Prof Roy Burman Passes Away

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PROF. Roy Burman passed away the day before, the doyen of Anthropology, at the ripe age of 92. I have a firm opinion that if someone passes away after living his/her full life, we must not mourn. Yet I feel sad.

My students  at Rajender Nagar conveyed to me the inevitable. I contacted many in the department of anthropology but nobody knew of the news--what to talk about his last rites. This is the way we handle our precious resources.

PROF. Roy Burman had immensely contributed not only to the development of anthropology but to the cause of tribals. He was the founder President of Network of Practicing Anthropologists and Related Scientists (NETPARS) of which I was the Joint Secretary. Our association was almost three and a half decades old. He would lovingly call me promoter of anthropology after I started my Institute in 1985.

PROF Roy Burman was as critical of the government as I am but he was sophisticated in his writings while I believe in hitting straight, to pinch. Because of his comments on tribal development, the Ministry of tribal Affairs had stopped giving him the copy of its Annual Report and I used to be more than happy to oblige him in this regard. Despite all the mis handling of tribal affairs, unlike me, he was quite optimistic about the future.

HIS contribution to Anthropology is much more than of any other Indian anthropologist and yet, I wonder, knowing the state of Indian Anthropology whether he will ever get his due recognition.

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