Here are some precious moments from his last visit to the Department in November 2019.
Please read here Remembering Professor Arvind M. Shah, a Genial Doyen of Sociology by Prof. Rajni Palriwala
Sad Demise of Prof. A.M.Shah
Prof-A-M-Shah-is-no-more
Deepest condolences. RIP Prof. AM Shah 🙏
Sincere condolences to Prof Shah’s family. May his soul rest in eternal peace.🙏
Had the good fortune of being his student. RIP.
Extremely sad to know about the sad demise of Prof A.M.Shah, an affectionate human being and a great teacher. May his noble soul rest in peace 🙏
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Professor A.M.Shah was the HOD when I completed my M.A. in 1973.
I remember him as a friendly soul accessible to all. As a student I shall always remember him as somebody who would tell students “identify your areas of strength, and go and excel in that area”.
When I met him in November 2019 at the Alumni Re-Union, I asked him if he remembered me. He replied without batting an eye lid “yes, of course”! Momentary I was taken aback wondering if he really did, then I realised he had indeed placed me when he reeled off some of the names of my batch mates!!
My condolences to his family. And may the gentle departed soul rest in peace. 🙏
Deeply saddened to hear about Professor AM Shah’s passing. He will be remembered as one of the pioneers of Indian sociology, especially in the area of family and kinship.
I convey my heartfelt condolences to his near and dear ones. Hope and wish that they find the strength and courage to bear this loss.
May his soul rest in peace.
He was my mentor in our tutorial batch… Such a composed person..
Last year during college reunion I met Professor Shah
During my MA I’ve studied books written by him and that meeting was the first with him and never thought of that it would be the last.
I remembered his words during that small chit chat and I felt myself lucky to click some memorable pictures with him.
I pay my deepest condolences.
Heartfelt condolences to all the near and dear ones. Such a composed and accomplished person and a very good teacher
Prof. Shah was my teacher from 1986 to 1988. I offer my deepest respects to him.
Dr Shah taught our batch and his lectures are still so vivid in my mind. My deepest condolences for the family and my prayers for his onward journey.
Meena kaushik
My condolences to Professor Shah’s family. I have fond memories of him. I had him as my teacher in MA Sociology 1963-65.
I can see him teaching us family and kinship, insisting on clarity and rigour. His delivery was slow but clear. It took me a while to understand I was receiving pure gold from a scholar.
We remained in touch. The last time I saw him was in Delhi a few years ago at his son’s place. We discussed the re-imagining of the joint family in the Australian diaspora. He referred me to some of his latest work.
I came away with a sense of gratitude at having had such exceptional teachers. He remained a mentor and the model of a true scholar.
Even though thirty summers have passed since we, the batch of 1991, inhabited the classrooms of the sociology department at d-school, memories of lectures by Professor A. M. Shah, are vivid. Conversations on the family and household were by followed up with feminist questions: feminist writings had not yet crept into every syllabus. And our questions were met with consideration and patience. The work ethic at the department was inimitable. Prof. Shah expected no less from his students. It was really hard to meet his standards and expectations. I still remember how hard we worked in RTL to write a district profile which we hoped would be appreciated by him. I also remember conversing with him about researching crime and society; and why researching rape trials in a city court could be sociological. Personally speaking, I will always be grateful to him for his kindness and help, which he offered even as I set off to do my fieldwork in 1996.
To his family and friends, heartfelt condolences.
Really saddened to hear of Prof Shah’s passing. His understated brilliance and courtliness to all, even fresh students, will always be remembered with fondness and gratitude. Rest in peace, Prof Shah. It is well-earned.
-Ravi Velloor, Class of ’79.
Very sorry to hear this. My condolences to his family. His kindness and courtesy towards everyone he met, the way in which he gently steered you towards new thoughts and new research materials you had not been aware of, his astute insights on Indian society, his meticulousness. His was a brilliant mind. He will be missed. I will always be grateful to him for the generosity with which he shared his time and his ideas.
Annie Joseph ( Batch of 1978)
Deeply saddened to hear of Prof Shah’s passing. A gentle and composed person.
Remembering the family in this hour of grief . Pray to God to that they find the strength and courage to bear this irreplaceable loss.
