Activist R. Desikan, who spearheaded the consumer movement in the State, passed away on Saturday evening at his home at Vettuvankeni. He was 83.
Born in Srirangam in 1933 to Raghavachari, who ran an automobile business and Ranganayaki, Desikan, Chairman Emeritus of Consumers Association of India, studied in Madras Christian College and later moved to Mumbai where he worked in Reader’s Digest as an advertisement manager.
“It was in Bombay at the Reader’s Digest that we met and got married. We moved to Chennai in 1972 and printed our own magazines. He then ran the South Madras News, a tabloid from 1974 to 1983 after which he got full-time into the consumer movement,” recalls Nirmala Desikan, his wife, who is Chairman and Managing Trustee of CAI. “He lived his life for the consumer, thinking about how he could improve their life. Though he came across a lot of hurdles, he still ensured that the consumer’s view point was taken to the policy makers,” she adds. The couple has two daughters. His last rites were held on Sunday evening.
S. Saroja of the Citizen consumer and civic Action Group, who has been associated with Desikan for several years now, recalls he would remember small things about people. “He would make you feel special. He was quite active till the end and even on Saturday, he was conducting discussions on how the movement should be taken forward. We were to participate in a programme next week.”
The veteran activist began working full-time with the consumer movement in the State in 1983
