Latest news with #Sanghamitra
NDTV
4 days ago
- NDTV
Raksha Bandhan Pain: Balaghat Woman Waits 14 Years To Tie Rakhi To Brother In Pakistan Jail
Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh: For 14 years, Sanghamitra Khobragade has been waiting to tie a Rakhi to her brother, Prasannajit Rangari, who is imprisoned in Pakistan's Kot Lakhpat Central Jail. This Raksha Bandhan, like many before, will pass without the joy of seeing him. Sanghamitra's emotional letter to her brother remains undelivered as postal and courier services to Pakistan have been suspended since the Pahalgam attack. In her message, she writes of her deep longing, her mother's tears, and her vow not to tie a Rakhi to anyone else until her brother returns home. "Brother, I miss you a lot on Raksha Bandhan. I want to send you a rakhi, but you are very far away from India. I wish to send you a rakhi, and I hope the Government of India accepts the rakhi sent with love and sends it to Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, Pakistan, so that a sister's wish of tying a rakhi to her brother can be fulfilled. Every sister ties a rakhi to her brother, but I am an unfortunate sister who cannot do so. Mother misses you a lot and waits for you. Your nieces also miss you and want to see you...," she wrote in the letter. Prasannajit, once a bright pharmacy student, disappeared from home years ago. The family had believed him dead until 2021, when a former Indian prisoner from Kot Lakhpat informed them he was alive. Records show Pakistan took him into custody in October 2019 from Batapur. He is listed there under a different name but has revealed his true identity and family details. Their father died waiting for his son's return, while their mother, now mentally unwell, still believes he is in Jabalpur. Sanghamitra, a daily wage labourer and mother of two, has been tirelessly visiting offices seeking government help for his release. The family, already struggling to make ends meet, hopes authorities will act swiftly so that one day, Raksha Bandhan can truly be a celebration for them again.
Indian Express
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Sanghamitra Gadekar, Gandhian and anti-nuclear activist from Gujarat, passes away
Sanghamitra Gadekar, a Gandhian and anti-nuclear activist from Gujarat, passed away following a brief illness at Sampoorna Kranti Vidyalaya in Vedchhi of Surat district late Monday night. Her last rites were performed Tuesday in Vedchhi. She was 76, and is survived by her husband Surendra and daughter Charusmita. Sanghamitra was the daughter of noted Gandhian late Narayan Desai. Desai was the son of Mahadev Desai, the personal secretary of Mahatma Gandhi. As per a note from Sanghamitra's family and friends, she had done her MBBS from Kolkata and served as a Medical Officer at different places in Uttar Pradesh. She later got a postgraduate degree in nutrition from the United States and served in various hospitals in India. She settled at Vedchhi along with her husband Surendra, a nuclear scientist. It was from Vedchhi that she started her movement against nuclear energy. She also ran a magazine, Anumukti, to create awareness about the harmful effects of nuclear energy. Fondly known as Umaben among her friends and family, Sanghamitra provided training and employment to traditional printing workers who were rendered jobless after the 2001 Gujarat earthquake and the 2002 Gujarat riots. She also played an active role at the Sampoorna Kranti Vidyalaya at Vedchhi. Ahmedabad -based academician Sanjay Bhave said that Sanghamitra worked in a very low-profile manner but did very significant work in creating awareness about the harmful effects of nuclear energy. 'Twenty years ago, Sanghamitraben and Surendrabhai used to show slideshows in schools and colleges with impressive lectures (on harmful effects of nuclear energy) followed by simple question-answer sessions,' Bhave said. Noted environmental activist Rohit Prajapati said, 'She (Sanghamitra) was among the people who were critically looking at not just nuclear weapons, but nuclear energy as well. She was the person who used to study and then struggle on a subject.'