May the departed soul rest in peace.
Prof Shah taught me from 1985 – 87, when I was a MA student in the department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics, his affection for the students, his gentleness and his wisdom will remain with me forever
May His Noble soul Rest in eternal peace
Professor A.M. Shah was a brilliant scholar and a kind teacher, he really helped me to understand the intricacies of complex sociological theories about the household, kinship, and family. I learnt so much from his lectures as well as his tutorial sessions, I will always remember his keen emphasis on rigorous research and systematic analysis! My condolences to his family.
Prof. Shah was my M.Phil supervisor (1981-83). His meticulous and insightful reading of my chapters was matched by the generosity of spirit. As his student my takeaway was on how to navigate and read archives. I also remember him as a wonderful singer.
My condolences to his family and friends.
Prof. Shah was an authority on Indian family and kinship. Not taught by him but felt his dignified presence and simplicity during M.Phil 1980-81. May his soul rest in peace! My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family!🙏🙏
Fortunately, to benefit from Professor Shah’s sociological thinking and to experience his friendliness, you did not necessarily have to sit in one of the classes that he taught at the Department. As a student in the first years of the M.Phil programme in the late 1970s, the courses I enrolled for did not include him as a teacher. However, he had been part of the selection committee and when we passed each other in the Department corridor or garden, he would inquire kindly about me as a student from outside Delhi. During the weekly seminars that were held for the entire Department, he was generally present and I gained from the comments and insights that he offered regularly. In the decade that followed, he became something of a mentor to me, although never a teacher or a supervisor, including in the two years that I joined him on the faculty. Our occasional email exchanges continued until 6 years ago! I was privileged to contribute to his festschrift that appeared in 2010 and to apply insights of his to a village in Zimbabwe as well as to Indian settings. It is heartwarming to see photos from his visit to the Department last year, back in the environment to which he contributed with so much dedication — it was like going back in a time machine, to experience again the privilege to have been there with him!
Sympathies to his family, anguished at this loss…
Deeply saddened to hear about Prof. Shah’s passing. I was fortunate to be taught by him. His writings on family, household, kinship, and caste influenced me greatly, for their diverse and complex portrayal of social institutions in western India.
I vividly remember one specific conversation I had with him, sometime in the year 2000, when he expressed concern over how PhD scholars from the department (such as myself), who were looking for teaching and research opportunities, didn’t want to leave Delhi. I had to leave Delhi soon after for personal reasons but his comment has stayed with me since then. Having been in Mumbai for over 15 years, I realise the political and academic import of his comment now, more than ever before. For him, research and teaching in regional institutions was the way forward for decentering academics, and strengthening the ethos of public institutions across the country.
He practiced what he preached, and his body of work is a testimony to that.
He will always be a source of inspiration…RIP Sir!
I am deeply saddened to learn of Professor Shah’s passing. He taught me when I was a student at the Department at DSE. Later I had opportunity to interact and learn from him more when orient Blackswan, where I work, published some of his books. He was always a pleasure to work with, explaining things patiently, and how as a scholar and writer he was so meticulous and careful about every detail. For me it was also an inspiration to see how he was full of enthusiasm and ideas for work even when he was quite old. Age sat lightly on him. He always seemed energetic and enthusiastic about the life of learning and books.
I feel grateful that I had opportunities to interact and learn from him, both as a student and later as an editor. I am grateful too that my daughter also had the opportunity to attend his ocassional lectures when she herself was a student of Sociology at LSR.
There is sadness to know that we will not see our dear teacher again. I hope his passing was easy and without suffering or pain.
My condolences and affection goes out to his family, and to the larger family of DSE students past and present.
Deeply saddened by the death news of Prof. A. M. Shah, had the privilege of being taught by him during 1993-1995, at DSE. What I recall even today was his cool style of saying anything with much ease. My condolences to his family.
Rest in peace Prof Shah,SAMEER CHATURVEDI (MA.2009-2012)
Prof. Shah will always be remembered for his contribution to Sociology and Social Anthropology. Deepest condolences on his passing away. May his soul rest in peace.
Rajatsubhra Mukhopadhyay
North Bengal University