Shruti Nagvanshi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shruti Nagvanshi
श्रुति नागवंशी
Shruti Nagvanshi.jpg
Born (1974-01-02) 2 January 1974 (age 47)
Varanasi, India
NationalityIndian
CitizenshipIndian
EducationBachelor degree in social science, Hindi and Ancient History (1995)
Alma mater , Varanasi
OccupationSocial activist
Known forPeople's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)
Spouse(s)Lenin Raghuvanshi
ChildrenKabeer Karunik
Parent(s)Lallan Singh (Father)
Late Urmila Singh (Mother)
AwardsRex Karmveer Chakra(silver), 100 women of India,JanMitra Award
Websitewww.pvchr.asia
www.pvchr.blogspot.com
shrutinagvanshi.com

Shruti Nagvanshi is a women's and child's rights activist and an advocate for marginalized groups in India, including the untouchable caste known as Dalit and rural women. She is one of the founding members of People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) and a founder of Savitri Bai Phule Mahila Panchayat, a women’s forum. She has worked with several other projects to empower minorities.[1][2][3][4]

She founded the People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) in 1996, with her husband Lenin Raghuvanshi, historian Mahendra Pratap, musician Vikash Maharaj, and poet Gyanedra Pati. Both she and Lenin are converts to Buddhism.[5][6] She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her contributions to bettering conditions for world peace and for acting as a driving force to prevent the use of masculinity-driven militarist traditions as a weapon of war and conflict.[7]

Personal life[]

Shruti Nagvanshi was born on 2 January 1974 in the Dashashwmedh area of the Varanasi district in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Inspired by her mother’s encouragement towards a better education, she overcame obstacles and completed her education. She married Dr Lenin Raghuvanshi on 22 February 1992.[8] Their only son, Kabeer Karunik, plays snooker at the national level.[9]

Initial Years[]

Once Nagvanshi left home to attend college, she realized how lack of opportunity restricts human desire to achieve goals in life. It was this self-belief which gave her the courage to participate in social work, learn, and develop awareness of the world. Her mother remained an inspiration to her to help others grow. She was part of several local social work programmes and later became involved in the Uttar Pradesh chapter of the United Nations Youth Organisation. Marriage in an orthodox hierarchy-conforming family helped her to understand the mind of caste from close proximity. With the formation of JMN/PVCHR she decided to devote herself to her passion and would walk kilometers on foot to reach to the interior villages inhabited by untouchables.[10][11]

Anti-caste work[]

She is involved in building relations between various communities through modelling and teaching awareness of individual rights and the rule of law. Her organization PVCHR focuses on reconciliation between the historically marginalized and historically privileged, and represents a secular and right-leaning wing of the larger anti-caste activist movement. Nagvanshi believes the very thought that they can fight against injustice is empowering. This pursuit of empowerment brought structural changes in her adopted villages and intervention areas. Her work has led to increased accessibility to health, education, livelihood and welfare services. Many people from upper castes in India are beginning to embrace an inclusive society.[12][13][14][15][16][17]

On malnutrition and children's right to survival[]

In 2017, she and her team at JanMitra Nyas chose 50 villages and some slums in the most marginalised communities in four blocks of the Varanasi district to work on the issue of children’s health with the support of Child Rights and You (CRY). Maternal, neonatal, and malnourished death declined in these communities.[18][19][20][21][22][23][24]

Recognition[]

She was appointed as a jury member by the Youth Ki Awaaz Awards along with feminist activist Kamla Bhasin and others.[25] Shruti received the Rex Karmveer Chakra (silver) in 2019.[26][27]  Indian poet, lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar honored her with the Jan Mitra Award in 2000 at Kabeer Mela (Kabeer festival) to recognize her extraordinary work for communal harmony and promotion of Kabir teaching.[28] She was awarded the Top 100 Women Achievers of India in 2016 by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) and Facebook jointly in the category of ‘Access to Justice Protecting Women and their rights'.[29] She received the Tilaka Manjhi National award with Lenin Raghuvanshi by the Ang Madad Foundation, an NGO based in Bhagalpur, Bihar for her work on Dalit women's rights.[30] Two Dalit rights activists from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, Mrs Shruti Nagvanshi and Mr Lenin Raghuvanshi have been mentioned as “21st Century Heroes of India” from the perspective of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and other Indian Constitutional Values by Pippa Rann Books & Media, based in the United Kingdom.[31][32]

Literary and academic contribution[]

Shruti frequently contributes articles to newsletters and online websites.[33][34] Her latest book with academic Dr. Archana Kaushik is Margins to Centre Stage: Empowering Dalits in India.[35]

References[]

