Ram Puniyani (born August 25, 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 various 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]. He had been vocal about stopping the death sentence of
Afzal Guru, a convict of the
2001 Indian Parliament Attacks, alleging that, at worst,
Guru was a facilitator in the crime and not a part of directly perpetrating the crime.[9] On the other hand, he advocates for the investigation of 'Hindutva terror'.[10]
In March 2019, men in plain clothes claiming to be from
CID, asked about the whereabouts of his children.[11] 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.[12][13]
Awards
Maharashtra Foundation (US) award for Social awareness about threat of Communal Politics 2002[14]