Dr. G G Parikh 1924-2025

Key Details of His Passing

• Time: 7:30 pm -10 pm
• |Place (subject to change): LIC, New Delhi and on-line platforms like Zoom and Skype.
• Place: Mumbai
• Age: 100
• Honorific: Mostly exalted as the Saint of the Socialists due to his extreme moral fortitude, unpretentiousness, and adherence to his ideals.

Life and Contributions

• Early Life: Born on 30 th December 1924, Surendranagar, Gujarat. He was a qualified medical practitioner who opted to follow the way of serving the people and activism.
• Freedom Struggle: In 1942, he was involved in Quit India Movement where he was arrested and sentenced to 10 months in jail.
• Political Ideology: He joined the Congress Socialist Party, a crafty weakening group in 1946 and became a cadet member of the group which significantly affected the post-independence socialist political movement and Janata political movement in India.

Post-Independence Work:

• President of Bombay Students Congress (1947) and actively participated in student movements, trade union movements, and cooperative movements.
• He spearheaded the socialist weekly, Janata in the 1950s on which he used to speak on economic justice, democratic ideals and Gandhian ideals.
• Institution Builder: In 1961, he co-founded the Yusuf Meherally Centre in Raigad, Maharashtra, a rural development, political and social innovation organisation.
• Resistance During Emergency: In the Internal Emergency (1975-77), he was thrown into jail because of his strong opposition to dictatorial regime and this solidified his image as a democratic and socialist opposition leader.

Legacy

• Dr. G G Parikh is one of the remembered principled Gandhian and socialist stalwarts that dedicated his whole life to the cause of freedom, social justice, and democratic empowerment.