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Freedom Fighter Dr. G G Parikh Passes Away

Tushar Gandhi and Feroze Mithiborwala

2 October, 2025: It is with great sorrow that we inform you that Dr G.G. Parikh, the veteran Freedom Fighter passed away this morning, around 5.45 am.

We have lost a great soul this day, the “Saint of the Socialists” has left us on the very day, 2 October of the Jayanti of the Mahatma whom he venerated, whose values imbibed and strived to live by.

Dr. GG, as we all lovingly called him had just passed the milestone of a 100 years last December 2024.

We got the news in our ongoing Samvidhan Satyagraha Padyatra, which we organised with his blessings, and we are all totally shocked at his demise.

In GG’s life, we have all drawn inspiration, knowledge & wisdom from the time we shared with him. Towards the end I would always seek his blessing, seek his aashirwad, touch his feet….

We are shaken, sorrowful, but yet draw strength from Dr. GG’s plentiful courage and the path of knowledge & struggle that he taught us.

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.

We stand with Sonal Ben, with Guddi, the family, and the entire Yusuf Meherally Family of institutions that he and his wife Mangala ben Parikh founded in the 1960’s. This was the generation that partook in the freedom struggle, went to jail, witnessed our independence, drew inspiration from its values of sacrifice, constructive work & nation building

In this hour of sorrow and grief we offer our heartfelt condolences.

In a way, we think, Dr. GG chose to leave us on the day of his own choosing, a rare happening indeed.

Dr. GG lived the way he chose to, and left us on the 2nd of October, 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….

An age has passed us by….

With lots of love and deep respect to our beloved GG,

Dear GG, you will live in our hearts forever….

[Tushar Arun Gandhi is an Indian author and son of Arun Manilal Gandhi, thus great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. In March 2005, he led the 75th anniversary re-enactment of the Dandi March. Feroze Mithiborwala is an Indian political activist, columnist, and commentator known for his involvement in anti-imperialist and pro-Palestinian movements.]

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Reliving with Gandhiji – Our Days with GG

Chandramohan and Nirmala Nair

Dr. G.G. Parikh (GG), Veteran freedom fighter, Gandhian, Socialist leader, co-founder of Yusuf Meherally Centre passed away peacefully at his residence in Grant Road, Mumbai at the age of 101. By his demise we lost an inspiring father figure on this Gandhi Jayanti day who guided and supported us in all our community work.

A chance meeting him in 1997 made a big turning point in our life. As any one born in the 1950s when the stories of freedom struggle and the life story of its great heroes were fresh and taught in the school, I too was quite fascinated with the life of Mahatma Gandhi. That inspiration and further readings on Gandhiji made me close to his ideals. Years later I had the opportunity to meet GG. That meeting led to my becoming a member of Yusuf Meherally Centre, Tara and two decades of volunteering and studying under him. GG taught through his words and deeds how through passive resistance, love, patience and tolerance peaceful social change and progress can be made. His life always reminds us of the legacy we inherit from an array of freedom fighters who happily went to the gallows and never feared being jailed or hanged. He stood testimony to how patriotism is a service with utmost sacrifice. He never aspired for political power though he nurtured many political leaders. Working closely with GG has reaffirmed our conviction that an uncomplicated life based on truth and Gandhian values is possible. He initiated us to the nuances of ahimsa and environmental care and protection. We strived along with him for the development of rural areas and the social upliftment of poor tribal and other communities in Raigad.

One of his life lessons imbibed by us is that whoever you are there is no retirement from doing good to the society. Even at this age of 101 he responded to email or WhatsApp message within two hours whichever time you sent it, even at times during the night.

He meticulously kept writing to his colleagues and friends his ideas, ways and means towards a just and equitable society. For him the society is beyond the broken fragments in many narrow domestic walls that we have built for ourselves. During the flood of 2018 in Kerala, we experienced the pangs of a real nationalist in GG, when he asked us to proceed to organize relief in flood affected Alleppey. We were very hesitant without any previous experience or clue of how flood relief operations are done, however GG persisted. His words were “You need not know all, just go and our volunteers from all across our units in the country will be there to help and do what is required”. True to his words we did a good job in Kuttanad with our people and contributions from our supporters.

He never remained a silent listener of any suffering of people brought to his notice. He will swiftly act to find a solution. Rarely you meet leaders who feel the pain of others as intensely as his own.

He taught us the basic traits required to work in rural areas. He showed us by example how to respect the poorest of poor, illiterate and ignorant people and how to hear them out. No wonder his words were always accepted with Ji.. Ji..

He was a hard core socialist and follower of the ideals set by the founders of the then Congress Socialist Party. Yusuf Meherally Centre was founded to commemorate the courageous patriot and freedom fighter Yusuf Meherally and to fulfil his dream of an India free of slavery and social ugliness of all sorts. GG continued to be the pivot of this centre till his last breath. In the current time of widespread religious intolerance and animosity, the memory of GG will remain a refreshing breeze. GG found happiness in continuing the legacy of Gandhiji and innumerous and unknown selfless freedom fighters.

