Kennedy, nicknamed 'Ted,' was the younger brother of slain President John F. Kennedy and New York Senator Robert Kennedy, who was shot dead while seeking the White House in 1968.

Kennedy's passionate commitment to human rights came to the fore when Pakistan, which was backed by then president Richard Nixon and his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, sought to suppress an independence movement in East Pakistan, which later became Bangladesh.

Kennedy was one of the first international figures to alert the world of the Pakistani Army's genocide in Bangladesh and the unprecedented humanitarian and refugee crisis unfolding in the subcontinent.

In 1971, the 39-year-old Kennedy travelled across West Bengal and other parts of eastern India and documented the plight of Bangladeshi refugees. He earned much goodwill in India for his support for refugees and was lionised in Bangladesh.