New Delhi: Historian and former Delhi University teacher David Baker died at his residence in the St. Stephen’s College campus on Monday. He was 89. After studying in Australia, Baker joined the college in 1969 and was associated with it since then. Teachers and former students said he had been keeping unwell for the past few months due to old age.
“It is with deep sorrow that I inform all of us of the passing away of Dr. Baker, senior-most and beloved teacher of this College (from 1969 onwards) in the early hours of August 23, 2021,” principal John Varghese announced Monday.
Baker, who was a bachelor, frequently visited his two siblings in Australia before the pandemic. A teacher for nearly 30 years, Baker was instrumental in developing the college archives and was also working on documenting the history of St Stephen’s College. He was also a ‘block tutor’ — a senior guiding figure for each block in the college campus — to several batches of students.
Following his demise, tributes poured in from all corners on Monday. Former Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, who was a student of Baker’s, called the teacher “one of his closest friends.” Jung said the two spoke on the phone around 10 days ago and planned to meet next month.
“David joined St Stephen’s when I was in my second year of college. He and I were the closest of friends for the past 50 years, and he is a part of our family. While preparing for the civil services examination, he gave me his own notes on British history and modern Indian history. He told me that if I didn’t make the IAS in my first attempt, he would be upset. We kept in touch throughout all these years and he visited me even when I was posted in Madhya Pradesh, Manila, and England. He taught my daughter as well, so it is a personal loss for us,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“David joined St Stephen’s when I was in my second year of college. He and I were the closest of friends for the past 50 years, and he is a part of our family. While preparing for the civil services examination, he gave me his own notes on British history and modern Indian history. He told me that if I didn’t make the IAS in my first attempt, he would be upset. We kept in touch throughout all these years and he visited me even when I was posted in Madhya Pradesh, Manila, and England. He taught my daughter as well, so it is a personal loss for us,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Congress MP and St Stephen’s alumnus Shashi Tharoor also tweeted his condolences.
“Profoundly saddened by the passing of my teacher and “block tutor” at St Stephens College, Dr David Baker, who became an Indian citizen and mentored two generations of students,” the MP said, expressing regret over missing Baker’s funeral which is slated to take place on Tuesday while following the Covid-19 restrictions on funerals.
Most of Baker’s colleagues and former students remember him for his connection with the student community. “His memory was so good that he remembered most of the students from each of the batches. Even after he retired, he would voluntarily take classes in college so that he could interact with students and they could learn from him. He has left an indelible mark on his students including me,” said Malay Neerav, the head of the history department at St. Stephen’s College.
Neerav was also Baker’s colleague for over a decade from 1986 to 1997, and said he was taught by the historian. “Baker took Indian citizenship because he wanted to spend his life on the college campus. He devoted his life to St. Stephen’s and spent his last days documenting the history of St. Stephen’s and tying it to the history of Delhi. He also played an instrumental role in developing the archive department of the college library,” he said.
Historian Shahid Amin, a retired professor from Delhi University’s history department, said that Baker was a robust academic along with being a great teacher who stayed in touch with his former students as well.
“Baker was a devoted teacher and a professional historian which was rare in the late ’60s. He was a diligent academic and continued with his work even after his retirement. When he joined Stephen’s in 1969, he had already published a paper on Rowlatt Satyagraha with a noted publication. He was not just a teacher but an institution who has done meticulous research on Indian history and the role of central provinces in the freedom struggle,” he said.
Author and historian Swapna Liddle said Baker had worked extensively as a PhD scholar in India. “..In my third year in college I saw a different side of him on a history department trip to Indore, Mandu, Maheshwar, etc. He knew all the little dhabas and dharamshalas, as he had been coming to these places ever since his years working on the history of the region as a young PhD scholar from Australia,” she wrote on Facebook.