Sanjay Ghose
Encyclopedia
Sanjoy Ghose (7 December 1959 - 4 July 1997) was an India
n rural development activist known for his pioneering contributions to community health and development media. He is believed to have been killed by United Liberation Front of Asom
(ULFA) militants in the river island of Majuli
on the Brahmaputra river around July 4, 1997.
, Ghose spent his formative years and his adolescence in Mumbai
, Maharashtra
.
Sanjoy Ghose belonged to a well known Bengali family. Bhaskar Ghose, erstwhile Director General of Doordarshan, the Indian public television network, is his uncle. His two aunts are Ruma Pal
a former Supreme Court judge, and Arundhati Ghose
, former diplomat and India's permanent representative to the United Nations during the 1990s.
He was educated at the Cathedral and John Connon School
. He was the president of his school wing of the Interact club - which is the Rotary International
’s service club for young people ages 12 to 18. His father recalls, "As a school going boy he spent two nights in a Bombay (presently Mumbai) slum in torrential rain just to get a feel of the real problems that plague slums."
After school, he was educated at a liberal arts college, Elphinstone College
located in Mumbai
. Apart from graduating in rural development and law with college and university honours, he also edited the college magazine, ran the English literature club, and won University of Mumbai
competitions for quizzing and debating. He was also active in the National Service Scheme
- taking his fellow students to remote tribal villages in the hilly tracts abutting the Western Ghats
in Thane district
- to experience first hand the poverty and exploitation of the tribal communities. In 1980, he chose to join the then unknown Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA) in its very first batch. He had confirmed admissions to all the three then existing IIMs, ( Indian Institute of Management ) - Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta. Joining the prestigious IIM opened the way to very well paying corporate careers. He chose the then unknown IRMA over the known IIMs, in keeping with his personal commitment to work for the poorest of the poor.
Dr.Srikanth Sambrani, the first director of IRMA, remembered the selection interview, in an Indian Express article, dated 12 August 1997, thus -
"I first met him in 1980, when conducting admissions interviews for the Institute of Rural Management at Anand. We were highly impressed by his paper qualifications. He walked into our small room, all 5 ft 5 in of him held like the fearless bantam he undoubtedly was. But since he had applied to IIM Ahmedabad also, we thought we would lose him. We spent an hour discussing the relative merits of IIMA and IRMA. When he turned down IIMA, it was a coup for us."
After his post graduation with very good grades from IRMA, in 1982, he chose to work in a small rural development trust, Tribhuvandas Foundation
, in Anand, Kheda district, over much over visible and better paying jobs with Government sponsored milk cooperative federations. In Tribhuvandas Foundation, he catalysed its growth from a small family run trust, to working in hundred odd villages, hiring professional rural medical doctors, and extension staff.
After two years with Tribhuvandas foundation, he won the INLAKs foundation scholarship for a M.Sc degree in economics from St Anne's College, Oxford in 1984. After Oxford, he decided to return to rural India. He set up his own Non Government Organisation - URMUL Rural Health and Development Trust - in the desert district of Bikaner in Rajasthan.(1986). While working with URMUL, he won the Hubert Humphrey fellowship - for spending a year with the prestigious Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
in the year 1988-89. Working with the sick of the poorest of the poor, told on his personal health. He contracted tuberculosis, while collecting sputum for testing, from potential TB patients. After establishing URMULRural Health and Development Trust as a mainstream NGO in Rajasthan, he handed over the organisation to his successor, and shifted to Delhi. This was an unprecedented decision for Indian voluntary agencies - as the founders usually hung on to the leadership position till they died.
Sanjoy Ghose wrote extensively about his grassroot experiences with the URMUL Trust in Lunkaransar Village in Bikaner.
The Indian Express, a leading national daily, used his writings to launched a successful monthly column named ‘Village Voice’. The "action experiment" of tapping the power of the mainstream middle class urban English media to reflect unheard rural voices spoken in local languages, grounded in very local realities, got a measure of success.
