhas Chandra Bose, got six votes, one less than Dr. Ambedkar. Thus, a new chapter of the history of the Dalit movement and the struggle that Ambedkar undertook all his life was brought closer to the logical conclusion, and that gave him the opportunity to reach Constituent Assembly and fight for the cause of the ‘untouchable’ people of this country.

The details of this issue may be accessed in his article published by Mainstream in its December 24, 2016 issue.

In another analytical piece, ‘A critique of mass education in Bengal: Ishwar Chandra Vidya Sagar and his hypocrisy. Dr Biswas brought out the fact that while Bengal is known for ‘legendary’ social reformers yet none of them were too keen to empower the Dalits and marginalised communities. In fact, a person like Vidyasagar felt that education of these communities could be harmful as they dissociate themselves with their traditional occupations.

A look at what Vidyasagar told Nabin Chandra Sen, a poet, and Deputy Magistrate of Bengal Government may be revealing. The Deputy Magistrate recorded in his autobiography: “It will be a good riddance, should the accursed policy of education get a burial. I have established a school in my village in consequence of which I’ve deserted native place. As soon as children of farmers and labourers learn muttering a few English words, they shun their ancestral occupations. They run amuck for fashionable dresses, shoes, socks, hats, etc. It is due to them that I am unable to go home. As soon as I reach home (Birsingha), I am invaded by parents of those boys. They start pestering me, “Oh! My venerable, Sir, what have you done? My ward is totally unconcerned about my farm. Half a bigha of my land remained untilled in the current season. How shall I meet the requirement of food for the family? Over and above, I have to foot bills for his fashionable dress, hats, etc. Someone says my cattle have died but my son does not care to graze them. I have committed sin for which I am undergoing penance. I have solemnly sworn that I shall never ever establish any other schools in countryside. In this land, nobody, after receiving education, engages himself in pursuit of his ancestral occupation. No sooner than one starts muttering few English words, he shuns profession of his forefathers, nay, even hates his parents.” The complete article may be accessed here.

‘How sitting orthodoxy killed millions’ is a brilliant and analytical article written by Dr A K Biswas based on various first-hand report of incident of Plague that spread across India between 1896-1930 killing 40-50 million lives. Most of those who lost their lives were caste Hindus, Brahmin, Rajputs and Banias while the least affected were Chamars, Valmikis and Muslims. He explains how Brahmanical orthodoxy led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak actually opposed measures taken to control the Plague.

He writes, ‘The measures, e. g., house to house searches, examination of occupants, evacuation of suspected victims of the plague to hospitals and segregation camps, removal and destruction of personal effects of such persons, prevention of plague cases from entering or leaving the city, etc. were adopted for prevention of plague [6] Soon a certain section started voicing acute grievances against these initiatives.’ Bal Gangadhar Tilak vociferously denounced the Plague Commissioner saying that “Her Majesty the Queen, the Secretary of State and his Council, should not have issued the orders for practising tyranny upon the people of India without any special advantage to be gained.” His abomination was that “the government should not have entrusted the execution of this order to a suspicious, sullen and tyrannical officer like Rand.” [7] Did Tilak prejudge the elaborate anti-plague measures in public interests under the leadership of Rand? The British ICS had taken up the charge in March as Plague Commissioner. Within three months in June 1897, he was assassinated. Only prejudice can drive a section against an officer engaged in challenging duties. The time to assess his worth was too limited to kill him. It was pure prejudice against him. The extraordinary situation warrants unprecedented measures also for results. Tantrums of a milch cow, goes a proverb, has to be tolerated.

A conspiracy for assassination targeting Charles Rand was hatched by some hot-headed youth like Damodar Chaupaker, Balkrishna Chaupekar, Vasudev Chaupekar, Mahadeva Ranade and Khando Vishnu Sathe alleging his insensitivity to native orthodoxy. On June 22, 1897, the Diamond Jubilee of the coronation of Queen Victoria was celebrated in Poona. In a bomb attack, The Plague Commissioner Rand was critically injured while his companion Lieutenant Ayerst died on the spot. Bal Krishna and Vasudev also murdered Ganesh Dravid and his brother Ramchandra Dravid on suspicion of being police informers for the murder of Rand and Ayerst. The government offered a reward of Rs 20,000 for apprehension of the assassins. The Dravid brothers were suspected to have acted out of greed for the cash rewards. But they got Rs 10,000 only, which earned the ridicule of popular Marathi journal Kesari that Tilak edited. Rand succumbed to his injuries on July 3, 1897. This was a strange historic event: the benefactors who were fighting plague were done away with by assassins. Damodar, Bal Krishna, Vasudev and Ranade, who absconded, were arrested, prosecuted and hanged. A teenage Khanderao Sathe, a school student, was sentenced to ten years rigorous imprisonment. Bal Gangadhar Tilak hailed the actions of Damodar Chaupekar and his compatriots as patriotic in his journal Kesri for which he was prosecuted for sedition. Sentenced to eighteen months of rigorous imprisonment, Tilak was confined in Mandalay’.

