Tributes

Dipankar Chakraborti

Umesh Anand

In the 1980s, long before India had woken up to the problems of automobile emissions, Dr Dipankar Chakraborti, then a young professor of chemistry, was out on the streets of Calcutta collecting air samples. He would test the samples during his teaching stints in Europe and bring the worrying results

People’s surgeon: Farewell to Dr JK Banerjee

Umesh Anand

When Dr Jayanta Kumar Banerjee returned from England as an FRCS, he went straight to the Ramakrishna Mission Hospital in Dehradun to start his practice. He was accompanied by his wife Shipra, who was an anesthetist. They could have set themselves up in any Indian city and flourished. A doctor

Engineer-ecologist: Tribute to Dhrubajyoti Ghosh

Umesh Anand

In the many years that the Leftist parties governed West Bengal, they paid little attention to protection of the environment. It just wasn’t part of their paradigm for development. They also had no time for anyone who thought differently. In an old-fashioned way, they ran a closed administration and you

Mahasweta Devi, the compassionate writer

Mrittika Bose

“I have always believed that real history is made by ordinary people…. The reason and inspiration for my writing are those people who are exploited and used and yet do not accept defeat.” This is how Mahasweta Devi, who died at the age of 90 on 28 July in Kolkata,

Bhaskar Save’s farm was the best in the world

Bharat Mansata

Bhaskar Save was the acclaimed ‘Gandhi of Natural Farming’, who inspired and mentored three generations of organic farmers. Masanobu Fukuoka, the legendary Japanese natural farmer, visited his farm in 1997 and described it as “the best in the world, even better than my own farm!” When he passed away at

Gadgil’s concern for ecology was rooted in realism

Rashmi Gopal Rao, Bengaluru

OFTEN called the ‘people’s ecologist’ for speaking up for the rights of marginalized communities, Madhav Gadgil will be remembered as one of India’s best known ecologists. He championed the cause of tribals, who he said were an integral part of the ecosystem. His approach to conservation was democratic. Gadgil was

Jagdeep Chhokar: Fearless, frank and great fun

Umesh Anand

IN the historical records of Indian elections, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) will have a special place. No single voluntary organization has perhaps done more to clean up politics and empower voters. Efforts by ADR have led to criminal records, educational qualifications and financial assets of candidates being put up

India’s tiger apostle: A tribute to Valmik Thapar

Ravi Chellam

In Valmik’s passing, wildlife conservation in India has lost a towering personality, both literally and figuratively. He was visibly passionate and very committed to conserving wilderness areas. Valmik’s was a powerful, fearless and persistent voice which for over 40 years advocated wildlife conservation, especially tigers, in India. He was outspoken

In the cockpit gently, the Ratan Tata mantra

Arun Maira

WITH Ratan Tata’s passing, the Tata Group, Indian business and the country have lost a great leader and role model. Ratan was a trained airplane pilot, like JRD Tata before him. I have flown with Ratan in single-engine planes in rough weather when he was completing the flying hours required for

Mission impossible: Sam Singh gave Anupshahr girl power

Civil Society News, New Delhi

IF empowerment of young women is what is in mind, Anupshahr is not the easiest of places to begin. A dusty and conservative town, it is an example of how deeply entrenched feudal and patriarchal values are in rural India. From an early age, girls in Anupshahr are in a

Water Guru is no more

Umesh Anand

The thirteenth anniversary issue of Civil Society with the Hall of Fame 2016 was out from the press and I had gone to Anupam Mishra’s home to give him a copy. He looked at the picture of Uncle Moosa on the cover and said: “Yeh aadmi apne chhote kaam se kitna kush hai.

Engineer, green guru: GD’s story and his last fast

Dunu Roy

We were on the bus from Shahdol to Varanasi. Suddenly, “Roko, roko!” my companion urged the driver. He leapt out of the bus, and disappeared. A few moments later he returned, beaming, clutching a leaf plate of hot jalebis! This was the quintessential Guru Das Agrawal, who knew every delicacy (and cinema

Scientist who saw the future in small farmers

Rita and Umesh Anand

IT was over a phone call that Dr M.S. Swaminathan agreed to be chief guest at our first Civil Society Hall of Fame event, which was held in 2011. For all his eminence, he had the capacity to be spontaneous and excited about a new idea. You could say we

The Vir Chopra we came to know and will always miss

Umesh Anand

“I AM Vir Chopra,” said the very fit-looking and fair-skinned man of medium height, putting out his hand. “I would like to get in touch with you.” I offered him my card and said, “Sure, anytime.” We had just completed an episode of Gamechangers, a series in which we were

The good listener who took science to people

Dunu Roy

ON May 21, an early Friday morning with the rain clouds skittering away across blue skies, Prof. Dinesh Mohan died in hospital, deeply mourned by family, friends, colleagues, and students. Much has been written about his expertise in injury prevention and safety, and his international stature as a much sought

A gentle crusader for justice, better governance

The Praxis Team

ACTION Aid’s Praxis Institute for Participatory Practices was designed to specialize in participatory rural appraisal, a catchphrase that propagated the idea that development must be bottom-up and participatory. From the very beginning, conceptualizing the vision of Praxis was a young man who had just completed his master’s in rural management

Thank you, Bahugunaji! You changed me forever!

Rahul Ram

I met Sunderlal Bahugunaji in May 1980. About 20 teenagers from Delhi accompanied by one adult, descended on his ashram at Siliyari in Garhwal. We were young, keen proto-environmentalists, city slickers who had by and large never spent any significant amount of time in a village. Bahugunaji’s recent passing away

A caring industrialist who truly believed in giving

Civil Society Tribute

AMONG the many remarkable people that the second wave of the virus carried away with it was Siddharth Shriram, a close and much valued friend of this magazine. At first glance, it would seem that we couldn’t possibly have much in common. He was an industrialist who belonged among the

A mother to the girls in western UP’s villages

Civil Society Tribute

When the spheres conspire to put an NGO on earth, the outcome can be pretty much heavenly. It has been so with the Pardada Pardadi Education Society (PPES). Virendra ‘Sam’ Singh’s decision to give up his life in America and return to India was as unconventional as his hiring of