A R Desai
A Sociologist by training and part of what came to be called Bombay School of Sociology. He was member of the Trotskyites Revolutionary Socialist Party and resigned from its membership in 1981. He consistently advocated and applied dialectical-historical model in his sociological studies. Author of many books including the A Profile of an Indian Slum, that covers the Khar-Golibar area and is a marxist analysis of the slum question.
Dr A R Desai was our poilitical mentor during 70s (1972-75) he used to conduct study cirlces during diwali, chritsmas and summer vacations on historical materialism, sociological theories and ideology of Kalrl Marx, v. Lenin, Trotsky, J. Paul Sartre and other post structralist. He also gave us the analytical vision to examine indian reality from left prespective. After every lecture he would give us set of questions or issues on which we were expected to bring a write up next day. Thas how many of started writing on variety of issues such as students movement, sampooran kranti movement, youth uprising in Sri Lanka, promblems of women liberation and intra-left debates. He also encouraged us to translate important works on marxist economic theory or women's question, agrarian question, problem of nationality into gujrati language. Some of felt that only attending study circle was not adequatiote and we needed to get into action and form students group Study and Struggle Alliance and came up with charter of demands for students of MS University. When the student election took place we took part in it in different facutlities focussing on principles, programmes and policies that we eanted in the higher education. Along with this we were working with the Industrial labouring calss that were predominantly textile workers and Mechanisation, rationalisation and automation in the textile industry ahd threatened the workers, many factories were rte when workers demanded 8.33 % as defered wage, the mill owners and the established unions were not ready for. Same trade union leaders weere money lenders. In the industrial clusters we used to focus on education and health, rationing , price rise and hoarding. During navnirman agitation this came a big issue. When leaders from Mumbai such a Mrinal Gore, Tara Reddy, Manju Gandhi came to know about our group and its activity they send the simlar Anti Price rise gruop ini collobration with activists of AITUC, CITU and HMS.
