JOIN USFr Ambrose Pinto S J, a former principal of St Joseph's (Autonomous) College, passed away on Wednesday. He was 67 and had been battling cancer for the past six months.
After his retirement, he served as the principal of St Aloysius College, Bengaluru.
A distinguished scholar and an advocate of Dalit emancipation, Fr Pinto authored several books. Among his prominent works are 'Dalit Christians: A Socio-Economic Survey', 'Higher Education, Politics and Ideology, Books for Change', and 'Dalits in Karnataka: In Search of Identity and Équality'.
He received many awards, including the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award in 2010. He was a member of the expert committee formed in 2015 for the identification of backward classes in Karnataka.
"He was a scholar with great concern for the poor, human rights and human dignity. Because of his committed transformative agenda in the Christian educational institutions, hundreds of rural, SC/ST/OBC and slum students entered into high-end jobs," said Prof Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, Director, Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad.
The funeral will take place at St Joseph's Boys' School at 10.30 am on Friday.