GG used to remind us “I don’t know how long I will live. My only appeal to you all especially to the younger generation is to be aware of the dangers the nation confronts. You must dispassionately try to understand. Beware of the propaganda spreading venom among communities in the mainstream and social media. We will have peace, harmony and progress only if we strive to build an India which recognizes the religious, social and cultural diversities of this nation. This nation needs your time, energy and eternal vigil”.

We always feel the time we spent talking to him were like a learning session on compassion, harmony and co-existence and indeed like reliving with Gandhiji.

GG gave his life for the country and now the last remaining – his body for medical students at JJ Hospital to dissect and learn.

We will miss you badly, but promise you, GG, we will continue doing the work as you taught us. The Gandhian values you exemplified will lead us through and through.

[Chandramohan & Nirmala Nair are volunteers with Yusuf Meherally Centre, Panvel, and Alpha Palliative Care Centre, Kerala.]

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G. G. Parikh: Socialist, Freedom Fighter, Gandhian, Medical Practitioner

[Note: This is a biographical note about G.G. Parekh written in 2013, when GG was 88 years old.]

G.G. Parikh wears many hats, but is now, perhaps, most widely known for his extensive contribution to rural development as founder of one of India’s foremost NGOs Yusuf Meherally Centre that completed 50 years in 2012. With its core rural centre in Tara, 50 kms South of Mumbai where it has a hospital, school, dairy, several village industries, organic farming activities and sustainable livelihood projects, it is a major force in Raigad district. The Centre also has a presence in over 11 states in the country including Orissa and Jammu. Post 1980, GG increasingly withdrew from active political life to concentrate on development work and has also been in the forefront of calamity relief and rehabilitation across the nation, be it the cyclone in Maharashtra in the 1980s, earthquake in Kutch in 2000, Tsunami in South India and most recently the floods in Uttarkhand.

GG is also one of the founders of 50 year old Yusuf Meherally Memorial Education Trust which runs schools upto the SSC level and has over 2,000 pupils; Chairman of SM Joshi Foundation, Secretary of Freedom Fighter’s Association, Trustee of Sarvodaya Association, Vaikunt Mehta Research Centre for Decentralised Industries and is also Editor of Janata weekly, voice of Democratic Socialism, a publication he has nurtured since the late 1940s. GG remains amazingly active and keeps a schedule that belie his 88 years: practicing medicine daily from his clinic in Grant Road, editing the Weekly, visiting the Tara campus minimum twice a week, and travelling to different centres across the country every month.

Early Life

Born in Surendranagar (then known as Wadhwan Camp) in Saurashtra on December 30, 1924, Gunvantrai Parikh was one of 6 children born to Vijaya and Ganpatlal Parikh. His father was the State Doctor for the State of Jaipur, having done his medicine from Grant Medical College, Bombay, and then later became Assistant Director of Medical Services, Rajasthan.

GG did his early schooling from different schools in the Jaipur State, KK High School in Kanpur and completed his matriculation from the NTM High School in Surendranagar. He moved to Bombay and did his BSc from St Xavier’s College and MBBS from GS Medical College.

He started taking interest in the student movement while in school, and became a student leader during his college days. He was detained in 1942 for his participation in the Quit India Movement and incarcerated for over 10 months in Worli Temporary Prison and one month in Thane district Jail and was beaten up severely during that period.

GG was greatly influenced by Gandhi, Socialist leaders in the UK, Achyut Patwardhan, Yusuf Meherally, Jayaprakash Narayan and joined the Congress Socialist Party (then a political party within the Indian National Congress) in 1946 as a cadet. He got actively involved in the Trade Union and Cooperative movements and independence struggle. He was President of the Bombay unit of the Student’s Congress.

He married Mangla, a fellow freedom fighter in 1949, who played an active role in promoting Adivasi education and building the women’s wing of the Socialist Party. She was one of the three Socialist women who led the anti-price rise movement of the ’60s and ’70s in Bombay along with Mrinal Gore and Pramila Dandavate.

Political Life

From the earliest days GG was one of the leaders of the Socialist Party first at the city level, and then a part of the National Executive. He remained with the Praja Socialist faction of the Party along with Asoka Mehta, Nanasaheb Goray and Madhu Dandavate, when Rammanohar Lohia and Madhu Limaye left in 1955, and also when Asoka Mehta split the PSP to join the Congress in 1962.

When the Emergency was declared in June 1975, GG Parikh was Chairman of the Bombay unit of the Socialist Party. GG was implicated in the Baroda Dynamite case along with George Fernandes, Viren Shah, CGK Reddy and others and spent around 20 months in jail, initially at Yeravda Prison in Pune and then subsequently at Tihar Central Jail in New Delhi. He was released after Mrs Gandhi declared elections in March 1977. Mangla Parikh was also incarcerated for over 18 months with Pramila Dandavate under MISA and was detained at Yeravda and Dhule prisons. Their 19 year old daughter, Sonal, offered Satyagraha to protest the Emergency and was kept as an undertrial for four weeks in Arthur Road jail in Bombay.

Though many political appointments, and tickets to fight elections have been offered over the years, GG had taken a decision in the 1940s never to contest polls or accept office, a decision he has adhered to steadfastly.

[Courtesy: Guddi, Managing Editor, Janata Weekly.]