Sanjit “Bunker” Roy, the social activist who founded Barefoot College and spent more than five decades working towards rural self-reliance, women's empowerment and sustainable development, died on November 10, 2026, at his home in Tilonia, Rajasthan. He was 81.
Roy died peacefully at 6.15 am, surrounded by his wife, social activist Aruna Roy, and people close to him, according to a statement issued by the Social Work and Research Centre (SWRC), the organisation he founded. His funeral was held in Tilonia on November 10.
Born in 1945, Roy abandoned the prospect of a conventional career after witnessing the devastating Bihar famine of 1966-67. Deeply affected by the experience, he travelled to Tilonia, a village in Rajasthan's Ajmer district.
There, along with his farmer friend Meghraj, he began working on open wells for groundwater recharge in one of India's most water-stressed regions.
In 1972, Roy established the Social Work and Research Centre, which later became widely known as Barefoot College.
Rooted in Gandhian principles of self-reliance, dignity and decentralisation, the institution was founded on the belief that rural communities possessed the knowledge and skills needed to address their own development challenges.
Under Roy's leadership, Barefoot College developed community-led approaches to solar energy, water conservation, education, healthcare, livelihoods and women's empowerment.
One of its most widely recognised initiatives involved training rural women, many without formal education, to become solar engineers.
Known as the “Solar Mamas”, these women helped bring electricity to remote communities across the world, challenging conventional ideas about education, technical expertise and leadership.
Barefoot College also established night schools for rural children and promoted community-based water management and renewable energy initiatives.
Roy believed development should go beyond providing basic services. His approach focused on enabling rural communities to identify their own challenges, develop local solutions and manage resources independently.
What began as an experiment in a Rajasthan village eventually grew into an internationally recognised model of grassroots development, making Tilonia a centre for community-led learning and innovation.
There are no failures in Tilonia, every failure is a beginning. Everyone had a chance in Tilonia. This is a place for cop outs, drop outs and wash outsSanjit “Bunker” Roy
His work earned several national and international honours, including the Jamnalal Bajaj Award for Application of Science and Technology for Rural Development in 1985 and the Padma Shri in 1986.
He also received the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 2004, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2005 and the Barefoot College received the Blue Planet Prize in 2011 under him. In 2010, Roy was named among Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. He received the Clinton Global Citizen Award in 2013.
In its statement announcing his death, SWRC said Roy's legacy would live on through the countless lives he had transformed across the world.