In a profound tribute, the human rights network, National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), has said a main contribution of pioneering social activist, educationist, and Barefoot College founder Sanjit ‘Bunker’ Roy was to question the very foundations of ‘mainstream development’ thinking. Roy passed away on November 10, 2026, at the age of 81 in Tilonia, Rajasthan.
Hailed as one of India’s most remarkable voices for grassroots development, self-reliance, and the dignity of ordinary people, Roy’s passing has sent waves of grief through the global civil society community.
In an official statement, NAPM saluted his lifelong dedication to alternative development. “We express immense sadness at his passing on 10th November, 2026, at the age of 81,” the statement read. “National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) salutes the lifelong commitment of Sanjit ‘Bunker’ Roy, to grassroots knowledge, community empowerment and alternative development.” The organization extended its deepest condolences to his life partner, fellow activist Aruna Roy, and the entire Barefoot and MKSS (Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan) community.
Born on June 30, 1945, Roy was a national squash champion and a student of The Doon School and St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, with bright professional prospects. However, his encounter with the devastating Bihar famine of 1967 radically altered his life’s trajectory. Confronted by the harsh realities of rural poverty and inequality, he moved to rural Rajasthan to learn directly from the experiences and indigenous knowledge of local communities.
In 1972, he established the Social Work and Research Centre (SWRC) in Tilonia, which later gained international acclaim as the Barefoot College. Aruna Roy also made foundational contributions to the institution in its formative years. Inspired by Gandhian principles of self-reliance and decentralization, the college was built on a radical conviction: “People without formal degrees or professional qualifications are not without knowledge.”
Under Roy’s leadership, Barefoot College became an extraordinary experiment in community-led development. It trained rural women and men as engineers, teachers, healthcare workers, and water technicians. Its most globally recognized initiative, the ‘Solar Mamas’ program, trained marginalized rural women—including grandmothers with little to no formal education—as solar engineers. These women returned to their villages across Asia, Africa, and Latin America to install and maintain solar electricity systems, shattering conventional assumptions about gender, literacy, and technological expertise.
“Bunker Roy's contribution went far beyond introducing appropriate technologies in rural areas,” the NAPM statement noted. “His work questioned the very foundations of ‘mainstream development’ thinking… Tilonia offered a different approach, where communities were recognized as producers of knowledge rather than passive recipients of assistance.”
Over his five-decade career, Roy received numerous prestigious accolades, including the Padma Shri (1986), the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship (2005), a spot on TIME magazine’s list of the World’s 100 Most Influential People (2010), and the Blue Planet Prize (2011). Yet, NAPM emphasized that the deeper significance of his work lies not in formal recognitions, but in the thousands of communities whose understanding of their own capabilities was transformed through Tilonia.
Bunker Roy passed away peacefully at his home in Tilonia, surrounded by those who had shared his remarkable journey. In a fitting farewell to a man who championed local culture, folk musician communities of Western Rajasthan performed a moving musical tribute in his honor.
“The deeper significance of Bunker’s work lies not in these formal recognitions, but in the thousands of working people and communities whose lives he touched,” the statement concluded. “His legacy will indeed live on in the wisdom and work of village communities of Rajasthan and beyond.”
His passing leaves a significant void in India's social action and grassroots development landscape, but his vision of community-driven, sustainable empowerment continues to inspire a global movement, it noted.
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