Dr G G Parikh, Freedom Fighter & Khadi Revivalist, Passes Away At 100 In Mumbai

Mumbai: The body of Dr G G Parikh, a veteran of India's freedom struggle who passed away in Mumbai on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti day, at the age of 100, was donated to Sir J J Hospital as per his wishes.

Parikh, who became a centenarian in December 2024, donned roles as a student leader, social worker, khadi revivalist, and a medical doctor during his long and rich life. One of the last of the freedom fighters to have worked with Gandhi, Parikh was a student at St Xavier's College during the 1942 'Quit India' movement.

Influenced by Gandhi's ideas, Parikh embraced the Mahatma's philosophies in every facet of his life, embracing the principle of non-violence, allowing himself to be arrested in 1942, establishing a centre in the city in 1946 to promote khadi and village industries, getting involved in the cooperative movement, and remaining a staunch advocate of socialist and secular politics.

In 1969, he and his wife, Mangalaben Parikh, established the Yusuf Meherali Centre at Tara village in Raigad in 1960 to empower tribal communities. The place works as an advocacy, employment, and education centre for the surrounding villages.

He remained active till the end of the tenth decade of his life. In October 2024, he attended the function to inaugurate the restoration plans for the Khadi Bhandar store in D N Road, now known as the Mumbai Village Industries Association, of which he was the chairperson.

Guddi Tiwari, joint secretary of the Yusuf Meherali Centre, said that although a fracture had confined Parikh to his bed for the last four months, he was actively involved in the institute's functioning till the last day of his life. "On Wednesday, he sent a message, appealing for funds to run the centre. He regularly messaged us about our work, though his visits were becoming rarer," said Tiwari.

As a firm believer in democracy and the power of the vote, Parikh exercised his right in every election. In May 2024, he arrived at a voting centre in the city in a wheelchair. He spoke to our reporter, recalling the days of his first arrest when he planned to picket Churchgate railway station in Mumbai and tried to stop trains from operating.

Parikh passed away around 5.45 am at his home in Nana Chowk. After prayers at a hall, his body was handed over to the hospital at 4.00 pm. When his wife passed away around 15 years ago, he had donated her body for medical research and signed a pledge to dedicate his mortal remains to a hospital, said Tiwari.

In a message from Sevagram Ashram, Wardha, Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, who is taking part in the Samvidhan Satyagraha Padyatra currently, said they have lost the 'Saint of the Socialists' on the jayanti of the Mahatma, whom he venerated, whose values he imbibed, and strived to live by.

Tushar Gandhi and Feroze Mithiborwala, who are members of the Human Bharat Ke Log, the group involved in the Padyatra for the country's Constitution, said in a statement: "In a way, we think, Dr G G chose to leave us on the day of his own choosing, a rare happening indeed. Dr G G lived the way he chose to, and left us on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, the day of his hero… There is a message here for all of us… Our country has lost a true Bharat Ratna today."

"He was among the last of the generation of the freedom fighters. His legacy will live on in his work, in his speeches and writings, and in his spirit which will continue to guide us in these difficult times for our nation and the world," the statement added.

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Published on: Thursday, October 02, 2025, 01:24 PM IST