The country has suffered a great loss as prominent historian Suthachai Yimprasert succumbed to cancer on Wednesday. He was only 61.
Through his life, he was known for his many different roles -- an active student, a prolific journalist, a political activist, a precise historian, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Arts, and an individual who never lost his grip on pro-democracy and human rights principles.
His contributions as a Thai historian had a great impact on many, both directly and indirectly, including myself as a young journalist.
Paritta Wangkiat is a reporter, Bangkok Post.
I'm a millennial who grew up mostly ignorant of Thai politics. The chronic political conflict, with protests and a series of coups d'etat over the last decade, and wars of words engaged in by politicians simply made me bored.
But my work as a journalist does not allow me to shut myself away from politics any more and I started reading books about recent Thai history. That was when I spotted the name Suthachai and was captivated by his masterpiece Phan Ching Chart Thai or Plot to Take Over the Nation. It is about politics and nationalism in Thailand during the second administration of Field Marshal Plaek Phibulsonggram from 1948 to 1957.
The book, which is full of in-depth information and vivid details, gives a picture of how civilian factions struggled to establish democracy in Thailand after the 1932 Siamese Revolution that ended the absolute monarchy.
From his book I can see the complex relations among the political players that led to Thailand's "military bureaucratic polity" who destroyed democracy to maintain power. It was the start of the political conflicts between conservatives and those in the pro-democracy camp and it has lasted to this day.
Then I read another prominent book containing some of his writings, Adyakam Rat Nai Vikrit Kan Plianplaeng (State Crime Amidst Change Crisis) which deals with the history of the Oct 6 massacre in 1976, when the military and extreme right wingers brutally suppressed anti-dictatorship students at Thammasat University.
Again, the tragic event which followed the Oct 14, 1973 uprising, was caused by a clash between those with conservative and progressive ideologies. He rightly pointed out that those who murdered the young souls were able to enjoy impunity.
While studying in university, Suthachai joined the student movement, and in the wake of violent crackdowns on activists, he fled into the jungles to join the Communist Party of Thailand.
In his works, Suthachai, together with those of the so-called October generation, tried to expose this "missing" part of Thai history that the elites seem to want the public to forget.
When I was in school, textbooks provided by the state did not give the other side of story about this political and human tragedy. We were not aware of the past mistakes.
Along with his academic role, Suthachai was known for his pro-democracy stance in speaking out against dictatorships and military coups.
He showed staunch support for the red shirts during the 2010 political crackdown, while calling for then prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to step down and end military operations against the protesters. He urged the state to reveal the details of the operations that cost so many lives. The killers remain unknown and unpunished to this day.
His political activism landed him in a military camp in Saraburi for more than a week -- without charge. The academic was then linked to a plot to overthrow the monarchy concocted by the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation. He denied the allegation. Later, the centre withdrew its claims.
"I admit I'm a red-shirt academic. But if this country is a democracy, there shouldn't be any problems whatever colour shirt [a person] wears, and I don't agree with the red shirts' every move," he told Sarakadee magazine after his release.
He noted that the Thai ruling classes claim that grassroots people don't understand democracy which he disagreed vehemently with.
"But I want [them] to look back at history. The grassroots have never staged a coup. Then who did? Only the elites. It's the elites who must learn about democracy."
Shortly after the 2014 coup, he was summoned by the National Council for Peace and Order for "attitude adjustment". This time he was not detained.
Throughout his life, Suthachai relentlessly called for the truth to be revealed.
With his death, the academic leaves a great legacy and a mission for people to follow in his footsteps.
I hope his dreams come true.