Former TISS Director S Parsuraman Passes Away at 70

Professor S Parsuraman, prominent social scientist and former director of Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), passed away after a prolonged illness on Friday. He was 70 years old. TISS mourned the passing of a ‘pro-people’ educator who made research and education accessible to the disadvantaged in the country. He took knowledge from the groves of academia to the deepest corners of our country.

Parsuraman had worked for more than 25 years as a teacher, activist, trainer, administrator, and development worker. He expanded the nature, reach, and worldview of the TISS Mumbai from 2004 to 2018, when he headed the institution.

In his 14-year-long tenure as TISS director, he was considered the main force behind the institute’s growth. He has also held the position of senior advisor to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, UNESCAP, Bangkok, Thailand. He oversaw the audit of all UN agencies responsible for programming development work in the rights framework in Asian countries.

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Originally from Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu, Parasuraman studied demography at Pune University before joining TISS as a lecturer in 1992. He then took over as head of the same department from 1993 until 1998. Between 1998 and 2000, he was team leader of the Secretariat and Senior Advisor to World Commission on Dams. He was associated with MIT Pune as Dean of School of Sustainable Development at the MIT World Peace University in Pune.

A few years ago, TISS Mumbai ran just two MA programs, but today it offers more than 50. TISS had expanded to Tuljapur, Hyderabad, and Guwahati, apart from having collaborative courses run by non-governmental organisations. The intake had risen from less than 500 to over 6,000.

Soon after his demise, the TISS Twitter handle said: “With profound sorrow, we announce the passing away of Prof. S. Parasuraman. TISS deeply mourns his loss and offers condolences to his family.”

Students and many of his contemporaries offered condolences on social media.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, in a message in Tamil, said: “I am saddened by the passing away of Dr. Parasuraman, who was born in a humble family in Kovilpatti, and served for 14 years at the helm of India’s pioneering educational institution TISS.”

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