On April 13th, 2022, our father Prof. Bhanwar L Garg left for his heavenly abode peacefully, at home in Portland with his family at his bedside. He was 95 years old.

Papa was born in the tiny village of Chhoti Sadri, Rajasthan, India on July 3rd, 1926. His parents owned a small store for groceries, earning just enough to feed the family. Gandhi’s philosophy strongly influenced Papa and he decided to pursue education as his career (to the disappointment of my grandfather, who wanted him to take over his little shop). An only child, he went for his dream of becoming an academician, winning scholarships to Madhav College, and later to Banaras Hindu University (BHU), one of India’s top universities, earning his Ph.D. in Political Science. He had a lifelong passion and deep love for politics and poetry. Papa married our mother in 1956, and their learning journey got amplified as both found successful careers in BHU (Papa retired as a Professor of Political Science in 1989 and Mummy as a school principal in the Campus). Inspired by Gandhi, Papa wanted to abolish the “purdah” system and took the courage, in spite of being the only child, to ask my mother to take the “ghungat” (face veil) off as a discontinuation of long held beliefs in the society against women – inspiring many people in his native village to cast out that old system. Well into his retirement in 2002, he was invited by the National Council of Educational Research and Training to write “Indian Constitution & Administration”, a textbook for millions of high-school students across India. Upon repeated invitations, our parents migrated to the United States about 17 years ago and lived with their children. It was a privilege to have them guide and bless us and our children in our life journeys. Papa’s sincere passion for his work and absolute integrity has inspired thousands of students, friends, and family alike.

Our mother having passed away in 2019, Papa is survived by four children, their spouses, and six grandchildren. He will continue to live in the hearts and minds of all of us forever. With a deep sense of loss, we would like to say goodbye and celebrate the inspirational life of our beloved Papa on Sunday April 17th at 1 pm at the Riverview Abbey.

Arun and Shikha, Varun and Ruchir, Rahul and Mita, Swapna and Harsh.