The death of a human rights activist is rarely a lead story of newspapers, especially in Andhra Pradesh. However, that has what happened when K Balagopal died in Hyderabad on Thursday night.

All the three leading Telugu newspapers in the state, Eenadu, Saakshi and Andhra Jyothi, carried the news prominently in the front page either as lead or second lead. The New Indian Express also carried it as a lead story. Ofcourse, 57-year-old Balagopal was not just another civil rights activist.

A brilliant mathematician who obtained his PhD from National Institute of Technology-Warangal (then Regional Engineering College) and a post doctoral degree from the Indian Statistical Institute, Balagopal had been a professor of mathematics at the Kakatiya University before plunging full-time into human rights activities in 1985. He gave up his academic vocation for public cause.

A man of rare integrity, Balagopal commanded respect from all, including the top police officials against whom he led a relentless struggle. To fight the cases of the downtrodden, he also obtained a law degree and practiced in the state high court. He was known for taking up the cases of the poor without charging them anything.

In 1980s,  Andhra, particularly the Telangana region, had been the hot-bed Naxalites. The state tried to suppress the movement with an iron hand and in the process became famous for the so called “encounter deaths”. As a general secretary of AP Civil Liberties Committee from 1983-1998, Balagopal organised fact finding missions and exposed the darker aspects of the state power.

Consequently, the police dubbed him as a naxalite and harassed him.  Once, he was kidnapped and released after the incident caused a furore. On another occasion, he was badly beaten up thrown into a gutter thinking that he was dead.

But Balagopal protested not only state violence but also private violence including that of the killings of Maoists. He left the civil liberties committee and floated Human Rights Forum in 1998 to broad-base the civil rights movement. He had set a new trend by organising “Public Hearing”  on various issues in which intellectuals, retired judges, writers and activists, irrespective of their political and ideological leanings, took part.

The most important aspect of  Balagopal’s life was the way he lived. He practiced what he preached. His lifestyle was simple and  he remained committed to his principles till he died. He exuded moral authority.

No doubt, people say, the death of Balagopal due to an heart attack is not only a loss to his wife, who is a journalist, and his son, who is a student, but to the entire society.