Achal Das Bohra

A. D. Bohra
Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

Achal Das Bohra (23 December 1918 – 17 February 2007) was a prominent Indian engineer, academician, author, educator and philanthropist hailing from the town of Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Bohra, affectionately known as "Papaji" and "Bohra Saab", was a leader of the Pushkarna Brahmin community in Rajasthan and a tireless advocate of women's rights and the balance of modernity and traditional Hindu philosophical thought.

Bohra was born to Dau Das and Bachu Bohra and was the third of four children. His youngest sister died in childhood and he grew up with his two older sisters, Ashi and Gita, under the care of his father's sister. Bohra was married to Phool Kaur Purohit on 26 April 1934, but did not again meet her until October of that same year on Dashera day.

During his childhood, Bohra ran messages for Jai Narayan Vyas, a young freedom fighter and a future Chief Minister of Rajasthan, during the nascent Indian Independence movement.

Bohra identified three gurus who guided and heavily influenced him throughout his life—his gyan (knowledge) guru was Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the founder of Banaras Hindu University, his karma (action) guru was Jai Narayan Vyas, and his dharma (faith) guru was His Holiness Paramhans Shri 1008 Swami Hari Har Ji Maharaj, founder of the International Federation of Geeta Ashrams.

He is survived by five of his eight children, sixteen grandchildren, twenty great-grandchildren, and two great great-grandchildren dispersed across India and the United States.

Bohra graduated at the top of his class in 1941 from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi, India, with a double Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. During his time at BHU, he was the recipient of the Prince of Wales gold medal and the Nageshwar Iyer Award. He also obtained 1st class certification from the City & Guilds of London Institute in Design and Performance of Electrical Machinery and Transformers.

From 1942 to 1946, after graduating from Banaras Hindu University, Bohra was the chief engineer, works manager and production engineer for Jay Engineering Works, a German stove company based in Calcutta, India. Shortly thereafter, Bohra was first a founder, then a professor, and later a principal at MBM Engineering College in Jodhpur.

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