Recognizing the potential of writing in mainstream media to highlight rural development issues and catalyse change, Sanjoy conceived of CHARKHA. CHARKHA appears to have been initiated to exploit the legitimate opportunities available in the national media for influencing policies related to rural development. It also addressed the concern that such a massive task, required more support than his single voice. His discussions with senior media persons from the national dailies seemed to suggest that an organisation dedicated to development communication could work. CHARKHA in a sense was an attempt to "institutionalize" the success of the "Village voice" experience - and broaden the scope to bring in more writing talent and different geographies. On October 24, 1994, CHARKHA was formally initiated in New Delhi- with the goal of spinning action into words.Its formal vision is "To contribute towards building a harmonious, inclusive society empowered by knowledge."
After launching CHARKHA, he decided to work in the insurgent prone Upper Assam, specifically in Majuli island on the Brahmaputra. His father recollected the family discussions around this decision. " When we were dissuading Sanjoy from going to the terrorism-ridden Assam
", he replied, "then whose son will you send ?"
Thirteen years after his untimely demise, both his creations, URMUL Trust and CHARKHA continue to survive and grow in the "rural development sector" - URMUL and its affiliates in the desert districts of Rajasthan, and CHARKHA in the world of development media. CHARKHA has instituted "the Sanjoy Ghose Media Fellowships" in his memory. This has been awarded since 2003 in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, to encourage writers, particularly women, to generate research-based writings that reflect their unique perspective on the concerns of their people in a region that has known conflict for several decades now.
The Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
had instituted the Sanjoy Ghose Endowment in his memory in 1998 for "building a culture of volunteerism and a sense of citizen responsibility among the youth in India's northeastern state of Assam"
In 37 years Sanjoy Ghose had packed more into life than most people do in a hundred years or more. RN Haldipur, (former director of IRMA),who served on the Board of Tribhuvandas Foundation, when Sanjoy was working there, assessed him thus "Sanjoy was a positive and tenacious votary who functioned with single-minded purpose. Instead of joining the corporate sector, he took the hard path, full of difficulties and austerity. To him work was soul-satisfying worship. Transparent in his dealings, he was a man of great integrity."
Awarded All India Human Rights Association Manav Shri Puraskar award in the field of Journalism & Social Welfare, 1997-98.
His mission in his own words “To change the world and make a difference in the lives of the ordinary people”.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n rural development activist known for his pioneering contributions to community health and development media. He is believed to have been killed by United Liberation Front of Asom
United Liberation Front of Asom
The United Liberation Front of Asom is a separatist group from Assam, among many other such groups in North-East India. It seeks to establish a sovereign Assam via an armed struggle in the Assam Conflict...
(ULFA) militants in the river island of Majuli
Majuli
200px|thumb|Way To Majuli From [[Jorhat]] City Majuli or Majoli is a large river island in the Brahmaputra river, in the Indian state of Assam...
on the Brahmaputra river around July 4, 1997.
Biography
Born in NagpurNagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
, Ghose spent his formative years and his adolescence in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
.
Sanjoy Ghose belonged to a well known Bengali family. Bhaskar Ghose, erstwhile Director General of Doordarshan, the Indian public television network, is his uncle. His two aunts are Ruma Pal
Ruma Pal
Justice Ruma Pal was a judge of the Supreme Court of India until her retirement on June 3, 2006.She read for her B.C.L degree at St. Anne's College, Oxford and started practice in 1968 in Civil, Revenue, Labour and Constitutional matters in the Calcutta High Court...
a former Supreme Court judge, and Arundhati Ghose
Arundhati Ghose
Arundhati Ghose is a former Indian diplomat. She attained celebrity as head of the Indian delegation that participated in the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva in 1996.-Early life:...
, former diplomat and India's permanent representative to the United Nations during the 1990s.
He was educated at the Cathedral and John Connon School
Cathedral and John Connon School
The Cathedral and John Connon School is a co-educational, private school located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, established in 1860.According to the Education World-C fore Survey of Schools 2010, the school has been ranked first in the all India ranking of the best schools in India.It was ranked...
. He was the president of his school wing of the Interact club - which is the Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
’s service club for young people ages 12 to 18. His father recalls, "As a school going boy he spent two nights in a Bombay (presently Mumbai) slum in torrential rain just to get a feel of the real problems that plague slums."
