Remembering Praful Bidwai

Remembering Praful Bidwai

Praful Bidwai used rigorous journalism to advance progressive change.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

It is a daunting challenge to enumerate Bidwai’s accomplishments.  He used rigorous journalism to advance progressive change.  In addition to the many articles that he published in The Nation, Bidwai was a staff member or contributor to The Times of India, Hindustan Times, Financial Express, Economic and Political Weekly, Frontline, and Outlook (in India), and Le Monde Diplomatique (France) and Il Manifesto (Italy).  In recent years, his syndicated column was published in newspapers throughout India.  The topics on which he wrote—in depth—were mind-boggling, and included the environment, social justice, security, nuclear energy and weaponry, disarmament, science and technology, sustainable development, and ethnic and class conflict.  He brought to each one a rare combination of erudition, rigor and political engagement.  The extraordinary depth and scope of his competence was evident from his student days: he graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, one of India’s finest and most competitive universities, with a specialization in economics, philosophy, and science and technology.

Bidwai wrote several books, including South Asia on a Short Fuse: Nuclear Politics and the Future of Global Disarmament, co-authored with his close friend, Achin Vanaik.  The book and Praful’s other activities promoting peace, including co-founding with Vanaik the Coalition for Disarmament and Peace, earned the two the Sean McBride Peace Prize from the International Peace Institute in 2000.

Among his numerous positions, Praful was a Fellow of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam, among the world’s foremost progressive NGOs.  He had also served on the Indian Council for Social Science Research, the Central Advisory Board on Education in India, and the National Book Trust.

Praful’s last book, scheduled for publication in October by Harper Collins, is The Phoenix Moment: Challenges Confronting the Indian Left.  An in-depth analysis of the trajectory of the Indian Left since its birth a century ago, it seeks to promote the renaissance of the Indian Left (and, implicitly, the renaissance of the Left internationally) by helping to devise and achieve a democratic socialist alternative to neoliberalism.

Bidwai’s extraordinary accomplishments were matched by unique personal qualities.  While utterly fearless and passionate in his commitment to promoting radical change, there wasn’t the slightest shred of dogmatism in his approach.  He eagerly elicited the opinions of people from the simplest to the mightiest, and whose views ranged across the political spectrum.  There was nothing he loved more than, whiskey glass in hand, engaging in intensively focused conversation on the most serious topics far into the night–leavened by frequent hearty guffaws at the craziness of this world.

Pierrot, in Edna St. Vincent Millay’s Aria da Capo, famously opines, “I love Humanity; but I hate people.”  By contrast, although Praful hated injustice, he loved humanity and deeply loved people.  He was unstintingly loyal, giving, and selfless.  His friends, comrades, and readers around the world have been boundlessly enriched by his presence; we are immeasurably impoverished and saddened by his absence.

Support independent journalism that exposes oligarchs and profiteers


Donald Trump’s cruel and chaotic second term is just getting started. In his first month back in office, Trump and his lackey Elon Musk (or is it the other way around?) have proven that nothing is safe from sacrifice at the altar of unchecked power and riches.

Only robust independent journalism can cut through the noise and offer clear-eyed reporting and analysis based on principle and conscience. That’s what The Nation has done for 160 years and that’s what we’re doing now.

Our independent journalism doesn’t allow injustice to go unnoticed or unchallenged—nor will we abandon hope for a better world. Our writers, editors, and fact-checkers are working relentlessly to keep you informed and empowered when so much of the media fails to do so out of credulity, fear, or fealty.

The Nation has seen unprecedented times before. We draw strength and guidance from our history of principled progressive journalism in times of crisis, and we are committed to continuing this legacy today.

We’re aiming to raise $25,000 during our Spring Fundraising Campaign to ensure that we have the resources to expose the oligarchs and profiteers attempting to loot our republic. Stand for bold independent journalism and donate to support The Nation today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel

Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x