The students, faculty and staff of the South Asian University express their heartfelt condolences on the untimely and sudden demise of our President, our leader, our friend, philosopher and guide in all situations, our own Professor G.K. Chadha. He was a person of high ethics, humility and charm. Everyone who came into his contact; whether a faculty, staff or a student felt his warmth and established a direct bond with him forever. His touch is visible everywhere in the University and above all is felt in our hearts.
Professor Chadha was one of the greatest advocates of cooperation and friendship in South Asian Region. He used to call himself a citizen of SAARC. In his sad demise, the people of South Asian region in general and South Asian University in particular have lost a great academician, a visionary, a humanist and a proponent of regional cooperation and development.
The entire SAU community conveys its deepest condolences to the bereaved family and pray for the eternal peace of the departed soul.
One of the hallmarks of Professor GK Chadha’s presence on the Akbar Bhawan Campus of SAU would be marked by his car. And almost as soon as he would alight from it, his eyes would search for the face that he could smile at and wish a hearty good morning to. My interactions with Professor GK Chadha, were limited as is one of the disadvantages of not being a hosteller at SAU, but the warmth of his presence and his greeting always exuded a sense of belonging and inclusion. He always seemed approachable and never let his position as President of this august University ever come in the way of his interactions be it with his peers, teachers, students or even the security guards.
A sense of humour is a great bridge and an ice breaker and Professor Chadha had oodles of it. Humorously he would scold the liftman for the faulty functioning of the elevator, or the errant student who was late for class. His zeal and passion for South Asian-ess was surely infectious and he will be sorely missed. But his legacy is something that will always be remembered. In the words of Kipling- If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much….Such was he!
Its difficult to come across some one so loving, down to earth and passionate and committed to his work. He had special place in everyone’s heart because of his qualities. I am grateful that I got an opportunity to be him before with his last day. I am also thankful that he was working till his last day, relentlessly working to make his dream come true. He used to lovingly call me “jhalli kudi” or “beta” and after hearing this from him I was filled with so much ecstasy that no words can describe. I think that he had a magic wand with which he would make everyone his own. I am happy that I came across someone of his stature in my life and will treasure the moments spent with him. He has left behind a huge legacy – Legacy of Love.
warm regards,
Namrata,
Faculty of Economics.
I WENT TO SOUTH ASIAN UNIVERSITY FOR MY PHD ADMISSION.I MET THE LIVING LEGEND .WHAT A VISIONARY MAN HE WAS!THE PERSON WITH SUCH A VISION IS DIFFICULT .A GREAT LOVER OF LITERATURE PARTICULARLY ABOUT IQBAL AND GHALIB .THE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HISTORY WAS MARVELLOUS .MAY ALLAH BLESS HIS SOUL IN REST.IT IS GREAT LOSS TO THE WORLD OF LEARNING NOT ONLY TO SOUTH ASIAN UNIVERSITY OR TO TO INDIA BUT TO WHOLE WORLD OF LITERATURE LOVERS.I REALLY FELT GREAT SORRY FOR HIS DEMISE.PLEASE CONVEY MY CONDOLENCE TO ALL UNIVERSITY MEMBERS AND TO HIS STUDENTS AND FAMILY MEMBERS .DR AMAN ULLAH AND MR ANWAR UL HAQ WERE THE GREAT ADMIRER FOR HIM.
I am deeply saddened by his sudden demise. Rest in Peach prof. Chadha!!!
I hope his dream of establishing a common university of South Asians will come true.
May god help South Asians to give a strong academic and administrative leadership to achieve academic excellence for revitalising the lost scholarly treasure of the Indian subcontinent.
i join the innumerable fans and friends of prof chadha and extend a heartfull condolence to his bereaved family and wish that his noble soul rests peacefully in heaven
He was a great man, a great professor and a kind president. His warm attitude towards every student (specifically towards Afghan students) are always remembered. We, indeed, lost a supporter and a great asset of SAU.
My cordial condolences extend to his respected family, his friends and his loved ones.
May Almighty Allah rest your soul in peace!
You were so down to earth and Loving!!! Being a very First Pakistani student in the very batch of SAU I never felt like away from My home… it was Just Coz of You sir!!!!!
Dear Sir,
You were a father of all SAU family, an umbrella of SARRC countries student. You were very familiar with all students, teacher and staff.
One memory I can remember that one of our friend was ill at mid night at boys hostel. You along with Madam had come at mid night(around 2 am)to hostel and took him to hospital. After being treatment you were asking again and again do you have any pain? Sure any pain?
MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS.
Dear All,
Deeply grieved on the sudden demise of reverent President Prof G.K. Chadha……………….
I will always cherish seeing his joy at his meeting with the faculties. His voice was strong; his grip towards University was awesome; his smile was so typically broad, welcoming, sincere and contagious. As usual, he was extremely positive and upbeat. After some personal comments, he could not help but be who he was a very simple and down to earth human being…………………………I still remember the joyful day, way back in 2012 when I joined SAU and got the chance to be associated with him very closely and very humbly I accept I was very much delighted when I got to know that he was the same person who was behind pay revision.
My heartfelt condolence to all his family members………..
