- Dilip D'Souza
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Pic of D'Souza with wife Vibha Kamat from 2003 BITS alumni reunion dinner
Dilip D'Souza (born 1960) is a Mumbai-based writer and journalist. He writes about social and political causes, with a left-centrist, liberal perspective, as well as some travel and current affairs articles. His columns have appeared in The Sunday Observer, Rediff.com, Outlook, Mid-Day, Hindustan Times, indiatogether.org, Caravan([1]) and others.
A column by him about two young engineers from Kerala who built a dam in rural Maharashtra and supplied electricity where there was none, provided the inspiration for a key segment of the 2004 movie Swades directed by Ashutosh Gowariker [1]
Contents
Biography
D'Souza's father was former Maharashtra Chief Secretary and activist J.B. D'Souza [2] (died September 2007 [3]). D'Souza did a BE in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from BITS Pilani (1976–81) and an MS in Computer Science from Brown University (1984).[2]
Personal life
He married French language teacher Vibha Kamat in 1993, and they have two children, son Sahir, born 1999 and daughter Surabhi, born 2004.[4] He studied and worked as a software engineer in United States from 1981 to 1992 when he returned to India to write full time.[5].
As an alumnus of Birla Institute of Technology and Science, he is dedicated to alumni activities and has come over many times to his alma mater. He was there in February 2010 to promote his new book Roadrunner.[6]. He is currently on the editorial board of the BITS Alumni magazine Sandpaper.[7]. D'Souza also maintains a blog "Death Ends Fun" [8] where he has had some debates with right-wing bloggers.
Awards
D'Souza has won several awards for his writing, including the Statesman Rural Reporting Award, the Times of India/Red Cross prize, the Outlook/Picador nonfiction prize (for which he was also, earlier, runner up), the Sanctuary Magazine prize and more.[9]
- Outlook/Picador prize in 2004 for his essay "Ride Across The River" [10]. It was about an Army officer killed in action in Kashmir, examining patriotism through his example.
Affiliations
- D'Souza is a member of the Managing Committee of Citizens for Peace (CfP) in Mumbai.
- D'Souza has worked with the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), the Narmada Bachao Andolan and Ekta.
- D'Souza was a member of the Pakistan-India People's Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD). The PIPFPD pursues "Track II diplomacy", meaning increased contact between ordinary people in both countries, towards peace between India and Pakistan.
- He was also a member of the India Progressive Action Group (IPAG) in Austin, Texas, that funded and worked closely with various rural development projects in India.
- He was on the editorial board of the Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI) and the Foundation for Humanization.
- D'Souza was an invited speaker/panelist to the Austin conference of the Association for India's Development (AID [11]) and witnessed first-hand their relief and rehabilitation work in Tamil Nadu after the tsunami in December 2004.
Works
- Branded by Law: Looking at India's Denotified Tribes, by Dilip D'Souza. Published by Penguin Books, 2001. ISBN 0-14-100749-4.
- The Narmada Dammed: An Inquiry Into the Politics of Development, by Dilip D'Souza. Published by Penguin Books, 2002 [3]
- Roadrunner: An Indian Quest in America, by Dilip D'Souza. Published by HarperCollins India, 2009 [4]
- D'Souza wrote an account for salon.com, "Rain, Blood and Sirens" [12], about the July 2006 train bomb blasts in Mumbai.
- He wrote an essay for the Washington Post, "Mumbai Under Siege" [13], about the November 26, 2008 attack in Mumbai. Earlier he had written an essay for the Post, "House in a Slum? You Can't Afford It" [14], on the housing crunch in Mumbai.
- A Hindustan Times oped essay, "It's Not a Tall Order" [15], as a response to the Adarsh housing society scam.
- Article in Forbes India, "Major Habib Ahmed's Journey From Pakistan to India" [16], on a Pakistani major's return to India after 62 years.
- Hindustan Times oped essay, "Banal, Inexplicable" [17], on the evidence against Binayak Sen.
References
- ^ Swades: The rediff connection Rediff.com, December 15, 2004.
- ^ conduit Brown University .
- ^ Book Review indiatogether.org.
- ^ Book Review Mint.
External links
Categories:- 1960 births
- Living people
- Indian writers
- Indian travel writers
- Indian political writers
- Indian activists
- Indian columnists
- Indian bloggers
- People from Mumbai
- Birla Institute of Technology and Science alumni
- Brown University alumni
- Indian political journalists
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