Claude Alvares, Other India Books, Goa
"So, how does one perceive of Dharampalji's demise? That all his heroic efforts to recover our history and teach it to our children in their classrooms did not bear fruit? That the texts we teach have remained unchanged, even if he has percolated and sometimes gripped the imagination of our society at large? Indeed, if we used the history text book as a yard stick, Dharampalji has not been successful in conventional terms. On the other hand, was his life as empty as many of our lives have become, as we chase fantasies, dreams and illusions that bear relation only to our own ego and its self promotion and that have absolutely little connection with the condition of this country or its people.

Of all the things I found to emulate in Dharampalji was his generosity, the near total absence of the self. Never once did he try to appropriate, much less misappropriate. Though he spent more than 40 years collecting historical documents, he encouraged everyone to use his data. Many did. Some acknowledge its origins. Many didn't. But it never cured him. Because, in his own view, the India that he had discovered in the archives was not a possession of his self. He saw his efforts to make it known as nearly the sharing of a heritage.

That he was the instrument for bringing it into the public domain was, in his own eyes, purely accidental. He simply treated his enormous data -- several trunk loads of it -- as a public heritage, to be used by everybody, so that it would infect people's mind and help this nation recover the identity that it had lost due to generations being educated in an educational system created by an Englishman to achieve precisely this purpose.

If only a few of us could burn with the same fever that burned him; if only a few of us could throw away our lives with the same dedication with which he did his just in order to assist this wounded society to recover its face; if only a few of us could fill our lives with the intensity of his love and affection not only for the country but for the ordinary unprivileged Indian…

Nishkama karma is easily proclaimed than followed. In our present time, with our obsession with the ego, we have lost it entirely. With Dharampalji's departure the country has lost an outstanding practitioner of nishkama karma. For that we are all the poorer. But the occasion of his departure may once again stimulate, hopefully, one more effort of ours to stuff ourselves again with the knowledge of the condition of this country, its people, its animals, its environment in such a manner that we too have, like him, no more place for our selves, our sons or daughters, or families, or possessions. We can make Dharampalji's obsessions our own. That way this country may survive."

Ram Krishnan, Minneapolis
"Sorry to learn that Dharampal ji passed away.

I met him twice. Once Ram (Samanvaya) introduced me to Dharampalji in the Woodlands hotel when he was staying there. The second time, when I visited Gandhiji's ashram in Sevagram, I briefly met him there.

He was writing about the panchayati raj as it existed in Tamil nadu hundreds of years ago. He was telling Ram and me, that the 'nadars' and 'chettiar's (hope I got this right), were in charge of running the local village administrations and they did really take care of the community."

Dr. Balaji, ICRISAT
"I met Dharampalji first in 1982 in a meeting at the IIT in Kanpur, after I had read a summary note on his intervention on the nature of conquest of India by the Western powers. Even in a summary form, his thoughts were an eye opener for me and since then my perspective of the world as a whole changed. More than two decades later, we are now able to regard the Western societies as eccentric and harsh societies, without feeling overawed by their material success and strong global presence and influence. For many of us, this is largely due to Dharampalji's teachings, both written and oral. Dharampalji's significant other contribution was to help us see Mahatma Gandhi as a great political figure comparable with great generals and politicians of the West, surpassing them in many ways in the manner in which he forced defeats on an overwhelmingly armed power that Britain was in the first two decades of the last century. Dharampalji always held that the foundations of the British Empire in India were shaken completely by the Mahatma in his first major mass mobilization process, at a time when Britain looked invincible. His research among the archived documents was always infused with a deep sense of commitment to and affection for the ordinary people which I believe is the rare combination that was the source of many of his great historical insights and about the Gandhian Movement.

I convey my condolences to his family. They lost the Father, and I lost a mentor whose thoughts I will always cherish"

Dr. L.C. Jain
To Dharampal

Farewell dear friend. You are not there now to read any mail. But we can keep writing to you to recall and relist the journey we started together in 1947 under the auspices of Kamaladevi. You have left behind wonderful children - who are no longer children.

A.Annamalai Director Gandhi Study Centre, Chennai
"Dharampalji has inspired lot of youngsters. It is our commitment to carry on the work he has left to us. May his soul rest in peace".

Raghu Ananthanarayanan Chennai
"Dharampalji has been a very strong influence in our (me and my wife Sashi's) life. His dialogues with us not only clarified the question "what is India / Indian?" but also gave us a meaning and perspective to live by"

D.K. Hari, Bharatgyan, Chennai
"Dharampalji has inspired quite a few researchers, including self. We should carry forward his work. That is the best homage we can do for him."

P. Haridas, Senior Advocate, Chennai
"My association with Sri. Dharampalji was a sa Member of the National Commission of Cattle of which he was the Chairman. He was a simple in his approach but with a deep treasure mine of knowledge on issues of Cow Slaughter. In spite of his indifferent health, he chaired the public hearing at 4 or 5 places. He was a great historian who was functional. May his soul rest in peace."