After school, he was educated at a liberal arts college, Elphinstone College
Elphinstone College
Elphinstone College is an institution of higher education affiliated to the University of Mumbai. Established in 1856, it is one of the oldest colleges of the University of Mumbai. It was exalted as a prestigious seat of learning during the British Raj and is generally observed for its vibrant alumni...
located in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. Apart from graduating in rural development and law with college and university honours, he also edited the college magazine, ran the English literature club, and won University of Mumbai
University of Mumbai
The University of Mumbai , is a state university located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was known as the University of Bombay until 1996 when the city of Bombay was renamed as Mumbai. The affiliated colleges of the university are spread throughout the city of Mumbai and four coastal districts in...
competitions for quizzing and debating. He was also active in the National Service Scheme
National Service Scheme
National Service Scheme ' is an Indian government-sponsored program under the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India. It was started in 1969.-History:...
- taking his fellow students to remote tribal villages in the hilly tracts abutting the Western Ghats
Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
in Thane district
Thane District
Thane is a district in northern Maharashtra state in western India. As of 2011 it is the most populated district in the nation. The headquarters of the district is the city of Thane. Other major cities in the district are Navi Mumbai , Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayander, Bhiwandi, Ulhasnagar,...
- to experience first hand the poverty and exploitation of the tribal communities. In 1980, he chose to join the then unknown Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA) in its very first batch. He had confirmed admissions to all the three then existing IIMs, ( Indian Institute of Management ) - Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta. Joining the prestigious IIM opened the way to very well paying corporate careers. He chose the then unknown IRMA over the known IIMs, in keeping with his personal commitment to work for the poorest of the poor.
Dr.Srikanth Sambrani, the first director of IRMA, remembered the selection interview, in an Indian Express article, dated 12 August 1997, thus -
"I first met him in 1980, when conducting admissions interviews for the Institute of Rural Management at Anand. We were highly impressed by his paper qualifications. He walked into our small room, all 5 ft 5 in of him held like the fearless bantam he undoubtedly was. But since he had applied to IIM Ahmedabad also, we thought we would lose him. We spent an hour discussing the relative merits of IIMA and IRMA. When he turned down IIMA, it was a coup for us."
After his post graduation with very good grades from IRMA, in 1982, he chose to work in a small rural development trust, Tribhuvandas Foundation
Tribhuvandas Foundation
Tribhuvandas Foundation is a public Charitable trust working with the AMUL milk cooperatives in and around Kheda district of Gujarat. Its mission is to work for betterment of health in rural communities of Central Gujarat...
, in Anand, Kheda district, over much over visible and better paying jobs with Government sponsored milk cooperative federations. In Tribhuvandas Foundation, he catalysed its growth from a small family run trust, to working in hundred odd villages, hiring professional rural medical doctors, and extension staff.
After two years with Tribhuvandas foundation, he won the INLAKs foundation scholarship for a M.Sc degree in economics from St Anne's College, Oxford in 1984. After Oxford, he decided to return to rural India. He set up his own Non Government Organisation - URMUL Rural Health and Development Trust - in the desert district of Bikaner in Rajasthan.(1986). While working with URMUL, he won the Hubert Humphrey fellowship - for spending a year with the prestigious Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is part of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
in the year 1988-89. Working with the sick of the poorest of the poor, told on his personal health. He contracted tuberculosis, while collecting sputum for testing, from potential TB patients. After establishing URMULRural Health and Development Trust as a mainstream NGO in Rajasthan, he handed over the organisation to his successor, and shifted to Delhi. This was an unprecedented decision for Indian voluntary agencies - as the founders usually hung on to the leadership position till they died.
Sanjoy Ghose wrote extensively about his grassroot experiences with the URMUL Trust in Lunkaransar Village in Bikaner.
The Indian Express, a leading national daily, used his writings to launched a successful monthly column named ‘Village Voice’. The "action experiment" of tapping the power of the mainstream middle class urban English media to reflect unheard rural voices spoken in local languages, grounded in very local realities, got a measure of success.
