Dilip passed away at the age of 79, in Pune, after an eventful life. We first met in Kolkata in the mid 1970’s; and were comrades for over fifty years. He was a teacher of physics in Kolkata, always supportive of students; an active fighter for Adivasi rights and the Jharkhand movement; for contract labourers in Singhbhum and later in Maharasthra. We kept in touch in places wide apart, Kolkata, Noamundi, Nagpur, Thane and Pune.

Dilip was always smiling, always the rebel, a non-conformist full of the love of life. “Man is a very interesting invention of himself“, he used to say, and “insufficient rum is worse than bad sex“.

Along with his many students, friends and admirers, I feel bereaved.

Rest in peace, comrade. You gave something precious to all of us. Lal Salaam

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