V. Kalyanam, Former Personal Secretary to Mahatma Gandhi Chennai
"I got acquainted with Dharampal over 62 years ago when I was working in Sevagram Ashram and he was associated with Mirabehn. I can visualize him as a sharp, soft spoken, gentle person who was a patriot in the real sense of the term. Somehow I lost touch with him after exchanging some correspondence in the fifties. I was unaware of his visits to Madras although I have been stationed here since 1960. Had I known about his frequent visits to Chennai I would have surely loved to meet him However, its too late now. In his sad demise I have lost a close friend. May his soul rest in peace".

G. Gautama, Principal, The School KFI, Chennai
"A remarkable man, whom it was an honour to meet and know. His works were profound, a labour of love, insightful in a slow revealing way - unpretentious, but, revealing of light. His works have been excellent and special to read. But most remarkable was a meeting at Wardha when he gave me some insights about the monitorial system and its origins. I was groping into new terrain trying to breathe some fresh air into a school where I work. This conversation tilted the scales and many things fell into place. The mixed age classroom was born - In my own little way this is a tribute to Dharampalji."

Dr. M.S. Sriram, Professor & Head Department of Theoretical Physics, University of Madras
"Dharampalji's ideas have had a deep impact on me, and influenced my interest in Indian traditions. I might have moved away from his kind of thinking and viewpoint and basic beliefs, but, he will remain a reference point."

Dr. K. Vijayalakshmi, Director, Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems, Chennai
"Dharampalji has had a great influence to the kind of work that we re doing at our centre today His child like curiosity about a variety and range of things has always fascinated me. Truly fortunate to have known and interacted with him".

Condolence Messages from the Condolence Meeting held in Chennai on 8 November, 2006 at Khadi Bhavan Auditorium
Chairperson for the Event: Sri. M.R. Rajagopalan, Secretary, Gandhigram trust

A.Annamalai, Director, Gandhi Study Centre, Chennai
"Dharampalji has inspired a lot of youngsters. It is our commitment to carry on the work he has left to us. May his soul rest in peace".

Raghu Anantanarayanan, Chennai
"Dharampalji has been a very strong influence in our (me and my wife Shashi's) life. His dialogues with us not only classified the question "what is India / Indian?" but also gave us a meaning and purpose to live by.

V. Varadharajan, Chennai
"Dharampalji has been a very strong influence in our (me and my wife Shashi's) life. His dialogues with us not only classified the question "what is India / Indian?" but also gave us a meaning and purpose to live by.

Uday Meghani, Azadi Bachao Andolan, Chennai Chapter
"Dharampalji's life, message and research has always been a source of never-ending inspiration for us Swaraj campaigners.  With his demise, we have lost a true and great margdarshak, but I am convinced that his very work will ultimately fulfill his revolutionary ideas.

P. Hari Das, Senior Advocate, Chennai
"My association with Sri. Dharampal, was as a member of the National Commission of Cattle of which he was the Chairman. He was simple in his approach, but with a deep treasure mine of knowledge on issues of cow slaughter. In spite of his indifferent health, he chaired the Public hearings at 4 or 5 places. He was a great historian who was factual. May his soul rest in peace.

V. Kalyanaraman, Former Personal Secretary to Mahatma Gandhi, Chennai
"I got acquainted with Dharampal over 62 years ago when I was working in Sevagram Ashram and he was associated with Miraben. I can visualise him as a suave, softspoken, gentle person, who was a patriot in the real sense of the term. ... In his sad demise, I have lost a close friend.

G. Gautama, Principal, The School KFI, Chennai
"A remarkable man, whom it was an honour to meet and know. His works are profound, a labour of love, insightful in a slow revealing way, unpretentious. His works have been excellent and special to read. But most remarkable was a meeting at Wardha when he gave me some insights into the monitorial system and its origins. I was groping into new terrain, trying to breathe some fresh air in to a school where I work. This conversation tilted the scales and many things fell into place. The mixed age classroom was born - in my own little way this is a tribute to dharampalji.

Dr. M.S. Sriram, Professor and HOD, Theoretical Physics, University of Madras, Chennai
"Dharampalji's ideas have had a deep impact on me, and influenced my interest in Indian traditions. I might have moved away from his kind of thinking, view point and basic beliefs, but he will remain a reference point.

Dr. K. Vijayalakshmi, Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems, Chennai
"Dharampalji has had a great impact on the kind of work that we are doing at our centre today. His child-like curiosity about a variety and range of things has always fascinated me. Truly fortunate to have known and interacted with him.

Gita Dharampal-Frick, Professor, Heidelberg University, Germany
"A privilege to be his daughter".