Voice of the voiceless

Five years have passed since his death. He was the other name for human rights. He looked at everything from humanistic approach. He spearheaded the rights movement for over two decades. He struggled throughout his life for the protection of rights of the Dalits and the Adivasis.

Dr Kandalla Balagopal (10 June 1952 – 8 October 2009) was a man of principles and practice. He was an uncompromising human rights activist, mathematician and lawyer who was known for his work on the issue of civil liberties and human rights. He was a staunch civil liberties activist in Andhra Pradesh. He had broken away from the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC), with which he was associated since its inception in ‘80’s, on the issue of violence perpetrated by the erstwhile CPI-ML Peoples War. Till his death, he relentlessly strove for brining justice to the downtrodden and oppressive sections of the society. He equally stood up to the State violence as well as violent activities of the Naxal groups.

Born in Karnataka and educated in Andhra, he joined Kakatiya University, Warangal, as a lecturer in Mathematics after completing his M Sc from REC, Warangal, and PhD from KU, Warangal. He gave up his post-doctoral research in Delhi and came back to Warangal. At Kakatiya University, Warangal, he was immensely influenced by revolutionary ideas. Gradually, he began to study historical, economical and political scenario of the country. The study of Marxism changed his way of life. From a brilliant mathematician, he turned into a full-time rights activist. As a member and General Secretary of the Civil Liberties Committee for over 15 years, he practised what he preached. He was arrested, kidnapped and beaten up many number of times by oppressive sections of the society. Once he was severely thrashed and the assailants left him in an unconscious state, thinking he was dead. All these harassments and hardships could not bend his spirit and only made him a stronger and more staunch supporter of human rights.

Dr Balagopal resigned as a lecturer and practised as a lawyer in Hyderabad. He took up cases of the deprived and the down-trodden people and gave them a new hope of life. He condemned fake encounters by police and called them government-sponsored murders. Simultaneously, Dr Balagopal could not endorse the retaliations perpetrated by the Left extremists either. At this point, he differed with the APCLC and broke away it and founded the Human Rights Forum. He refined and redefined the rights.

Whenever and wherever there was an encounter death or some illegal action, Dr Balagopal would appear there the next day. Tsundur, Karamchedu, Jagtial, Kothagudem, Adilabad, whatever be the place, Balagopal immediately rushed over there, interacted with the victims to do justice to them.

Dr Balagopal expanded his activities gradually. He condemned the state violence as much as he opposed the ‘red violence’. He visited the areas undergoing social turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, OdishaStates. He was a member of many fact-finding committees. He was deeply aggrieved by the Gujarat riots. He was strongly opposed to the Special Economic Zones. He used to travel thousands of miles to know the truth. He served as a member of the Expert Group on Development Challenges in Extremist Affected Areas, set up by Planning Commission of India in 2008.

As a mathematician, an activist, a lawyer, a literary critic and a prolific writer, his brilliance was multi-faceted. His intelligence was par excellence and intellect incomparable. His writings on various issues reveal his ‘perspective’ and multi-dimensional study. His articles in the Economic and Political Weekly unveiled his reflections on the various problems the country was facing. He would have achieved the Nobel Prize had he continued as a mathematician. He gave a new dimension to the civil rights movement. He strove hard for the protection of civil rights and struggled hard to do justice to the deserved sections of the society.

Emulating his ways and enlivening his goals and aspirations, albeit a tough task, will be a befitting tribute to the noted activist. His contribution to the rights movement would be remembered for ever and it gave a spur and acted as an impetus to the activists in other states. His absence is conspicuous especially for the poor. Dr Balagopal’s simple, ideal and practical life is exemplary for all. He was fifty seven when he breathed his last.