Alok Mukherjee

Alok Mukherjee (born circa 1945) is a Canadian academic, human rights advocate, and public servant. He served as chair of the TPSB from 2005 until his July 2015 retirement. He is currently appointed “distinguished visiting professor” at Ryerson University.

In 1971, Mukherjee emigrated to Canada from India intending to pursue an academic career. He was sidetracked from this goal for several years when he assumed a position as a School Community Relations Worker with the (then) Toronto Board of Education, from which he went on to become the Toronto Board's Race Relations Advisor with a determined focus on helping to build an educational system that was grounded in ensuring outcomes of Equity, Human Rights and Anti-Racism for all staff and students.

Following his stint at the Toronto Board of Education, Mukherjee returned to the academic arena when he became an Instructor in South Asian Studies at York University — and where, in 2004, he received a PhD. During this period, he designed and taught some courses in South Asian cultures, languages and literature as well as in Native Canadian literature. In addition, he published two books – Towards an Aesthetic of Dalit Literature, which is a translation of a work on the literature of India’s untouchable writers by one of the foremost untouchable writers, Sharankumar Limbale, and This Gift of English which proposes a new analysis of the rise of English education in India as a convergence of British and Indian ruling class interests. He also served as an advisor to Mayor David Miller.

Over these many years since his arrival in 1971, Alok Mukherjee has built a sound professional reputation as a human rights and equity advocate, community organizer and race relations consultant in Toronto, across Canada and internationally. He has been a partner with the consulting firm, Partners in Equality and was a member of the Doris Marshall Institute for Education and Action.

Among his other public service appointments, Mukherjee has been the Acting Chief Commissioner and Vice Chair of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. He has also been a member of the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services and has served on the Board of Governors of Centennial College.

Mukherjee was originally appointed by City Council to the Toronto Police Services Board for a term effective September 28, 2004 to November 30, 2006. In 2004, he became Vice-Chair of the Board and in 2005 became Chair, succeeding Pam McConnell. After his original appointment, he was reappointed for the following term February 8, 2007 to April 13, 2010. Subsequently, he was appointed by the Province for the next three (3) year term and on its completion, he was re-appointed for another three year term effective April 14, 2013.

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