Rajiv Goswami (12 June 1971 – 24 February 2004) was an Indian activist and a former commerce student at the

Deshbandhu College Deshbandhu College () is a college established in 1952 and affiliated to University of Delhi. Deshbandhu College was established in 1953 by the Ministry of Rehabilitation, as a memorial to freedom fighter Deshbandhu Gupta. Academics Academic ...

Delhi University The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

who came into prominence when he attempted

self-immolation Self-immolation is the act of setting oneself on fire. It is mostly done for political or religious reasons, often as a form of protest or in acts of martyrdom, and known for its disturbing and violent nature. Etymology The English word ' ...

on 19 September 1990 to protest against Prime Minister V. P. Singh's implementation of the

Mandal Commission The Mandal Commission or the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission (SEBC), was established in India in 1979 by the Janata Party government under Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to "identify the socially or educatio ...

recommendations for job reservations for backward castes in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Goswami spearheaded a formidable movement against the Mandal Commission and his act of self-immolation led to larger protests and a series of self-immolations by college students throughout India. During Mandal commission agitation, the

AIIMS The All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is a group of autonomous government public medical universities of higher education under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. These institutes ha ...

intersection in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

was temporarily renamed by students to Rajiv Chowk in a celebration of his act. Subsequently, he was elected to the position of the

Delhi University Students Union The Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) is the students' union at the University of Delhi, and with over 700,000 students spread over 91 affiliated colleges and 16 faculties, DUSU is the world’s largest student body. It was established in 1 ...

president. He later gave up active politics due to health problems and started his own business. In the following years he was frequently in and out of hospitals because of severe health complications resulting from his self-immolation bid. He was a resident of Gomti Apartments at Kalkaji in New Delhi. He died on 24 February 2004 at the age of 32 in Holy Family Hospital

Okhla Okhla, short for Old Canal Housing and Land Authority, is an urban neighbourhood located by the Okhla barrage in South East Delhi, near the border between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Okhla has lent its name to the nearby planned township of Ne ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. His mother, Nandrani Goswami, was one of the speakers at anti reservation protests in 2006.

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Rajiv Goswami attempting self immolationThe man who sparked anti-Mandal agitation
2004 suicides 2004 deaths Suicides by self-immolation Reservation in India Presidents of Delhi University Students Union Activists from Delhi Suicides in India 1971 births Student politics in India {{India-activist-stub

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