  1. ^ "Jan Mitra Nyas (JMN) Project in Uttar Pradesh". Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  2. ^ Nagvanshi, Shruti. "Towards Building A Vibrant and Resilient Community Against Hunger And Malnutrition | Outlook Poshan". poshan.outlookindia.com. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  3. ^ "This Community Kitchen In Kashi Is Preparing Dishes Of Social Justice". Youth Ki Awaaz. 26 April 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  4. ^ Bose, Tarun Kanti. "UP's Musahars face such intense discrimination that even healthcare is denied to them". Scroll.in. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Dalit activist Lenin Raghuvanshi gets award for making a 'difference'". www.asianews.it. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Tireless Service to Humanity". Deed Indeed Foundation. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  7. ^ "January 31, 2017: Nobel short list for 2017 to be sent to the committee".
  8. ^ "Lenin, my Friend: Empowering the Marginal, Restoring Dignity – Different Truths". 11 May 2016.
  9. ^ "Kabeer Karunik: Professional Journey". 18 September 2019.
  10. ^ "Mobilise and empower".
  11. ^ "Varanasi NGO empowers first-generation learners". 14 October 2020.
  12. ^ Rinker, Jeremy A. (15 October 2018). Identity, Rights, and Awareness: Anticaste Activism in India and the Awakening of Justice through Discursive Practices (Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding in Asia). ASIN B07HSSQX86.
  13. ^ "Jeremy A. Rinker, "Identity, Rights, and Awareness: Anticaste Activism in India" (Lexington, 2019)". 14 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  14. ^ Kaushik, Archana; Raghuvanshi, Lenin; Panda, Mohanlal (27 June 2018). Consciousness-Raising. Routledge. pp. 14–18. doi:10.4324/9781315107851-2. ISBN 9781315107851. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  15. ^ Kaushik, Archana (1 January 2016). Margins To Centre Stage Empowering Dalits in India. ISBN 9789381043196.
  16. ^ "Contemporary Voice of Dalit". SAGE Journals. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  17. ^ Kaushik, Archana (1 November 2018). "From Hunger Deaths to Healthy Living: A Case Study of Dalits in Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh, India". Contemporary Voice of Dalit. 10 (2): 173–181. doi:10.1177/2455328X17744623. S2CID 158971200. Retrieved 24 July 2020 – via SAGE Journals.
  18. ^ "UP's Musahars face such intense discrimination that even healthcare is denied to them". Scroll Newspaper. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  19. ^ "राहुल गांधी – नरेंद्र मोदी कुपोषण से बच्चों की मौत के लिए ज़िम्मेदार कैसे हैं?". BBC Hindi. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  20. ^ "How To Bring Nutrition And Menstrual Care To Varanasi's Women And Children". Youth Ki Awaaz. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  21. ^ "Kitchen Gardens – The Way To Fight Hunger And Malnutrition". Outlook Magazine. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  22. ^ "CHILD MALNOURISHMENT IS A PREVENTABLE PANDEMIC". CRY. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  23. ^ "Focus On Adolescent Girls, Kitchen Gardens Helping Musahar, Nut Communities in Varanasi". Outlook Magazine. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  24. ^ "जर्मनी के सहयोग से बनारस में खुला परिवार स्वास्थ्य एवं पोषण परामर्श केंद्र". Patrika Hindi Newspaper. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  25. ^ "First Ever Youth Ki Awaaz Awards 2019: Apply Now". Youth Ki Awaaz. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  26. ^ Bhadouriya, Avinash (27 August 2019). "बनारस की बेटी श्रुति नागवंशी को मिलेगा रेक्स कर्मवीर चक्र". Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  27. ^ "बनारस की बेटी श्रुति, रेक्स कर्मवीर चक्र सम्मान के लिए चुनी गईं". Patrika News. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  28. ^ Rights, People's Vigilance Committee On Human (11 January 2018). "Jan Mitra Award to Shruti Nagvanshi". Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  29. ^ "MWCD's women achievers from Varanasi | Varanasi News – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  30. ^ "Two Dalit activists to receive awards for social work". 9 September 2020.
  31. ^ "Two Dalit rights activists nominated to "21st Century Heroes of India"". 29 September 2020.
  32. ^ "21st-century heroes of India". Pippa Rann Books and Media. Archived from the original on 22 February 2021.
  33. ^ "Articles by Shruti Nagvanshi". www.outlookindia.com. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  34. ^ "Shruti Nagvanshi". Youth Ki Awaaz. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  35. ^ "Front Page » Blog Archive » Margins to Centre Stage: Empowering Dalits in India". Retrieved 26 July 2020.
Retrieved from ""