I have just been informed that Prof Shamnad Basheer passed away under very tragic circumstances. Shamnad was only 43.
I met him for the first time when we were presenting to the Standing Committee of Parliament on the copyright issue. Although he was not disabled he had researched the subject thoroughly and had been guiding us, strategizing with us and had been lobbying for us in government circles and in the legal community. After the presentation we had chai together and one thing I still remember he looked at us and said it was a great thing that the community that was most affected was leading the fight. This is when he set up IDIA- Increasing Diversity by Increasing Access (IDIA), a non‑profit body that aims to empower underprivileged communities through legal education. He not only trained underpriviledged including visually impaired children to give and do extremely well in the Common Law Tests for the National Law Schools/Universities, but also held their hand by arranging accessible study material, helped them with stipends and placements. He even tried to get accommodation for the IDIA scholars during their internships. He was someone whose intentions I could trust entirely. He was a man of both wit and wisdom. I am at a loss for further words. I can only say we lost a great friend, a great man, a great thinker and each one of us in this group must bow to a man who has stood by us and who used his brilliance for the good of the community. We have lost many from this group and I miss them all. The loss of brilliance of Rahul Cherian, Javed Abidi and now Shamnad Basheer by their untimely deaths at a young age, will never be forgotten or be replaceable. Kanchan --- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. https://www.avg.com Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
