The IRR is very sad to announce the death of one its most stalwart of volunteers, A. Ragunathan, brother of IRR director A. Sivanandan.

Until ill-health overtook him, this retired world-renowned marine engineer (who had given of his expertise to ports and docks in thirty-six countries, most of them in the Third World) beat a regular path to our door every week for some three years to assist in the compilation of news stories about racism for IRR News.

IRR staff said, ‘His dry sense of humour, kindliness, and chuckling wit, made him a friend and colleague to us all. That a man with such talents and skills, at the top of his profession, could also fit so easily, at such a comparatively lowly level, into our busy but distinctly non-office like mode of working speaks volumes about him and his gifts. We honour him, and are sad for his death.’