Recognizing the potential of writing in mainstream media to highlight rural development issues and catalyse change, Sanjoy conceived of CHARKHA. CHARKHA appears to have been initiated to exploit the legitimate opportunities available in the national media for influencing policies related to rural development. It also addressed the concern that such a massive task, required more support than his single voice. His discussions with senior media persons from the national dailies seemed to suggest that an organisation dedicated to development communication could work. CHARKHA in a sense was an attempt to "institutionalize" the success of the "Village voice" experience - and broaden the scope to bring in more writing talent and different geographies. On October 24, 1994, CHARKHA was formally initiated in New Delhi- with the goal of spinning action into words.Its formal vision is "To contribute towards building a harmonious, inclusive society empowered by knowledge."
After launching CHARKHA, he decided to work in the insurgent prone Upper Assam, specifically in Majuli island on the Brahmaputra. His father recollected the family discussions around this decision. " When we were dissuading Sanjoy from going to the terrorism-ridden Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
", he replied, "then whose son will you send ?"
Death and legacy
A newspaper article in the Deccan Herald on February 9, 2009 claimed that "(Ghose) had been killed a day after he was abducted by ULFA cadres on July four, 1997, and his body, which was never found, was thrown into the swirling waters of the Brahmaputra. The killing,... was carried out by local cadre even before the top leadership could convey to them the message not to harm him to avoid possible international repercussions."Thirteen years after his untimely demise, both his creations, URMUL Trust and CHARKHA continue to survive and grow in the "rural development sector" - URMUL and its affiliates in the desert districts of Rajasthan, and CHARKHA in the world of development media. CHARKHA has instituted "the Sanjoy Ghose Media Fellowships" in his memory. This has been awarded since 2003 in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, to encourage writers, particularly women, to generate research-based writings that reflect their unique perspective on the concerns of their people in a region that has known conflict for several decades now.
The Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public is a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, VA, supporting the field of social entrepreneurship. Ashoka was founded by Bill Drayton in 1981 to identify and support leading social entrepreneurs through a Social Venture Capital approach with the goal of...
had instituted the Sanjoy Ghose Endowment in his memory in 1998 for "building a culture of volunteerism and a sense of citizen responsibility among the youth in India's northeastern state of Assam"
In 37 years Sanjoy Ghose had packed more into life than most people do in a hundred years or more. RN Haldipur, (former director of IRMA),who served on the Board of Tribhuvandas Foundation, when Sanjoy was working there, assessed him thus "Sanjoy was a positive and tenacious votary who functioned with single-minded purpose. Instead of joining the corporate sector, he took the hard path, full of difficulties and austerity. To him work was soul-satisfying worship. Transparent in his dealings, he was a man of great integrity."
Background
- Graduate from Elphinstone CollegeElphinstone CollegeElphinstone College is an institution of higher education affiliated to the University of Mumbai. Established in 1856, it is one of the oldest colleges of the University of Mumbai. It was exalted as a prestigious seat of learning during the British Raj and is generally observed for its vibrant alumni...
, Mumbai, with specialization in Rural Development and Law, 1997 -1980. - Post graduate degree in Rural Management from IRMA Institute of Rural Management in AnandAnand, Gujarat]]Anand is the administrative centre of Anand District in the state of Gujarat, India. It is administered by Anand Municipality. It is part of the region known as Charotar, consisting of Anand and Kheda Districts....
, Gujarat, 1980-1982. - M.Sc. in Agronomy (agricultural economics) from St Anne's College, Oxford, United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with an Inlaks Scholarship.1984-85 - Masters in Public Health, Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, USA as a Hubert HumphreyHubert HumphreyHubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
Fellow.1988-89 - Founder Secretary and Trustee, Urmul Rural Health Research & Development Trust, RajasthanRajasthanRājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
1986 - Founder General Secretary, Charkha, the Development Communications Network, New DelhiNew DelhiNew 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...
1994 - Winner of the 1993 Sanskriti Award
- General Secretary, Association of Voluntary Agencies in Rural Development (AVARD), New Delhi
- Team leader, AVARD North East
Awarded All India Human Rights Association Manav Shri Puraskar award in the field of Journalism & Social Welfare, 1997-98.
His mission in his own words “To change the world and make a difference in the lives of the ordinary people”.