New Delhi: Renowned political scientist, academic and human rights activist Kamal Mitra Chenoy passed away in Delhi on Saturday. He was 75.
Born on December 3, 1950, Chenoy served as a professor at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. He was widely recognised for his sharp analytical insights into political theory, Indian politics, international relations and human rights issues.
He served as a professor and chair of the Centre for Comparative Politics and Political Theory at JNU’s School of International Studies. During his early years at the university, he was actively involved in student politics and served as vice-president of the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) from 1978 to 1979.
Chenoy previously taught as a visiting scholar at Columbia University in New York and also taught at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in New Delhi.
He was a member of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and wrote extensively for national and international journals, contributing regularly as a political commentator.
Chenoy maintained a 40-year association with the Communist Party of India (CPI), serving as a member of its national and central councils. In January 2014, he left the CPI and joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), stating that a new political alternative was needed to combat communalism.
Known for his outspoken criticism of government policies, Chenoy made headlines in 2017 when the Ministry of Human Resource Development questioned him over remarks he made to international media concerning Indian foreign policy and the 2002 Gujarat riots.
He was also actively involved in issues concerning human rights and secularism. His work included fact-finding initiatives related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, the 2002 Gujarat violence, and conflicts and human rights concerns in Manipur, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Kashmir.
Chenoy also testified or spoke internationally on such issues, including at a 2002 hearing on Gujarat before the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. He was a vocal critic of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Narendra Modi government, a stance that led to controversies and official complaints over his public comments.
He was married to Anuradha Mitra Chenoy, a distinguished professor and prominent academic expert in international relations.
His published works include The Rise of Big Business in India (2015), which examines the role of big business in India; Maoists and Other Armed Conflicts (2010), co-authored with Anuradha Mitra Chenoy and dealing with armed conflicts in India; and Demonetization: The Biggest Scam (2016).