Jagdeep Chhokar, co-founder of Association for Democratic Reforms, dies at 81; body to be donated

Jagdeep Chhokar — one of the founders of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and an advocate for transparency in public life — passed away early Friday morning after he suffered a heart attack. He was 81.

Chhokar had recently fractured a shoulder from a fall and had contracted lung infection while recovering.

Family sources said his body was being donated as per his will. He is survived by his wife Kiran. Chhokar, who was born in 1944, was earlier a professor at IIM-Ahmedabad, where along with a group of his colleagues, he had filed a PIL in 1999 regarding the lack of transparency in candidates' background in elections.

The ADR, in fact, is one of the petitioners in the ongoing matter being heard by the Supreme Court against SIR in Bihar.

Among the ADR's notable legal battles was the petition which led to the Supreme Court declaring electoral bonds as unconstitutional last year.

Chhokar initially began his career as a mechanical engineer in the Indian Railways and later became a professor at IIM, Ahmedabad. He also taught at several universities in Australia, France, Japan and the United States.

Apart from being a researcher, Chhokar was an avid bird watcher and a conservationist.

"The loss of Prof Jagdeep Chhokar is tragic. He spearheaded the Association of Democratic Reforms, which has rendered yeoman service in maintaining high standards of electoral democracy. People like him and ADR are vital for questioning the authorities, a healthy sign for any democracy," former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa said while condoling Chhokar's death.

Political activist and founder of Swaraj India Yogendra Yadav described Chhokar as a selfless champion of democracy and public causes.

"Humble and self-effacing to the core, he and the ADR were behind some of the major electoral reforms in the last two decades, including disclosure of property and criminal antecedents of candidates. Alvida Chhokar Saheb, we will miss your guidance and the purity of purpose in public life," said Yadav while remembering him.

Later in a detailed post on X, Yadav said, "The passing of @JagdeepChhokar is not just the loss of a man; it is the silencing of a conscience that spoke relentlessly for the integrity of India’s democracy. As founder of the Association for Democratic Reforms, he forced the nation to look into the mirror of its electoral practices and confront the cracks beneath the surface of its democratic edifice."

Chhokar’s legacy “will inspire generations of activists, academics and citizens committed to India’s democratic values", the ADR said in a statement.

Manoj Jha, Rajya Sabha member of the RJD, said Chhokar’s passing was the silencing of a conscience that spoke relentlessly for the integrity of India’s democracy.

“He believed that democracy is not sustained by the noise of elections, but by their fairness, transparency, and accountability. He reminded us, time and again, that clean politics cannot emerge from tainted processes,” Jha wrote on X.