The complete article may be read here.

The death of Dr Atul Kumar Biswas is a huge loss for those who were looking forward for some outstanding articles and books from him. He was determined to write about all important issues that he felt have been historically ignored. His forte was in tracing the important official reports and documents which were powerful instrument of exposing the prejudices of the powerful casteist elite of India.

There was not much information about his sad demise and perhaps the reason for this was that he was not member of any ‘organised’ group of ‘intellectuals’ or ‘activists’. These days, if you are autonomous and independent outside any organised group then the chances of isolation are more. Moreover, their families need to know about their creative activism. It is essential because admirers like me could only get the information of his death, nearly three four days later.

Though Dr A K Biswas wrote extensively about various issues confronting us particularly that belonging to the Dalits, he rarely spoke about himself. It took a lot of effort and time to get the information about his childhood and other struggle. The only people who could organise a tribute to him were his friends and admirers in Patna who organised a condolence meeting on March 1, 2025but this information remained confined to them. It is ironical that we know so much about the writing of the man but not about his own struggle. Of course, it is the greatness of Dr A K Biswas that he did not open up his personal pains and sorrows and moved ahead with his work.

One can only hope that his unpublished work will be out and shared with his friends and admirers. It is a personal loss for me as he would often call me and discuss various issues and his future planning. In the year 2017, I had a conversation with him but that time he was not feeling well or comfortable yet one can see him and remember him through his brilliant masterpieces.

My conversation with Dr A K Biswas may be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTVUlECN24w

My sincere condolences to Dr A K Biswas.

Related:

Bodh Gaya: Why the Mahabodhi Temple must be handed over to Buddhists

Dr BR Ambedkar: How the ongoing tussle between the BJP and Congress is both limited & superficial

River Ganga, communities, cultures & livelihood: will Indians preserve its life-sustaining legacy?

The post Learned yet Forgotten: To Dr A K Biswas, a tribute appeared first on SabrangIndia.

A veteran ‘Sarvodaya’ worker, she celebrated the 98th birth anniversary of her husband, Sunder Lal Bahuguna, on January 9, 2025. She is survived by her daughter Madhuri Pathak, son in law B.C. Pathak and two sons, Rajeev Nayan Bahuguna and Pradeep Bahuguna, both journalists.

Vimla Bahuguna, a recipient of the Jamna Lal Bajaj Award for Development and Welfare of Women and Children in the year 1995, remained steadfast on her ideals and never wavered facing hardships in struggles that she participated in along with her husband.

Recalling his association with Vimla, Sunder Lal Bahuguna when alive before 2021, had said that belonging to a highly respectable family of Tehri, she went to study under the well-known Gandhian Sarla Behn at her Kausani Ashram.

Sarla Behn (born Catherine Mary Heilman; April 5, 1901 – July 8, 1982) was an English Gandhian social activist who, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, went to jail during the freedom struggle and later worked in the Kumaon region to help create awareness about environmental destruction in the Himalayan forests of the state till her death.

Vimla, her student, had come with her to Tehri to stage a play in support of the ‘Bhoodan Andolan’ (land donation) of Acharya Vinoba Bhave. Sunder Lal Bahuguna had said that he was conducting on stage and both, his father and Vimla’s father were in the audience. The elders of both the families decided to get them married but there was a big ‘no’ from Vimla. Since Sunder Lal Bahuguna at that time was also dabbling in Congress politics, Vimla put a condition that he would have to leave politics forever for social service, for which he finally agreed. Even Sarla Behn was reluctant on this marriage, but later agreed.

