Brahma Dev Sharma
Brahma Dev Sharma (19 June 1931 – 6 December 2015) was an Indian bureaucrat, academic, and social activist known for his advocacy of the rights of Adivasis, Dalits, farmers, and other marginalized communities. A former Indian Administrative Service officer, he played a key role in the development of tribal policy in India, including the conceptualization of the Tribal Sub-Plan, and was instrumental in the drafting of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.[1][2][3]
Early life and education
[edit]Sharma was born on 19 June 1931 in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh.[1] He obtained a doctorate in mathematics from Banaras Hindu University and began his career as a lecturer at BITS Pilani before joining the Indian Administrative Service in 1956.[2]
Career
[edit]Collector of Bastar
[edit]As district collector of Bastar in the 1960s, Sharma rejected a corporate-driven model of development that proposed large-scale pine plantations in tribal lands. He insisted that development must be rooted in the needs and aspirations of the tribal people themselves.[1]
Policy initiatives
[edit]While serving in the Government of India, Sharma conceptualized the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP), which earmarked funds specifically for tribal areas within development programs.[4] He also served as Vice-Chancellor of the North-Eastern Hill University (1981–1986) and later as Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (1986–1991), where he authored several influential reports, including contributions to the Bhuria Committee.[3]
Sharma was a key figure in shaping two landmark legislations: the PESA[5] and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. His work helped embed principles of self-governance and resource rights for tribal communities into law.[2]
Activism
[edit]After voluntarily retiring from the IAS in 1981, Sharma became involved in grassroots initiatives. In 1992, he founded the Bharat Jan Andolan, a national movement that represented the rights of peasants, and workers.[2]
Sharma also played a mediator role in several high-stakes situations, including the 2012 release of Bastar district collector Alex Paul Menon, who had been kidnapped by Maoists. He warned the Indian government in 2010 of a "warlike situation" developing in tribal areas due to neglect of constitutional protections.[1]
Publications
[edit]Journal articles
[edit]- Sharma, B. Dev (March 1957). "Stresses due to a nucleus of thermo-elastic strain (i) in an infinite elastic solid with spherical cavity and (ii) in a solid elastic sphere". Zeitschrift für angewandte Mathematik und Physik. 8 (2): 142–150. Bibcode:1957ZaMP....8..142D. doi:10.1007/BF01590609. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
Books
[edit]Death
[edit]Sharma died on 6 December 2015 at his home in Gwalior at the age of 86.[1][8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 "B D Sharma, advocate of tribal rights, passes away at 86". The Indian Express. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 "Mahatma of the tribals". The Indian Express. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
- 1 2 "Activist-officer". Frontline. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
- ↑ Pioneer, The. "Father of Forest Rights Act remembered". The Pioneer. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
- ↑ "Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj on implementation of PESA". Press Information Bureau. Government of India. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
- ↑ Narain, Vikram (2016). "B.D. Sharma and India's Tribal Policy". Sociological Bulletin. 65 (1): 65–79. doi:10.1177/0049085716635453. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
- ↑ Sharma, B. D. (1980). Tribal Development: The Concept and the Frame. Sahyog Kutir Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-241-0233-6. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
- ↑ Sengupta, Uttam (2015-12-08). "B.D. Sharma, Officer And A Revolutionary". Outlook India. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
Further reading
[edit]- Dharmadhikary, Shripad (19 March 2016). "Remembering B D Sharma". Economic & Political Weekly. 51 (12). ISSN 2349-8846.
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