Veteran activist and founder-president of the Ghar Hakk Sangharsh Samiti, Hiraman Pagar, passed away on February 5, 2025, in Navi Mumbai after a prolonged illness. Affiliated to Communist party, the activist was active in fighting for the rights of the original inhabitants of Navi Mumbai, slum dwellers.
“His demise marks a significant loss to the working-class movement and those fighting for the rights of Dalits, Adivasis, farmers, and labourers. I have been affiliated with him since the year 2015 and have worked along with during the strike called by Anna Hazare. He was active in all hawker’s union, Labour union and worker unions and hutmans issues in Navi Mumbai. He was working since 1980s from Dharavi slum and fought for the rights of slum dwellers of the city,” said the secretary of the Sangharsh Samiti Sudhar Jadhav
Born in Khadak Ozar village, Chandwad taluka, Nashik district, Pagar came from a farming family. His father, Laxman Pagar, was a prominent leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), whose ideology deeply influenced him. Migrating to Mumbai in the 1970s for livelihood, he secured a job at Dena Bank, but his passion for activism led him to dedicate himself to various social movements. “He was particularly drawn to communist, socialist, and Ambedkarite ideologies and became an active member of the Dalit Panther movement, joining its Maharashtra State Committee under Namdev Dhasal’s leadership,” said Jadhav.
His activism intensified during the Emergency in 1975, when Namdev Dhasal extended support to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, a move that many Panther activists, including Pagar, opposed. “Breaking away from Dhasal, he continued to work with movements advocating for the rights of Dalits, Adivasis, farmers, and laborers. If today the housing rights of slums set up before 2011 is in place it is because of his efforts,” said Jadhav.
