Ram Puniyani (born 25 August 1945) is an Indian author, former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. He began his medical career in 1973 and served IIT in various capacities for 27 years, beginning in 1977. He has been involved with human rights activities and initiatives to oppose Hindu fundamentalism in India and is currently the President of the Executive Council of the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS).[1][2][3] He is also an advisory board member of the Muslim Mirror.[4]
Activism
He is associated with various secular initiatives and has been part of several investigation reports on violations of the human rights of minorities.[5]
He has also served as part of an Indian People's Tribunal that investigated the violation of the rights of minorities in the states of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh.[6][full citation needed]
He regularly conducts seminars and workshops on topics related to the threat of communal politics, human rights, the values of secularism, the Uniform Civil Code debate, the partition tragedy, Kashmir Imbroglio, and others. He is known for his articles and essays, which regularly appear in Indian magazines and newspapers.[7][non-primary source needed] He also runs a fortnightly e-bulletin, Issues in Secular Politics.[8][non-primary source needed]
In March 2019, men in plain clothes, claiming to be from CID, asked about the whereabouts of his children.[9] In early June 2019, he claimed that he received threatening phone calls from unknown persons who demanded that he stop his "anti-Hindu" activities and leave the country. Puniyani filed a report with the Mumbai Police.[10][11]
Awards
Maharashtra Foundation (US) award for Social awareness about threat of Communal Politics 2002[12]
