Hari Narke, an academic known for his work on Jyotirao Phule and B R Ambedkar and the vice-president of Samata Parishad, passed away Wednesday in Mumbai after a heart attack. He was 70.

• Narke, a Pune resident, was being treated at the Asian Heart Institute. He had been unwell for about a year.
• Chhagan Bhujbal, a leader of the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) and a close associate of Narke, said the ideologue’s passing was a big loss for the progressive movements of the state.
• Narke wrote several books on Mahatma Phule and has also edited Mahatma Phule: Samagra Vangmay.
• He was the professor of Mahatma Phule chair at Savitribai Phule Pune University, and a former member of the Maharashtra Backward Class Commission.