HYDERABAD: Dr Vasant Kumar Bawa was deeply interested in history and had written extensively on the history of Hyderabad and urbanisation. “As the founding Vice Chairperson of HUDA, he conducted critical research and put in place a number of studies on the city, resulting in a large amount of data that remains useful to this day,” said Anant Maringanti, executive director of Hyderabad Urban Lab Foundation.
Anant said that Dr Bawa was also a pacifist, a Gandhian, and a practising Christian. “He inspired many people and was involved in many things that were happening in the city. He also founded a society called the Centre for Deccan Studies, which published a journal called Deccan Studies and many important articles. He is survived by his wife, who was a scholar of Russian,” he said, adding, the meeting is to recall the relevance of Bawa.
Anant Maringati, who knew Dr Bawa personally, said that what inspired him about Dr Bawa was that he was, Anant added, “Dead set on working on what he believed in and cared deeply for the city.”
He also said that Dr Bawa was responsible for starting what was in the 70s and 80s called the “satellite pump policy,” which decentralised Hyderabad City by creating new poles around which the city would develop areas like Chandanagar.
He also said that Dr Bawa was actively involved in the conservation of the Bapughat area, which is where the ashes of Mahatma Gandhi are immersed in the Musi River and there is a monument there in his memory.
Pioneer in his field
Dr Vasant Kumar Bawa, a Punjabi Christian from Ferozepur and an IAS officer, passed away recently. Bawa held two important positions in Hyderabad – the founding Vice Chairperson of the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and the Director of the State Archives.
An ode to the stalwart
The remembrance meeting will be held at Lamakaan between 11 am and 1 pm on January 22, Oral Historians INTACH convenor and Sajjad Shahid will join.