My husband Chandran Owen, who has died from pancreatic cancer aged 62, was a citizen of the world. He was born in India, then lived and worked in Africa, before settling in Britain, where he worked for equality and social justice.
Son of Danias, a teacher, and Sarah (nee Anbiah), Chandran was born in Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu. His father, unable to find work, applied for a teaching post in Mombasa and the family sailed to colonial Kenya when Chandran was two. Later, the family found Zambia more welcoming, and Chandran completed his schooldays there in 1969.
In 1971 he joined the Regional Engineering College in Trichy, South India, where he formed lifelong friendships and was nicknamed Zombie (he liked to think it was because he had come from Zambia but friends said it was more to do with the way this lanky individual strode across the campus). In 1981, after working as an engineer in India and Zambia, Chandran moved to the newly independent Zimbabwe, where he and I met in Harare. We married after settling in the UK in 1983.
Living first in Edinburgh, Chandran joined Scottish Education and Action for Development, which was campaigning for disinvestment and consumer boycotts of South Africa – he worked to identify pension funds and shareholders with South African associations. We moved in 1986 to Sheffield, where Chandran was an active Labour party member and chaired the Sheffield Racial Equality Council. He also served on the national executive committee of the Anti Apartheid Movement.
Chandran was a member of the board of the Lyceum Theatre during its redevelopment in the late 80s, treasurer for the Sheffield Independent Film Company and chair of Paternoster Ltd, the company that developed the Showroom Cinema and Workstation space for use by cultural and media industries.
In 1990 he started working for Nottingham city council. During his time as head of the council’s equality, diversity and translation services, from 1994 until his retirement in 2004, he promoted mediation as an integral part of the process of reconciliation and resolution. In 1995 he became a magistrate, and completed 20 years of service.
After retiring, he was a consultant in the field of equality and diversity, a fundraiser for Marie Curie, and appeared as an extra in TV programmes and films. He was on the independent monitoring board of the local prison. In March last year, he embarked on a three-month trip during which he revisited Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
An avid user of social media, Chandran played an active role in the blog we set up soon after his cancer was diagnosed in September (chandran.simplesite.com) and which also celebrated the birth of our first grandchild, Franklin.
Chandran is survived by me, our son Krishna, daughter Sita, and Franklin; and by his brother, Joe, and sister, Rani.
