Professor S Parsuraman, former director of Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), passed away after a prolonged illness on Friday. He was 70 years old.
In his 14-year-long tenure as TISS director, he was considered the main force behind the institute’s growth. Many of his students remember him as an academician who did not shy away from taking a stand and setting inspiring examples. He is survived by his wife, daughter and her family.
Parsuraman had worked for more than 25 years as a teacher, trainer, activist, administrator and development worker. After joining TISS as a faculty in the 1980s, he also served as senior advisor to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, UNESCAP, Bangkok, Thailand. He was responsible for auditing all specialised UN organisations that have been programming development work in the rights framework in Asian countries. He returned to TISS in 2004 as its director until 2018, when he retired.
“When Parsuraman sir joined, the strength of students was not quite 200 and when he left, more than 2,000 students were passing out of the institute every year. He was a rare breed of leader with a strong institutional commitment and unmatched care and concern for the people who constituted the institute,” said P K Shajahan, dean, academic affairs at the institute. He added, “He has been phenomenal in developing a second layer of leadership as he identified potential and motivated individuals.”
Sunil Yadav, a BMC sanitisation worker, who received a Masters’ degree from TISS, said he is going to dedicate his PhD to Parsuraman. “He played an instrumental role in my academic journey with his motivation,” said Yadav.
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M K Stalin, too, tweeted his condolences. Parsuraman was from a village in Tamil Nadu but settled down in Pune after retiring from TISS in 2018. He was associated with MIT Pune as Dean of School of Sustainable Development at the MIT World Peace University in Pune.
Dr Shalini Bharat, TISS director, said, “We would like to remember him as someone who inspired generations of students. He was always on the side of the marginalised and believed in social intervention. He was committed to social change and was not an academician focused only on theory.” The institute will hold a condolence meet on Monday.
Courtesy : The Indian Express
