Prof Om Prakash Kohli was one of those rare political leaders whom not even an iota of corruption associated with politics could touch. He was a man of principles, who believed in simple living and high thinking.
Being a soft-spoken disciplined soldier of the Sangh school of thought, he would never say no to any responsibility assigned to him. Essentially a teacher-cum-activist, he also served in ABVP for nearly two decades. This was prior to his induction into the BJP. He was a Nagar Sanghchalak of RSS for a brief stint in Karol Bagh area too.
Born in August 1935, Kohliji became a teacher of Hindi at Delhi University. In the 1950s, as a student Hans Raj College of Delhi University, he became an activist of ABVP. Later, he became our Delhi-unit President as a teacher in 1970, and National President in 1982. But his core social activism took shape as a teacher-cum-activist at the Delhi University. He was also DUTA president during 1973-79 and was twice elected teacher representative in the university’s Executive Council.
In early 1991, Kohliji was unexpectedly inducted into the BJP as Delhi-unit president. Thereafter, the rest of his life—nearly three decades— revolved around the party. Twice he was made Delhi-unit president. For long, he was in charge of the central party office and was made Governor in 2014, few months after Shri Narendra Modi came to power. A thorough gentleman, he was the first choice of the party for any responsibility which demanded honesty, sincerity and hard work. He was a learned man with a pious soul whose “innocence “ was incredible.
“Deeply saddened to know that Prof Om Prakash Kohli, former Governor of Gujarat, has passed away. My thoughts go with the bereaved family. Prof Kohli was an educationist & an activist of university teachers & students movements through NDTF & ABVP”
— Dattatreya Hosabale, Sarkaryavah, RSS
Kohliji landed in police custody during the Emergency only because of his integrity and innocence. Both of us were working underground and were in daily contact. It was just two weeks after the proclamation of Emergency when I got arrested. Kohliji was unaware of the development. He tried hard to reach me on the phone which I was using for underground activities. After my arrest, police used the same phone to trap those who contacted me. For them, Kohliji was a big catch as he was the then DUTA president. Even after several calls and misleading answers from the police, Kohliji couldn’t guess the development and ultimately fell into the trap laid down by the police. And he was not alone. Shri Madan Das, who was the national organising secretary of ABVP and who later became RSS Sahasarkaryavah, was also trying to reach me via Kohliji. Both of them fell into the trap.
It was a big catch for the police that wanted to prove its loyalty to the powers that be. They concocted a story alleging that as an underground fighter against the emergency, he had hatched a big plan to overthrow the government. They tried to force him to sign a statement to that effect, but he didn’t do so. He was tortured and beaten, but he didn’t give up. The police narrated the same concocted story in the court to seek his further custody. Kohliji took a bold stand and told the court that he was being framed and had been tortured too. The judge believed Kohliji and didn’t extend his police custody. But showing that courage in the then depressing situation was praiseworthy.
NDTF Mourns the demise of its most respected leader
Prof OP Kohli was a strong pillar of nationalist ideology in Delhi University and founded NDTF in 1978-79. He remained its President till the early 1990s. Kohliji represented elected teachers in the DU Academic Council and was elected DUTA President during 1973-75. He was imprisoned for 19 months during Emergency but became stronger after his torturous jail term. He was re-elected as DUTA President in 1977 for 2 yrs. During his Presidentship, DUTA made significant achievements. He laid down a new result-oriented grammar of teacher activism of synthesising action in the field with logical negotiations on the table. NDTF had been a constant beneficiary of his sagacious advice. He was also the first elected teacher on the Executive Council of DU.
In recognition of his calibre and wisdom, he was entrusted with many high status positions like Presidentship of Delhi State BJP, Membership of Rajya Sabha, incharge of National and Parliamentary Offices of BJP and Governorship of Gujarat. But while occupying all these high offices, he retained his humility and politeness, ever ready to help and advice. He remained deeply interested in NDTF affairs till the very end.
NDTF shall deeply miss him. We pray his noble soul rests in eternal peace in the company of the divine.
–AK Bhagi (NDTF President)
During his two decades in ABVP, Kohliji was a member of the Kendriya Team and looked after educational affairs, especially the drafting of resolutions and writing of booklets. In NDTF, I once became a big cause of embarrassment for him in 1987. For DUTA election, presidential candidate had to be decided. I thought that he was the best choice as he was a highly respected teacher at the university and had won four elections in past. He was made a candidate on my insistence, but he couldn’t win. It was a shocking experience for me.
At Delhi University, his conduct as DUTA president was exemplary. Every other day, the president had to face opposition from teachers of different political hues during executive and general body meetings. DUTA was and is a highly democratic body. In public body meetings, Kohliji used to take a principled stand and would not mind paying the cost of being in the minority. And ultimately, he would emerge as the winner.
Kohliji had never to deal with fundraising before entering into party politics, whereas I had learnt the skills to raise resources through my experience in ABVP. When he became Delhi BJP president, I dared to suggest him to mobilise funds which he took positively.
My respectful homage to his pious soul!
