A chronicler of the underprivileged

Jeremy Seabrook, who dedicated his life to writings which speak for the underprivileged and oppressed people everywhere, is no more. He breathed his last in a care home in London last week. He was 86.

- BHARAT DOGRA AND MADHU DOGRA

His absence will be deeply felt by friends, admirers and countless readers in many parts of the world.

Although his initial writings were based more on reporting from the UK, he subsequently travelled to many countries of the global south to write about important issues and struggles there. These were published in leading newspapers and journals, but subsequently more in the alternative media, following a pattern which writings of many authors known for their commitment to the underprivileged sections have experienced.

There have been very few writers who have displayed such consistency and continuity in their writings on justice as Seabrook. His writings on justice and other issues of high social relevance are marked by deep sympathy for those who deserve and need this the most. Readers often tend to read some of his pages again and again due to the sheer brilliance of his deep insights, made possible by his extensive travels combined with study of several disciplines, which enabled him to draw very insightful comparisons from one place to another, or better still, the present times of one place with the past times of another place, and he could easily quote various authors to make these comparisons!

This sometimes spilled over from his writings even into daily conversation. Once emerging from our home in Delhi after heavy rains to take an auto rickshaw back to his hotel, he noticed the many puddles of stagnating water here and there. He stopped awhile to take a more complete look, and then said that this reminds him of England of the industrial revolution days, and then referred to some pages from Charles Dickens, if I remember correctly, in support of what he had said!