Friends and close associates of Pushpa Mittra Bhargava got together on Thursday afternoon at the Council for Social Development to pay tribute to the late scientist who passed away on Tuesday in the city.
“At the height of emergency which Dr. Bhargava supported, he organised a national seminar in Hyderabad. And he asked K.G. Kannabiran to write the background paper for the seminar, despite knowing the fact that Mr. Kannabiran was dead-set against emergency and would write negatively,” reminisced Vasantha Kannabiran. “It showed the broad mindedness of Dr. Bhargava,” he added.
Earlier, setting the tone for the sombre event, Kalpana Kannabiran said: “I wanted people to share their thoughts and brief statements about Dr. Bhargava. And at a such a short notice so many people have turned up here.”
“Dr. Bhargava was responsible for re-imagining Hyderabad. He broke down barriers about scientific and artistic thinking. Over the last few days, we have lost some of the most brilliant scientific minds like U.R. Rao, Yashpal and now Dr. Bhargava,” said Usha Raman of University of Hyderabad.
“He was a rare public intellectual who brought rational thinking to the fore. In his passing, we will miss Dr. Bhargava’s unparalleled work. His legacy should guide us out of the morass of our present predicament into an India that is plural, just, free and tolerant,” said Kalpana Kannabiran.
