JAIPUR: Social activist Sanjit "Bunker" Roy, who founded the Barefoot College and spent more than five decades on rural development and women's empowerment, died at his home in Tilonia in Ajmer district on Tuesday morning. He was 81.
He died at 6.15 am in the presence of his wife, the activist Aruna Roy, and others close to him. "He went as he wanted to, in his own home in Tilonia, surrounded by some of the countless people who loved and cared for him deeply and passionately," a statement from those associated with him said. Activist Nikhil Dey said the funeral will be held in Tilonia at 4 pm.
Roy founded the Social Work and Research Centre, known as Barefoot College, in Tilonia in 1972. What began in a Rajasthan village became an internationally recognised institution built on the belief that villagers, even those without formal education, could acquire technical skills and solve their own communities' problems.
The college trained rural people in solar energy, water conservation, education, healthcare and livelihoods, with a particular emphasis on women. Its best-known programme trained rural women, including those who had never been to school, to install and maintain solar lighting, and later brought women from several countries to Tilonia for training. It also ran night schools for children who worked during the day, and worked on rainwater harvesting and traditional crafts.
Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Ashok Gehlot paid their tribute and expressed their condolences to his life long commitments and dedication to rural development. Shashi Throor, in a post shared on X said, “visionary social activist, pioneer, and educator” who dedicated his entire life to empower people of rural areas. He also added, “His extraordinary vision of training rural grandmothers into ‘Barefoot Solar Engineers’ illuminated thousands of off-grid homes across India and the developing world, leaving behind an indelible legacy of dignity, community empowerment, and environmental stewardship”.
Gehlot, former Rajasthan Chief Minister also shared a post on X, "His entire life was dedicated to empowering villages and bringing positive change to the lives of the underprivileged".
Roy's approach drew on Mahatma Gandhi's ideas of village self-reliance; he argued that rural communities should not have to depend entirely on outside experts for basic services.
(With inputs from media reports)