Jagdeep S. Chhokar (1944–2025): The Relentless Crusader for Clean Politics
From Railways to Reform: A Life of Many Journeys
Jagdeep S. Chhokar, the co-founder of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and one of India’s most steadfast advocates for transparency in politics, passed away in Delhi on September 12, 2025, after a heart attack. He was 81.
A retired professor and director-in-charge at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Chhokar devoted the last quarter century of his life to a singular mission: strengthening democracy by cleansing the electoral system of opacity and corruption.
Born in 1944, Chhokar’s early career was rooted in engineering. A graduate in mechanical and production engineering, he first worked with the Indian Railways, where his aptitude for management pushed him toward higher studies. An MBA from Delhi’s Faculty of Management Studies led to a PhD from Louisiana State University. He later joined IIM Ahmedabad, where he spent over two decades as professor, dean, and eventually director-in-charge. His academic work spanned organisational behaviour, international business, and leadership, and his research appeared in global journals. Yet, despite a flourishing academic career, his heart was increasingly drawn toward public life.
The Twist of Fate that Sparked a Movement
A near-death experience in 1998, when he underwent a quadruple bypass surgery during a teaching stint in New Orleans, forced Chhokar to rethink his priorities. He returned to India with a renewed sense of purpose. What began as an academic curiosity, sparked by his younger colleague Trilochan Sastry’s interest in scrutinising candidates’ nomination papers in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, soon evolved into a national movement.
The discovery was startling: nomination papers barely asked for any meaningful details beyond name, address, and voter registration number. Alarmed by the implications for voter choice and the entrenchment of criminality in politics, Chhokar and a group of like-minded academics filed a petition in the Delhi High Court. In November 2000, the court ruled that candidates must disclose their assets, liabilities, educational qualifications, and criminal records in sworn affidavits. The judgment, and the subsequent Supreme Court orders affirming it, were milestones in Indian electoral history.
Thus was born the Association for Democratic Reforms in 1999 — an organisation that would change the grammar of Indian democracy.
Taking on the Political Establishment
The reforms ADR championed were never easy. Politicians across the spectrum opposed mandatory disclosures, even attempting to amend the Representation of the People Act to nullify judicial directions. Chhokar and his colleagues, however, refused to back down. In 2003, the Supreme Court struck down the amendment, vindicating their struggle.
From that moment, Chhokar became a tireless warrior against entrenched political interests. ADR’s campaigns compelled the disclosure of candidates’ criminal cases and financial details, made political funding a subject of public debate, and empowered voters with critical information. For two decades, Chhokar remained the movement’s moral anchor, its patient strategist, and its most recognisable face.
One of ADR’s crowning achievements came in 2024, when the Supreme Court struck down the controversial electoral bonds scheme as unconstitutional. Chhokar, despite being in his 80s and battling health challenges, played an active role in this legal battle. The judgment was hailed as a victory for transparency in political funding and a blow to cronyism.
Scholar, Activist, Conservationist
Though his later life was dominated by activism, Chhokar never ceased to be a teacher and scholar. He authored and edited books, including the influential Culture and Leadership Across the World, part of the GLOBE leadership studies project. He taught in universities across the US, Europe, Japan, and Australia, leaving an indelible impression on generations of students.
He was also a lawyer, qualifying in 2005 so he could directly contribute to ADR’s legal battles. Beyond law and politics, he was a passionate bird-watcher and conservationist. Ornithology, he often remarked, taught him patience — a quality that proved invaluable in his decades-long battle against political stonewalling.
Tributes to a Tireless Democrat
Chhokar’s death has left a void in India’s civil society. Leaders across political and professional spectrums paid tribute. RJD MP Manoj Jha said he had “forced the nation to look into the mirror of its electoral practices and confront the cracks beneath the surface of its democratic edifice.” Lawyer Sanjay Hegde wrote, “Rest in power, sir. You fought well to preserve India’s democratic institutions.” Former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa called ADR’s work under Chhokar “yeoman service in maintaining high standards of electoral democracy.” Journalist Maneesh Chhibber summed it up poignantly: “The nation will be poorer without you.”
The Man Behind the Mission
Those who knew Chhokar describe him as deeply humble, self-effacing, and unwavering in principle. He donated his body for medical research, in line with his lifelong ethos of service. Colleagues recall his insistence on not letting ADR become a personality-driven organisation, even as he was its most visible face.
In interviews, he often reflected on the stubborn resistance of India’s political class to internal democracy, once remarking, “Our democracy cannot be vibrant as long as political parties remain non-democratic. Sadly, they may never change.” His words were laced with realism but never with cynicism. He believed that vigilance, persistence, and citizen activism could keep democracy alive.
An Enduring Legacy
Over 25 years, Jagdeep S. Chhokar transformed from an academic into one of the most important reformers of India’s democratic life. His journey — from the Railways to IIM Ahmedabad to the Supreme Court corridors — was animated by a restless conscience and a refusal to look away from the cracks in the system.
Through ADR, he empowered millions of voters with knowledge and compelled the political establishment to acknowledge the demands of accountability. His life was proof that one determined citizen can tilt the arc of democracy toward transparency.
As India mourns his passing, it also celebrates the courage of a man who lived for the republic’s unfinished promise.
Jagdeep S. Chhokar may be gone, but his legacy will remain etched in the fight for clean politics — a reminder that democracy is not a gift to be received but a struggle to be waged, patiently, persistently, and without fear.
Hasnain Naqvi is a former member of the history faculty at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai
