Social worker Sanjit ‘Bunker’ Roy, who worked to make rural India self-reliant and to technically empower women in villages, has died at the age of 81. He breathed his last on Tuesday morning at his home in Tilonia in Rajasthan’s Ajmer district. Family members and close associates, including his wife and social worker Aruna Roy, were present with him at the time. His death marks the end of an important chapter in the field of rural development and social change.
Born on June 30, 1945, in Burnpur, West Bengal, Bunker Roy studied at the prestigious Doon School and St Stephen’s College, Delhi. He had the option of a comfortable life and a distinguished career, but the Bihar famine of 1966-67 changed his thinking. During famine relief work, he saw rural poverty and hunger closely. After that, he dedicated his life to the development of villages.
In 1972, he established the Social Work and Research Centre in Tilonia, Rajasthan, which later became known as Barefoot College. He believed that people in villages already possessed the knowledge and skills to solve their problems. What was needed was to recognise that capacity and provide opportunity.
His most discussed initiative was training rural women, especially elderly and illiterate women, in solar energy. These women became known as ‘Solar Mamas’. They learned the skills of installing solar panels, making solar lamps and repairing them. The initiative expanded to more than 96 countries, including India.
Bunker Roy was honoured with the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 1985 and the Padma Shri in 1986. In 2010, Time magazine included him among the 100 most influential people in the world. His life became an example of the idea that rural communities can create their own path to development through their knowledge and collective efforts.
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