SINGH Foundation was started in 1993. Prof. Deepak Kapur was the first President of the foundation, serving for a number of years. He maintained a close association with the foundation even after he stepped down. Sadly, he passed away on April 11, 2026, of complications from ideopathic pulmonary fibrosis. [If you wish to donate in Deepak's memory, our homepage describes how you can do it.]
Below are some memories of Deepak from some of his friends in the US. This webpage is very much under construction, and will be updated as more friends send in their memories. Independently, a former student of Deepak's, ThanVu Nguyen, has set up a googlegroup:https://groups.google.com/g/deepak-kapur-memorial The posts to the group appear to be open-access and seem to have much more and better information about Deepak's scholarly life.
Biju: I did not know Deepak very well even though he was part of our circles till 5 years ago when he joined India Civil Watch International (ICWI) and played a really important role In helping with the Bhima koregaon forensic investigation. He became the person I would reach out to, to understand the technicalities and he put me in touch with several people who have played a crucial role in that project. After that, from 2022 my conversations with him continued. Just recently, I heard from Bharat Rathore an ICWI member who has built a very significant mentoring network called the Bahujans scholar network, that he was overjoyed at the news of Deepak had joined as a mentor and was helping a whole group of Bahujan CS students in India figure out career pathways. Deepak, I knew, was actively thinking about caste when the initial ICWI work groups were being formed, he was the first one to volunteer for the anti-caste work-group… And when he moved to New York I was overjoyed, hoping to get to know him a lot better. But kya kare... that hope will never be realized.. We will miss you comrade.
Sue: In addition to Deepak's political understanding and activism, there was most recently Deepak the man who delighted in jazz in the parks, food vendors, and walking the streets of New York City. He lived alone here, teaching at NYU while Roli was helping her mother in Montreal, but he was always eager to explore. At a No Kings rally, he was amazed at the serendipity of meeting a colleague of mine who shared a detailed knowledge of leftist movements as we marched. Like Vinod and Fely, Sekhar and I were waiting for him to get back to NY to take him to a new restaurant and to share pot luck at our kitchen table when he had a free evening. Sekhar and I are very sad.
Ashok: It was a difficult night. Kept on thinking and dreaming. I knew that Deepak was unwell and was suffering a lot. I had asked him to come to Chennai – hoping that this hot and humid (and reasonably polluted) city will cure him. I had not seen him for a long time -- not even talked to him for some time. I did not know the end will come so quickly. When the world was becoming so difficult, I was hoping that his words of wisdom will somehow act as balm. I do not know where such words will come from now. I am lost.
Ramya: We didn't know Deepak for long but when we last saw him it was almost as if we've been friends for a long time.
Abha: I am deeply saddened by the news of Deepak’s demise. He was our comrade, he was our friend.