Veteran academic and women’s movement activist, Prof Jasodhara Bagchi passed away on January 9 at the age of 77.
She taught English Literature at Jadavpur University in Kolkata since 1963, till her retirement in 1997. She was a Left activist, close to the CPI(M), and a dedicated activist of the Left women’s movement.
She helped found the discipline of Women’s Studies in Jadavpur University and India. She initiated the publication of the Bengali Women Writers Reprint Series, to safeguard and showcase women’s writings that might otherwise be lost. She wrote extensively on women’s struggles.
The launch of her latest book, Parijayee Nari O Manabadhikar (Migrating Women and Human Rights), at the Kolkata Book Fairwas stalled by the Mamata Banerjee Government which termed it as “politically controversial”, presumably for its Left perspective.
As recently as September 2014, Jasodhara Bagchi spoke out in support of the Hokkolorob movement of Jadavpur students, and was part of the five-member team of Emeritus Professors that met West Bengal Governor and University Chancellor to demand that the authoritarian VC be replaced by a more suitable nominee.
She served as the Chairperson of the West Bengal State Commission for Women from 2001 to 2008.
Liberation salutes Jasodhara Bagchi, whose legacy will inspire the Left movement and women’s movement in India.