In many ways Pattnayak was more radical than the leftists; he was Gandhian you would say. For example consider this very doable idea of his: “There should be no global trade in articles of daily necessity that can be produced in every region.” He concluded that the conflict was no longer between the rightists and leftists, who dominate the political scene. Pattnayak said that the barriers between them have broken down and that “the modern mind, addicted to the idea of great prosperity and centralized wealth, unites them.”

Many of Pattnayak’s ideas will make us uneasy, having come far as we have done, from the fork in the road, where we still had the choice. Can we ever trace back the steps? Quite unlikely. So Pattnayak’s ideas of stopping all mining, quitting WTO etc will evoke an affectionate pity for him.

He was undeterred. He ‘raged, raged into the night’. You decide if he deserves this space in GoodNewsIndia.

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Read tributes to Kishen Pattnayak by Yogendra Yadav and Medha Patkar