Dr. Bhartendra Bansal a renowned professor of Hindi and Sanskrit, and a renowned social activist of Palampur passes away

Bharatendra Bansal – a legacy

By : Dr Rajesh Sood and B K Sood  Chief Editor

A professor of Hindi and Sanskrit, Bharatendra Bansal was born in Bhatinda (Punjab) in 1936, but his heart always dwelled in the Himalayas. From his youth, when he went on trekking trips, he developed a deep love for Himachal and its people. For the sake of his children, he moved to the USA in 1981, but after settling his children there, he moved back to India in 1998, this time to HP.

He first moved to Tapovan (Sidhbari) with Chinmaya Mission to assist with rural development, where he established self-help groups and initiated income generation schemes for rural women. He worked toward improving rural sanitation at a time when this issue was largely neglected. He also tried to create solutions for waste disposal by developing household-level incinerators and renewable energy biogas plants in the villages.

Bansal Ji shifted to Palampur in 2000 and established the organization Nav Prayas Kendra. Along with his wife, he worked intensively on the rehabilitation of handicapped children – from identification of neglected cases in villages to their holistic development including toilet training, speech therapy, physiotherapy, surgery and prosthesis to improve their quality of life. He supported the women’s cooperative Samridhi by assisting with infrastructure, equipment, and ensuring quality control.

When he saw that TB patients have to carry water bottles to hospitals to take their medicine, he supported the patients by providing water campers for DOTS Centre.

He believed that educated children are the key to a society’s better future and started tutoring children from low socio-economic groups by welcoming them into his own house. He loved their curiosity and energy, even preparing pakoras and other snacks for their daily afternoon visits. He also sponsored bright deserving students in their education. He helped government schools rebuild and renovate their infrastructure.

Bansal ji contributed quietly and selflessly to society in countless ways. He passed away at the age of 85 years after a brief illness, and leaves behind a legacy of selfless service.

Dr. Rajesh sood his neighbour offered his heartfelt condolences to his family members. May Dr Bansal’s soul be at peace with the Heavenly Father.  He said “I pray for peace and comfort for his loved ones at this difficult time and offer my condolences to all”. His gentle soul will always be in our hearts and he has worked selflessly and tirelessly towards the upliftment of downtrodden and weaker section of the society . He will always be remembered by the society for his selfless works for the betterment of weaker section of the society.