Sunder Lal Bahuguna and Vimla stayed at Silyara Ashram set up by Bahuguna as per the directions of Mahaama Gandhi for the uplift of the poor, downtrodden and Dalits and to protect the environment. Working for the ‘Sarvodya Andolan’, the couple plunged into environment protection following the reckless destruction of forests in the Himalayas. Sunder Lal Bahuguna died in 2021,

Vimla Bahuguna participated in the ‘Bhoodan Movement’ in Bihar in 1953- 55 where she came in contact with Acharya Vinoba Bhave, Jayaprakash Narayan and Dada Dharmadhikari, who were all impressed by her work. A constant companion and inspiration for Sunder Lal Bahuguna in his unrelenting struggles for environmental protection and Dalit uplift, Vimla also led the women of Garhwal Hills successfully in their fight against liquor.

She even had to go to jail once, along with her 6-year-old son. Vimla also persuaded and prevailed upon her old mother to join the campaign for prohibition. She inspired common village women to join the Chipko Movement and the prohibition campaign. Under her inspiration, thousands of women participated in the Tehri dam agitation in 1990 and 1990-91.

Vimla Bahuguna was awarded the Kheti Award by Indian Council of Agricultural Research in 1975 during International Women’s Year.

Adopting austerity and implementing Gandhian values throughout their lives was the hallmark of all the actions of the Bahuguna couple.

Vimla’s brother Vidya Sagar Nautiyal was an eminent Hindi writer and a communist party legislator from Devprayag in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. He was also elected the president of Banaras Hindu University Students’ Union in the sixties.

The writer is a freelancer based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Courtesy: Newsclick

The post Uttarakhand: Veteran Gandhian, Sarvodaya Worker Vimla Bahuguna Passes Away appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Associated since 1977 with the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) —he was national president in the past– Ravi Kiran Jain was also an erudite legal scholar who wrote regularly for Communalism Combat and Sabrangindia. Committed to a Lohiaite ideology, Ravi Kiran Jain was straightforward, eschewing anyone addressing him as ‘Vakil Sahab’, preferring the direct use of his name, recalls Aflatoon Desai from Varanasi, a long-time associate and founder of the Samajwadi Jan Parishad who mourned the loss of a close associate. Stalwarts like Kishan Patnaik and Surendra Mohan found their home at Ravi Kiran Jain’s residence whenever they visited Allahabad.

In the battle to save Gandhi Vidya Sansthan (Gandhian Institute) in Rajghat, Varanasi –that was cruelly bull-dozed by the orders of the union and state governments’ double engine sarkar in 2023—in court or as an advisor, Ravi Kiran Jain stood by the institute and its employees and stake holders. Jai Prakash Narain had established the Gandhi Vidya Sansthan. Recalling his words, Dr Muniza Khan, former Registrar, who valiantly fought to save the Gandhi Vidya Sansthan after authoritarian forces eyed its violent takeover since 2008, recalls, “I remember his words when he said this government is targeting a rare and extensive library in Uttar Pradeh’s Purvanchal region. Libraries such as these are the sites for reflection and writing, like how and when E.F. Schumacher wrote Small is Beautiful seated in a library like this.” Aware of the crude and brute targeting of the institute by the government– shutting it down without payment of dues to its employees—Jain gave freely of his talent and advocacy in the battle led by erstwhile employees, recalls Khan. “All those associated with the Institute remember him fondly with respect and salute him at his passing,” she told Sabrangindia.

Teesta Setalvad, secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace paid this tribute on X:

हम सबके रहनुमा रविकिरण जैन साहब
नहीं रहे Iजैन साहब जिंदाबाद Iअभी कुछ देर पहले नाज़रेथ अस्पताल में उन्होंने अंतिम सांस ली I Indian #HumanRights
Movement hs lost a Mentor, Scholar,Advocate:Ravi Kiran Jain Sahab,Allahabad!Saluts Sir!Rest in Power! @cjpindia #Constitution@PUCLindia pic.twitter.com/uo9beSRLm6

— Teesta Setalvad (@TeestaSetalvad) December 30, 2024

Related:

Serious times, grave challenges: India 2023

Senior Advocate and PUCL National President Ravi Kiran Jain writes open letter to the Bar

The post Ravi Kiran Jain, advocate, human rights practitioner doyen of the human rights movement passes away appeared first on SabrangIndia.