Ramchandra Siras is an Indian writer and linguist specialising in Marathi literature. Dr Siras is the Head of the Department of Modern Indian Languages at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and the hit Bollywood film Aligarh (2015) was inspired by his life.
Wiki/Biography
Ramchandra Silas was born in Nagpur, Maharashtra in 1948 (he died at the age of 62). Silas grew up in Nagpur and spent most of his childhood and adulthood there. After completing his schooling in Nagpur, he joined Nagpur University to study Linguistics and Psychology. He obtained a postgraduate degree in Psychology from Hislop College, Nagpur. He also studied Clinical Psychology at the Central Institute of Psychiatry, Kanker, Ranchi. In 1985, he completed his PhD on 20 political novels of Madholkar, which many consider to be a very rare and difficult subject. He also published a series of seminar papers in Comparative Literature in English. In 1988, he joined the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) as a professor. Prior to joining AMU, Dr. Silas worked as a research assistant in the Department of Linguistics, Ranchi University. In 1998, Ramchandra Silas was appointed as a Lecturer in Modern Indian Linguistics, Aligarh Muslim University. Later, he became the Head of the Department of Modern Indian Linguistics, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
Ramchandra Siras in front of AMU
Family and caste
Ramchandra Siras belongs to a Marathi speaking family.
Parents and siblings
There is not much information about his parents and siblings. He lives in Nagpur with his mother and sister.
Relationships, Wife and Children
Doctors had advised him not to get married because he had suffered from epilepsy since childhood. However, later, when he recovered, he married a woman from a prominent Akola family. Later, after a long separation, they divorced.
Homosexuality controversy and suspension
Ramchandra Siras, who is reportedly a homosexual, something he had been hiding since his teenage years, was allegedly having an affair with a rickshaw puller (Abdul) in Aligarh. He was caught having consensual sex with the rickshaw puller on February 8, 2010, when two local cable TV journalists secretly filmed him having sex with the rickshaw puller. Later, the journalists barged into Dr Siras’ room and continued filming, while Dr Siars appeared in the footage, pleading with them to stop filming. On February 9, 2010, AMU suspended him for “gross misconduct”. Announcing Dr Siras’ suspension, AMU Public Relations Officer Rahat Abrar said,
Silas was caught on camera having sex with a rickshaw driver. The Vice-Chancellor, Professor PK Abdul Aziz, ordered his suspension.”
Later, Dr. Silas appealed to the Allahabad High Court against the suspension. On April 1, 2010, the court ruled in his favor and reinstated him as a professor. Once, while talking about his homosexuality and his relationship with AMU, Dr. Silas said:
I’ve been here for twenty years. I love my university. I always have and I will continue to love it no matter what. But I wonder if they love me any less because I’m gay.”
die
On April 7, 2010, Dr. Ramchandra Silas was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his apartment in Aligarh. Initially, the police classified it as a suicide; however, after the autopsy report showed traces of poison in his system, the police classified it as a murder case and arrested six people. Later, the case was closed as the police were unable to collect any substantial evidence.
Favorite things
- Movies: Awara (1951), Shree 420 (1955)
- Song: “Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Ye” from the movie Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai (1960)
Facts/Trivia
- Reportedly, he was never seen wearing shoes and was always seen in slippers.
- While working as a professor and lecturer at the United Arab Emirates University, Dr. Silas inspired many students to learn Marathi, although most of them were from Urdu and Hindi backgrounds.
- In Nagpur, Dr. Silas has supervised many students’ research projects.
- Ramchandra Siras, known for his extensive research on BC Mardekar’s poetry, conducted many seminars on Mardekar’s poetry at the Raja Ram Library at Dharampeth in Nagpur.
- Dr. Silas is a poet himself and in 2002, the Maharashtra State Cultural Council awarded him an award for his poetry collection Paya Khalchi Hirawal (Grass under Feet).
- He is a great cook and he often cooks for himself during his stay at a hostel in Ranchi. Talking about his cooking skills, Dr. Sinha, a hostel mate of Dr. Siras at the Central Psychiatric Institute, Kank, Ranchi said:
He cooked for himself when we ate in the dormitory cafeteria. The meals were simple – rice, lentils and a salad, that’s all.”
- Dr. Silas is a vegetarian and prefers mostly very simple food like dal, rice and a plate of sabzi.
- He is a movie buff and enjoys watching Hindi films in his free time.
- He was also a big fan of old Hindi songs and would often listen to his favourite tracks, mostly on 78 rpm records.
- Dr. Siras loves knitting. Dr. Sinha said of Dr. Siras’ unique hobby:
Silas also loved to knit. He would always knit when he walked from his dorm to the college. He had a bag with yarn in it. He said he was knitting for his nieces.
- His relatives and friends said that Dr. Silas was not extravagant and the only thing he was willing to spend money on was going to the cinema to watch Hindi movies. Since he had no close friends, he would go to the cinema alone most of the time.
- Ramchandra Siras reportedly suffered from epilepsy, due to which he often fell and suffered injuries on his forehead.
- In 2015, Hansal Mehta directed the Bollywood film Aligarh, inspired by the life of Dr. Ramchandra Siras, with renowned Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpai playing the role of Ramchandra Siras. The film received critical acclaim.
Manoj Bajpai plays Ramchandra Siras in Aligarh
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education