It is with great sadness that we have learned that Mr. Subhajit Ganguly, an Open Knowledge Ambassador in India and a leading community member in the entire region, has suddenly and tragically passed away.
Following a short period of illness Subhajit Ganguly, who was only 30 years old, passed away on the morning of April 7, local time, in the hospital in his hometown of Kolkata, India. His demise came as a shock to his family and loved ones, as well as to his colleagues and peers in the global open data and open knowledge community.
Subhajit was known as a relentless advocate for justice and equality, and a strong proponent and community builder around issues such as open data, open science and open education, which were all areas to which he devoted a large part of both his professional and personal time.
Most recently he was the main catalyst and organiser of India Open Data Summit and he successfully contributed as project lead for the Indian Local City Census as well as being a submitter and reviewer of datasets in the Global Open Data Index, a global community-driven project that compares the openness of datasets worldwide to ensure another most pressing issue for him: Political transparency and accountability.
Subhajit was also instrumental in building the Open Knowledge India Local Group over the past two years, alongside also volunteering his time to coordinate other groups and initiatives within the open data landscape. Just last summer he attended the Open Knowledge Festival in Berlin to join his fellow community leaders to plan the future of open knowledge and open data in India, regionally in AsiaPAC, and globally.
Ever since the news passed across the globe during the last few days, messages and praise of Subhajit’s being and work have been pouring in from community leaders and members from near and far. He will be tremendously missed, and we join the many voices across the world mourning his loss.
Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family and loved ones. We hope that his work and vision will continue to stand as a significant example to follow for people around the world. May Subhajit rest in peace.
Several Local Groups and Chapters have also made translations of this post:
Open Knowledge Nepal – Nepalese version
Open Knowledge Bangladesh – Bengali version
Open Knowledge Brazil – Portoguese version
The official voice of the Open Knowledge Foundation.
