Political scientist Yogendra Yadav described Chhokar as a ‘selfless champion of democracy and public causes’.

Jagdeep S Chhokar, activist and co-founder of the nonprofit organisation Association for Democratic Reforms, died in New Delhi on Friday, The News Minute reported. He was 80.

Chhokar, an advocate for transparency in Indian politics and the electoral system, began his career as a mechanical engineer with the Indian Railways. He also worked as an international marketing manager with a public sector organisation.

He became a professor, dean and subsequently the director in charge of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He also taught at several universities in Australia, France, Japan and the United States.

In 1999, Chhokar and his IIM-A colleagues founded the Association for Democratic Reforms. The election watchdog has played a critical role in enhancing transparency in Indian elections.

Among the organisation’s most significant efforts was a legal battle, with Chhokar as the lead petitioner, that resulted in the Supreme Court declaring electoral bonds as unconstitutional in February 2024.

He had also raised concerns about the Election Commission’s ongoing special intensive revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar, saying that it could result in the disenfranchisement of citizens.

Political scientist Yogendra Yadav described Chhokar as a “selfless champion of democracy and public causes”.

“Humble and self effacing to the core, he and the ADR were behind some of the major electoral reforms in the last two decades, including disclosure of property and criminal antecedents of candidates,” Yadav said on social media.

Former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa said that people like Chhokar and organisations such as the Association for Democratic Reforms were vital for questioning authorities, which was a healthy sign for any democracy.

“The loss of Prof Jagdeep Chhokar is tragic,” he said on social media. “He spearheaded the Association of Democratic Reforms, which has rendered yeoman service in maintaining high standards of electoral democracy.”

Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar Jha said that Chhokar’s death was not just the loss of a man but “the silencing of a conscience that spoke relentlessly for the integrity” of India’s democracy.

“As founder of the Association for Democratic Reforms, he forced the nation to look into the mirror of its electoral practices and confront the cracks beneath the surface of its democratic edifice,” Jha said on social media. “He believed that democracy is not sustained by the noise of elections, but by their fairness, transparency, and accountability.”