Eminent women's rights activist, poet and author Kamla Bhasin passed away today. She was 75. Activist Kavita Srivastava said on Twitter Bhasin breathed her last around 3 am. Bhasin has been a prominent voice in the women's movement in India and other South Asian countries."Kamla Bhasin, our dear friend, passed away around 3am today 25th Sept. This is a big setback for the women's movement in India and the South Asian region. She celebrated life whatever the adversity. Kamla you will always live in our hearts. In Sisterhood, which is in deep grief," Kavita Srivastava tweeted.
Since the 1970s, Bhasin has been a prominent voice in the women’s movement both in India, as well as in other South Asian countries. In 2002, she founded the feminist network ‘Sangat’, which works with underprivileged women from rural and tribal communities, often using non-literary tools such as plays, songs and art. Bhasin has authored several books on gender theory and feminism, many of which have been translated into more than 30 languages. Interestingly, the iconic albeit controversial chant of ‘Azaadi’, which has reverberated across protest sites over decades, is said to have been first been popularised by Bhasin as a feminist slogan against patriarchy.