Six years ago, on July 29, we lost our dear friend and respected community activist, Dr. Chin Banerjee.
To his wide circle of friends and fellow activists, he was simply and affectionately known as Chin Da.
He was a man of remarkable intellect, diverse talents, and boundless community involvement.
An accomplished educationalist, he earned both a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in English literature and taught at Simon Fraser University.
Beyond academia, however, his passion lay in progressive politics, democratic rights, and social justice. He believed that education and public engagement went hand in hand.
Chin Da also possessed a deep appreciation for the arts, particularly cinema.
He was an ardent admirer of offbeat and socially conscious films, and had a special fondness for Charlie Chaplin’s masterpieces, which combined timeless entertainment with profound social and political commentary.
His love for meaningful cinema inspired him to establish the South Asian Film Education Society, through which he introduced audiences to many outstanding Indian and international films.
Thanks to his initiative, I had the privilege of watching numerous classic Indian movies over the years, films that entertained, enlightened, and often inspired thoughtful discussion.
Once, he called me to help salvage hundreds of Indian film reels that had been abandoned at the York Theatre on Commercial Drive in Vancouver. This was when Indian movies were no longer showing in theatres because of the introduction of videos. We toiled and picked up the abandoned movie reels. I think Chin Da gave them to some archive facility.
On this anniversary of his passing, I remember Chin Da not only as an intellectual and activist, but also as a generous friend who enriched our community through ideas, culture, and compassion.
His legacy continues to live on in the many lives he touched.
— Promod Puri
promodpuri.com
Promod Puri.com 
Dear Promod Bhai: Thank you for the wonderful tribute to Chinmoy Banerjee who was my friend, comrade and mentor.
I met Chin Da for the first time in December 1976 at Dr. Hari Sharma’s house. We remained friends for 44 years. My association with him has a lot to do with who I am today. His passion and commitment for supporting workers’ struggles all over the world influenced me a great deal. I learnt a great deal from him about history, arts and literature.
Chin Da was always working on a multitude of projects. From his day-to-day work, it was hard to know that he had a full-time job as a professor at Simon Fraser University. As far as I could tell, his full-time job was to organize meetings and rallies in support of various people’s struggles locally or around the world.
Throughout his life, Chin Da remained devoted to the ideals of democracy in India. He was outraged by the attacks on democratic freedoms by the government of Narendra Modi. Under Modi’s government, he saw India moving in an anti-democratic direction, with persecution of minorities. Whenever protests arose in India against government authoritarianism and attacks on minorities, he always supported them. He spearheaded local protests in British Columbia against the the lynching of Muslims, the attack on the students and professors at Jawaharlal Lal Nehru University in Delhi, and attacks on Dalits.
Chin Da left behind a legacy of activism in the service of humankind. He inspired hundreds of us to fight for human rights and a better world without suffering or oppression with equality regardless of religion, caste, race, or gender. He left a better world for us where we have learned to fight battles for justice, stand on principles, and to be more compassionate. His life and legacy continue to inspire many of us.
Harinder Mahil
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Thanks for sharing your inspired experiences with Chin Da. I posted this tribute so our community, in particular, and the community at large do not forget the contributions made by Prof. Chin Banerjee and Prof. Hari Sharma ( you can find a write-up here)
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