Dr. Krishnaprasad G. Bhansali, 93, a native of Mahudha, India, was born on Feb. 27, 1928 and died May 27th, 2021 at his home in Starkville while receiving hospice care following an extended illness. A visitation will be held at Welch Funeral Home Friday, June 4, 2021 from 9:00am to 12:00pm.
Dr. Bhansali was a highly respected professor of Political Science at Mississippi State University from 1967 until 2011. He came to MSU after teaching Political Science at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas from 1962-1967.
After earning his undergraduate degree at Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, West Bengal in India, Dr. Bhansali came to the U.S. to pursue his dream of teaching. He worked from 1951-61 at the Embassy of India in Washington, D.C. while attaining his Masters and Ph.D. degrees from American University in Washington.
Dr. Bhansali was an active member of the Starkville Rotary Club from 1985 until his death. While a proud American and Mississippian, he maintained a lifelong love of the culture and history of his beloved India.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 30 years, Julie Sklarsky Bhansali, in 1991 and his brother, Dr. Kantilal Bhansali of Houston, Texas in 2020.
Dr. Bhansali is survived by son Dr. Anil P. Bhansali (Jennifer) of Madison, MS; granddaughters Julia and Alyssa Bhansali of Madison, MS; niece Sushi Parikh of Starkville, MS; sister-in-law Carolyn Bhansali of Houston, TX; and nieces Maya Bhansali Huddleston (Ray) of Wylie, TX and Sita Bhansali Brown (Jeff) of Cypress, TX; niece Lata Bhansali (Dilip) of Congers, NY and nephew Kaushik Parikh (Bharti) of Germantown, TN. In addition to these special family members, Krish is survived by numerous other relatives around the world.
A devout man who observed the Hindu faith, Dr. Bhansali offered these thoughts prior to his passing: “Hinduism claims no single founder or definitive holy book, nor does its origin date back to any single point in time. Considered by historians to be the world’s oldest religion, Hinduism has been in practice for at least 5000 years.”
In lieu of flowers, and should friends choose to make memorial gifts, the family suggests these be directed to the MSU Kris Bhansali Endowed Scholarship in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration in the College of Arts and Sciences at Mississippi State University c/o the MSU Foundation P.O. Box 6149, Mississippi State, MS 39762.
