Remembering Professor B.K. Roy Burman

TRIBUTE

by VIJAY PRATAP

Professor B.K. Roy Burman is no more with us to give energy and thought to discussions on crucial issues of our time. He passed away at the age of 89 years on the morning of June 26, 2012.

He was a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi. He had served in various capacities with the office of the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Tribes and the Registrar General of India. He was a Professor at the JNU and Viswa Bharati University, and Director and Senior Professor at the Council for Social Development, Delhi. He had advised several governments on tribal and social issues, served on various commissions and authored numerous learned studies and reports.

Prof Roy Burman was President of the Indian Social Science Congress and Chairman of the Futurology Commission of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. He was for some years the Chief Editor of the Indian Anthropologist.

He was associated with the commissions for OBCs, SCs and STs—namely, Dhebar Commission and Kalelkar Commission; and was the Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Mandal Commission.

He was instrumental in setting up the social studies unit of Census Operations, thus paving the way for generation of vast amount of data with regard to the social status of the population of India through the census operations.
He was one of the first recipients of the Nehru Fellowship instituted by the Government of India for the promotion of research in different areas of governance. He was selected by the American Biographical Institute to be a recipient of its Albert Einstein Award of Excellence for 2011, for demonstrating effectiveness and distinction in his field.

He set up the Institute for People’s Action in Awangkhul village in Manipur for action research on self-management and sustainable development and introduced ideas of a more harmonious system of management for the North-East. He helped in setting up the JNU Centre at Imphal.

He served as an advisor to the Sikkim Government in pioneering critical analysis and societal and environmental review of plants and policies.
He played a key role in the setting up of the Institute of Man in Bhopal.

In these and many more public bodies, he endeavoured as a pro-active political anthropologist to bring out the significance of anthropological theories and philosophical questions for policy structure, form and content. In several of his writings he argues that in the absence of grounding law and policy in sound theories and philosophy, it is likely that the hiatus between the people and regimes of governance will increase to harm both.

Over and above his contributions to the body of knowledge of political anthropology, his life was exemplary. He always engaged in experiments to bring governance regimes, theory and philosophy to enrich discussions and debates, and improve the living conditions of the people on the margins.

As a reconciliation mission in the North-East, he undertook several padayatras and organised interfaces between those fighting in the North-East and the government. He was able to do it because his credibility was high with both sides.
At the international fora, he took up issues of the indigenous people.

He acted as an advisor to various governments —provincial as well as Central.
He was also seen as an important resource person in social movements as well as for the establishment. Stalwarts like Jayaprakash Narayan used to consult him. At the same time Indira Gandhi too consulted him on various issues relating to the tribals.

Mainstream editor adds: Professor Roy Burman went on spontaneous fast on issues of public and national concern like the 2002 Gujarat carnage, water crisis in the Capital due to construction of borewells etc. He was a true ‘organic intellectual’ of the Gramscian mould. He was close to the Mainstream family and used to write regularly in this publication. We propose to reproduce some of his articles in the coming days. We offer our sincere homage to such an outstanding personality whose patriotism and devotion to intellectual and academic pursuits were virtually without parallel.