The sudden and untimely passing away of Balagopal is a tragic loss for all of us in PUDR and to the civil liberties and democratic rights movement in India. We are still stunned and shocked at the news and unable to find proper words to communicate our grief and sadness or indeed to speak of Balagopal in the past tense. We had got to know Balagopal as the truly committed and tireless fighter for civil rights who, even in the midst of acute repression, never lost his compassion, humaneness, and sense of humour. His passing is a deep personal and political loss for us. At a time when a new and terrible phase of repression has been launched by the state, when basic democratic space and rights that we all have been fighting for under such severe attack, Balagopal’s death is going to leave an unfathomable void in our movement. It is a loss we will feel every day in these dark times.
Gautam Navlakha & Moushumi Basu
Secretaries
Peoples Union for Democratic Rights
