Bunker Roy

Sanjit Bunker Roy
Roy at the Time 100 event in 2010
Born
Sanjit Roy

(1945-06-30)30 June 1945
Burnpur, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died10 November 2026(2026-11-10) (aged 81)
Tilonia, Rajasthan, India
EducationSt. Stephen's College, Delhi
OccupationsSocial activist and founder of Barefoot College
Spouse
​
(m. 1970)​

Sanjit "Bunker" Roy (30 June 1945 – 10 November 2026) was an Indian social activist and educator who founded the Barefoot College. He was selected as one of Time 100's 100 most influential personalities in 2010 for his work in educating illiterate and semi-literate rural Indians. Roy was awarded the Padma Shri by Giani Zail Singh in 1986.

Background

Sanjit Roy attended the all-boys' The Doon School, where he was a contemporary of Rajiv Gandhi, and then went to St. Stephen's College, Delhi from 1962 to 1967.

He was the Indian national squash champion in 1965 and also represented India in three world squash championships.

Roy was married to ex-IAS Aruna Roy in 1970. He died in Tilonia on 10 November 2026, at the age of 81.

Barefoot College

Roy was the founder of what is now called Barefoot College. After conducting a survey of water supplies in 100 drought-prone areas, Roy established the Social Work and Research Centre in 1972. Its mission soon changed from a focus on water and irrigation to empowerment and sustainability. The programs focused on siting water pumps near villages and training the local population to maintain them without dependence on outside mechanics, providing training as paramedics for local medical treatment, and on solar power to decrease dependence and time spent on kerosene lighting.

He was recognised in 2010 in Time for the programs of the college which have trained more than 3 million people in skills including solar engineers such as the Solar Mamas, teachers, midwives, weavers, architects, and doctors.

Other work

Roy was appointed by Rajiv Gandhi to the government's Planning Commission. He recommended that legislation be created that would apply a "code of conduct" for non-governmental organizations. He also proposed that a national council be created that would recommend "legitimate" organizations to the government and monitor their activities. Both of these recommendations were "fiercely" opposed as mechanisms that could be used to promote patronage of favored groups and quell organizations that were not supportive of a particular government or party.

In 1983, he was the plaintiff in Roy v State of Rajasthan in which the Supreme Court struck down an emergency policy which had allowed women famine relief workers to be paid less than male workers.

He spoke at the TED conference, about how the Barefoot College "helps rural communities becomes self-sufficient."

Awards and recognition

References

  1. 1 2 Mortenson, Greg. (29 April 2010) Sanjit 'Bunker' Roy The 2010 TIME 100. TIME. Retrieved on 2 June 2012.
  2. ↑ "For 50 years, Bunker Roy, born into India's elite, has trained the poor to become builders, engineers and doctors. By Heather Malcolm". The Oldie. Retrieved 10 November 2026.
  3. ↑ bunker Roy (1 February 2006). Verghese, B. G. (ed.). Tomorrow's India: Another Tryst with Destiny. Penguin Books India. pp. 347–. ISBN 9780670058631. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "Social Activist Sanjit Bunker Roy Dies At 81". ETV Bharat News. 10 November 2026. Retrieved 10 November 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 John, Mary (2003). Children's Rights and Power: Charging Up for a New Century. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. pp. 232–. ISBN 9781853026584. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  6. ↑ Parvin Shaikh, Neda (23 May 2024). "Feminism in Practice: Learning from the Barefoot "Solar Mamas"". Journal of International Women's Studies. 26 (3). ISSN 1539-8706.
  7. ↑ Sumit Ganguly; Larry Diamond; Marc F. Plattner, eds. (13 August 2007). "The Role of Civil Society". The State of India's Democracy. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 157–. ISBN 9780801887918. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  8. ↑ Epp, Charles R. (15 October 1998). The Rights Revolution: Lawyers, Activists, and Supreme Courts in Comparative Perspective. University of Chicago Press. pp. 253–. ISBN 9780226211619. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  9. ↑ "Students untapped forces of social change". The Times of India. TNN. 28 October 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  10. ↑ Bunker Roy. "Bunker Roy: Learning from a barefoot movement". TED. Archived from the original on 22 November 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  11. ↑ "Mr. Sanjit Bunker Roy". Jamnalal Bajaj Award.
  12. ↑ "The 2003 St Andrews Prize for the Environment". St Andrews Prize for the Environment.
  13. ↑ "Swiss award for Bunker Roy". The Hindu. 22 September 2002.
  14. ↑ "Global honour for barefoot wonder Bunker Roy". The Hindu. 29 September 2009. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025.