Rajiv Goswami
Encyclopedia
Rajiv Goswami was a former commerce student at the Deshbandhu College, Delhi University student who had attempted self-immolation
to protest against V.P. Singh's implementation of the Mandal Commission
recommendations. During Mandal commission agitation, the AIIMS intersection in Delhi had been temporarily renamed Rajiv Chowk by students in a celebration of his bravado.
Subsequently he was elected to position of the Delhi University Students' Union president. He gave up active politics due to health problems and set up his own business. In the years that followed he was frequently in and out of hospitals because of severe health complications dating back to his self-immolation bid.
He was a resident of Gomti Apartments at Kalkaji in New Delhi. He died in at Holy Family Hospital in Okhla
, New Delhi
on February 24, 2004 at age 33. His death was due to complications due to his self immolation 14 years earlier.
His was survived by his wife Aarti, daughter Simran (5) and son Aditya (1), father Madan Goswami (70) and mother Nandrani Goswami (62).
His mother was Nandrani was one of the speakers at anti reservation protests in 2006.
Goswami's action in 1990 had sparked a series of self-immolations by college students and led to a formidable movement against job reservations for backward castes, as recommended by the Mandal Commission. He is considered a martyr by those against the Reservation and Caste System in India
His act of self-immolation led to larger protests throughout India.
Self-immolation
Self-immolation refers to setting oneself on fire, often as a form of protest or for the purposes of martyrdom or suicide. It has centuries-long traditions in some cultures, while in modern times it has become a type of radical political protest...
to protest against V.P. Singh's implementation of the Mandal Commission
Mandal commission
The Mandal Commission was established in India in 1979 by the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to "identify the socially or educationally backward." It was headed by Indian parliamentarian Bindheshwari Prasad Mandal to consider the question of seat...
recommendations. During Mandal commission agitation, the AIIMS intersection in Delhi had been temporarily renamed Rajiv Chowk by students in a celebration of his bravado.
Subsequently he was elected to position of the Delhi University Students' Union president. He gave up active politics due to health problems and set up his own business. In the years that followed he was frequently in and out of hospitals because of severe health complications dating back to his self-immolation bid.
He was a resident of Gomti Apartments at Kalkaji in New Delhi. He died in at Holy Family Hospital in Okhla
Okhla
Okhla, is a neighbourhood around the old village in South Delhi district, though it is most known as the Okhla Industrial Area or Okhla Industrial Estate, an industrial suburb of New Delhi in South Delhi and mainly divided in three phases...
, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
on February 24, 2004 at age 33. His death was due to complications due to his self immolation 14 years earlier.
His was survived by his wife Aarti, daughter Simran (5) and son Aditya (1), father Madan Goswami (70) and mother Nandrani Goswami (62).
His mother was Nandrani was one of the speakers at anti reservation protests in 2006.
Goswami's action in 1990 had sparked a series of self-immolations by college students and led to a formidable movement against job reservations for backward castes, as recommended by the Mandal Commission. He is considered a martyr by those against the Reservation and Caste System in India
His act of self-immolation led to larger protests throughout India.