It is very sad that in less than a month two eminent retired Professors of Philosophy of Allahabad University- Dr D N Dwivedi and Dr Ram Lal Singh- left for their heavenly abode. Both of them were in their eighties and were the giants of Indian and Western Philosophy. I knew them through my father-in-law Sabhajit Mishra, who is also a retired Professor of Philosophy from Gorakhpur University and who formed the distinguished company with them along with Dr (Professor) R R Pandey of the Banaras Hindu University. All of them have been very eminent and highly respected by their students and colleagues as well.
They have been foremost in developing the scientific temper of reasoning and logic among the students of philosophy. They inculcated the ambience of learning and thinking to the seekers of knowledge. It is because of these illustrious teachers most of the students coming from Eastern Uttar Pradesh normally opted for philosophy as a subject for their undergraduate and postgraduate classes. In addition to it, at one point in time, Philosophy became a popular subject for competitive examinations. The other commonality in all these four outstanding teachers has been that they all came from humble backgrounds and never wore any air of arrogance. They have always been available to their students to help and guide them as and when needed.
Professor DN Dwivedi, it must be stated, was a powerful speaker who, although used to be ordinarily reticent, had exemplary command over western philosophy. It was a rare delight to listen to his lectures in classrooms be it the Greek Philosophy of Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and Heraclitus or rationalist thinkers like Rene Descartes, Leibniz and Spinoza empiricists like John Lock, George Berkley, and David Hume. Clarity about the existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre and the Dialectics of Hegel, the Critique of Pure Reason of Immanuel Kant etc. could be grasped by hearing him without any distraction. Away from pomp and show, DrDwivedi never aspired to come too close to the powers that be, although most of them held him in very high esteem.
ProfessorDwivedi was closely associated with Uttar Pradesh Darshan Parishad. After his retirement, he settled down in Allahabad. He originally belonged to the rural background of the neighbouring district of Pratapgarh. He is survived by his wife, two sons, two daughters, and their children.
May his soul be free from the cycle of birth and death!