May his soul rest in peace……………
I joined SAU only two and half months back. My association with him is only this long; prior to this we only knew of each other without any opportunity for any meaningful interaction. But in these two months I have got so much love and affection, full of warmth, that I feel as if I knew him for years and years. There is a feeling that someone dear to us is no more.
His stamp on SAU is indelible, his unstinted effort to make the university what it is today is unforgettable. He has created a vacuum which is hard to fill but he has left behind a legacy, almost a dream, which the SAU fraternity must strive to fructify.
On 28th February at 4 pm all economics faculty, along with our seminar speaker, had tea with him in his committee room. He was his usual self, all smiles, cheerful. Hard to believe that we will never meet again.
If someone holds any high position of decision making, there has to be differences of opinion. But he was open to discussion and always with warmth and a smile. SAU was his dream and he was working too hard to realise that dream. He once told me that he will leave behind a university that everybody will remember. It is a dream half fulfilled … miles to go before we reach there. SAU will miss him dearly – a wonderful human being.
Sad to hear this
With the sad demise of Prof. Chadha, the Academic development fertinity has lost one of the vibrant economist of recent times. His high intellectual ideas and great contribution will always be remembered in the development domain.
With Almighty grace ! May his soul be rest in peace.
Sir, Your “Betas” will miss you. You were one among million particularity in south Asia region and I’d promise that your advise, dedication, patience and motivation always will be our lead. May your soul rest in peace Sir.
Like a fruit-laden tree,
down to earth,
you were accessible to all who needed you.
Like a Karma-yogi,
you passed away in harness.
Lover of poetry,
you inspired and influenced so many,
You are very much with all of us.
Dear Esteemed Members of the Faculty and Administration of South Asian University,
We were most distressed to learn of the passing of your beloved President, Professor GK Chadha, and are writing to extend our deepest condolences. His role in establishing South Asian University and his reputation as an outstanding academic will be remembered and honored for generations to come.
Professor Chadha was a close friend and long-time supporter of not only of Afghanistan and the Ministry of Higher Education, but also all Afghan students, many of whom had the unparalleled opportunity to study at South Asian University. He also had an important and vital role in establishing South Asian University (SAU).
Please know that our thoughts and our hearts are will all of you at this time of loss.
With profound sympathy,
Prof Dr Obaidullah Obaid
Minister of Higher Education
It is hard to believe that Prof. G K Chaddha is no more with us. Somehow, I had taken his presence for granted at the South Asian University. Despite the short time span over which I got to know him (since January 2014), I was impressed by the energy and work ethic of Prof. Chaddha. His presence will be missed by all. May his soul rest in peace.
You were a great man sir. Always ready to help. May your soul Rest In Peace!
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Dear Prof. GK Chadha, we are missing you a lot as a great human in South Asia, your effort to establish SAU will always appreciated. I have very good memories with you and remain always same. Before 1 month, when I got chance to have tea with Professor KK Joshi former VC of Tribhuban University Nepal, in your office, and you just said that ” what to answer to the God, if he asked what did you do in your life” and you became so emotional during that time. But I have seen that your dream start to show effect in South Asian region and you have started a great work in South Asian region. We always try to fulfill your dream to come true. I would like to express my deep condolence to bereaved family and pray for the eternal peace to the departed soul.
“… death is not total annihilation, but rather a changing of worlds without completely breaking away from this one.” -Gülen, M. Fethullah, The infinite light: an analysis of the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon with him), page 24.
Professor G. K. Chadha will be remembered in his work for South Asian University and its members.
A Very Sad Day for SAU & for South Asia:
The untimely death of GK Chadha (I believe he is above all ornaments) was an absolute shock to all who knew or knew of him. As a newcomer to SAU (having joined on Dec 17, 2013 as Visiting Professor of Economics), I have been, like many who had just arrived (as Santosh has put it so well), overwhelmed by his personal qualities. My shock, I dare assert, is absolute too.
Personally I met GKC first in January/Feb 2010 in Dhaka over lunch at a mutual friend’s house & among other , we discussed my possible association with SAU at some suitable point in time. I met him again briefly over tea in the first week of May 2011 in his office (while SAU was still housed in a small building at the JNU campus). I had been more or less in regular contact (phone/electronic) since March 2013 till my arrival here in December. However the enormity of the man dawned on me as soon as my wife & I landed here in December at the SAU campus.
Since my joining I have been lucky to have spent a significant amount of time with him, mostly over logistical matters of settling down in Delhi (e.g., house hunting, getting a phone connection, cash-flow issues, acquiring home furnishings etc). His interest in our personal well-being surpassed any reasonable expectations due of an old personal friend, let alone on the mistaken belief that these were part of the ‘responsibility’ of someone holding the office of the President of SAU.
Many of you have expressed most elegantly the loss & pain we all feel, and I cannot do any better, especially at this hour. However I make one simple point; I believe that you will all agree with me that all of us at SAU owe an infinite amount to gratitude to him & to his immediate family, if the term ‘infinite’ has a practical meaning. The reason is simple: here is one who proved his love & dedication to the SAU cause effectively by the most ultimate of sacrifices, not stopping till the last breath.
It is only befitting for the rest of us, mere mortals, to try and show our gratitude, love & dedication to SAU in that same spirit. But that would still be only paying up the nominal interest on the sizeable debt we each owe him & to his memory.
Sincerely,
Syed Ahsan
Faculty of Economics