Man of many parts, Vimal Bhai immensely contributed to ecological, social movements

By Bharat Dogra*
Vimal Bhai breathed his last on 15 August at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi. He was 60.
He will be remembered for a long time for his contributions to many ecological and social movements, but perhaps most prominently for the movements against the excess of several ill-planned hydro-electricity projects in Uttarakhand. He was involved in this from an early stage, from the days of the anti-Tehri dam movement. Later he formed an organization Matu to carry this forward. Matu became an important voice on this issue.
His work on this issue had a long continuity. He also worked hard to collect a lot of important information on this issue and brought it to the attention of many people, using his own writings as well as media contacts, helping in the mobilization efforts. Here as well as in other places, he contributed to better understanding and organizing of social and environmental appraisal of projects.

He was both learning several important aspects relating to the details of proper project evaluations and also taking this knowledge to people of remote villages which he visited frequently in difficult conditions. Several of these villages faced direct displacement or indirect displacement as a result of very adverse impacts of harmful projects.
Most of this work was concerned with protection of Ganga river and its tributaries in the Himalayan region. Later he contributed also to the Yamuna protection campaign in and around Delhi.
He was a familiar face for a long time at various meetings and mobilizations on environmental and social issues in Delhi where I met him several times. He was also a familiar face in the offices of the various Gandhian organizations located near Rajghat in Delhi and was helpful to several senior Gandhian activists visiting Delhi for short periods for urgent work relating to various movements.
He also contributed in several important ways to the Narmada Bachao Andolan. This also brought him close to the National Alliance of People’s Movements and he became involved with this organization at several levels for a long time.

He was active on the front of communal harmony also. He had worked for some time with Fr Thomas Kocherry as well. Another struggle he participated in related to mining issues in Rajasthan. He often worked in difficult conditions and was also arrested a few times, although not for long.
In the course of all these efforts he travelled a lot, perhaps most often to Uttarakhand, although Delhi and nearby areas remained as a sort of base camp for him. His last days were spent in Faridabad, where he contributed to efforts for the rehabilitation of people of Khori village in Faridabad district.

It may be recalled that in a massive demolition drive the working class people here had been rendered homeless, an action taken up in the middle of Covid and adverse weather which was widely condemned for its violation of human rights.
Vimal Bhai was also active in asserting rights of sexual minorities.
A man of many parts, Vimal Bhai had made a documentary film and written several articles on the issues on which he was campaigning. He was well skilled in hand- spinning of yarn and had acquired good tailoring skills as well. He enjoyed cooking and was a good cook.
He will be remembered by many people and fellow activists in social movements for his many-sided contributions.
---
*Honorary convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now; recent books include ‘Man over Machine--A Path to Peace’ and ‘Planet in Peril'

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Search This Blog