Dr Shakuntala Balaraman (92), wife of the late K. Balaraman, of The Hindu , passed away here on Wednesday night at the residence of her only son, Lakshman Balaraman.
Dr. Shakuntala Balaraman did her schooling in Madras before doing her B.A. and M.A. in Education at the University of Texas at Austin and at the University of Michigan respectively. She went on to do her Ph.D in Psychology from Columbia University. She was Professor of Humanities at IIT Madras. After her retirement, she became the founding president of the Joint Action Council for Women, an umbrella organisation of various NGOs working for women's causes.
Under her, the JAC ran several campaigns in Madras, including one against the display of film billboards. She was actively involved in Ashraya, a voluntary organisation that brought together women-focussed NGOs.
She is survived by her son, daughter-in-law Dr. Nirmala Lakshman, a Director of Kasturi and Sons Ltd, and grandsons Dr. Narayan Lakshman and Mr. Sriram Lakshman.
