JOHN W. SPELLMAN Ph.D.

1934 - 2021

SPELLMAN, John W. PhD Streets of Boston to Human Rights Scholar at Harvard, Fighter for Social Justice, dies at 86. Emeritus Professor John W. Spellman died on June 25 in Ontario, Canada. A highly accomplished scholar, Dr. Spellman was a Fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (RAS), for scholarship relating to Asian culture and society of the highest level. He retired as Head of the Department of Asian Studies, University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada in 2000. Dr. Spellman is considered one of the world's foremost scholars on Asian Studies and a cultural expert on the political history of India. Spellman studied at the Sorbonne, University of Oxford, and the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies under Arthur Llewellyn Basham, where he received both his M.A. and Ph.D. Praised for his outspoken and dogmatic nature, affectionate sense of humor, charm and dedication to students, Spellman spoke three Indian languages, lectured world-wide and authored books and dozens of articles on ancient India, its people, politics, and culture. In 1961, Dr. Spellman was hired as History Professor at Wesleyan University. From 1962 to 1964, Spellman was Visiting Lecturer in Indian Politics, University of Kerala, India. By 1964, Spellman's reputation as an important scholar in the field of Ancient Indian history was firmly established through his book, Political Theory of Ancient India; A Study of Kingship from the earliest times to circa A.D. 300, published by Oxford University Press. While in India, Spellman collected and translated village fables that he read to his children. In 1967, he published The Beautiful Blue Jay and Other Tales of India, with illustrator Jerry Pinkney and Little Brown. This book was heralded as one of the most important children's books on India. In 1967, Dr. Spellman was hired as assistant professor of History at the University of Washington, Seattle. He taught Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, was elected to the Board for the American Civil Liberties Union, and trained Peace Corps volunteers for programs in India. In 1967, he was recruited by Dr. J. F. Leddy, president of the University of Windsor, to head the Asian Studies Department and spent the next 33 years there as a tenured professor. Spellman was president of the Institute for Asian Cultures from 1975-2000. He founded the Indian Cultural Development Centre which funded by the Ford Foundation and the Government of India, where he helped over a million people in 400 villages in South India to become self-sufficient through their own indigenous resources. In the 1980's, Dr. Spellman served as consultant on Sikhism to the human-rights commissions of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, for the Canadian Ministry of Justice, and gave expert testimony for several high-profile court cases. Dr. Spellman was presented the Sikh American Heritage Award 1986 at a ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. In 1986, Spellman was selected as one of the first Visiting Scholars for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, after founder, Henry J. Steiner, visited him in India. In the 1990's and 2000's, He served as a consultant to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board and Amnesty International. He served as director to Asia for Canadian University Service Overseas. Over the last twenty years, Spellman worked to preserve forests and wetlands in Ontario. In 2013, Spellman was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for his human rights, civil liberties, and volunteer work. Dr. Spellman is survived by his children, Suzanne Bharati Hendery and Daryl Hendery of Reno, NV, John Gilligan Spellman of San Francisco, CA, and grandson Brian Andrew Hendery of Vancouver. Online condolences at www.geraldasmith.ca

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