| Lenin Raghuvanshi | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 18, 1970 Varanasi, India |
| Residence | Varanasi |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Citizenship | Indian |
| Education | Bachelor degree in Ayurveda, Modern Medicine and Surgery (1994) |
| Alma mater | State College for Ayurveda and Medicine, Gurukul Kangari, Haridwar |
| Occupation | Social activist |
| Known for | ‘People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)’, |
| Home town | Varanasi |
| Title | Dr |
| Religion | Atheist-Buddhist[1] |
| Spouse | Shruti Nagvanshi |
| Children | Kabeer Karunik |
| Parents | Surendra Nath(Father) Shrimati Savitri Devi(Mother) |
| Awards | Human Rights Award of the city of Weimar (2010), Gwangju Human Rights Award (2007), ACHA Peace Star Award |
| Website | |
| http://www.pvchr.org/ http://www.pvchr.net/ | |
Lenin Raghuvanshi is a Dalit rights activist and an Ashoka Fellow[2] from India. He is one of the founding members of People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR),[3] which works for the upliftment of the marginalised sections of the society. His work has been recognized with awards like Gwangju Human Rights Award (2007),[4] the ACHA Star Peace award (2008)[5] and the International Human Rights Prize of the city of Weimar (2010).[6]
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Lenin Raghuvansi was born in a higher caste Hindu family, to Surendra Nath and Shrimati Savitri Devi, on May 18, 1970. His grandfather Shanti Kumar Singh, was a Gandhian freedom fighter.[7] He did his bachelor's course in Ayurveda, Modern Medicine and Surgery from the State Ayurvedic Medical College, Gurukul Kangari, Haridwar in 1994. Lenin married Shruti Nagvanshi on 22 February 1992 and has a 12 year old son, Kabeer Karunik.
From the beginning, Raghuvansi was averse to the caste system that is still rampant in the Hindu society. He refers to his higher caste Hindu upbringing as "feudal".[2] This sprung the seed of social activism in him. He became the president of the Uttar Pradesh chapter of United Nations Youth Organisation at the age of 23 (1993).[8] With his exposure into the mainstream society, he realised that casteism is present in all walks of life. With the Indian Government tackling the issue with its reservation policies and making it perennial, Raghuvansi chose the path of uplifting them by making their voices heard. He founded the People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) in 1996, along with his wife, Shruti Nagvanshi, historian Mahendra Pratap, musician Vikash Maharaj, and poet Gyanedra Pati.
In 1999, Raguvanshi founded a community based organisation, Jan Mitra Nyas (People-friendly Association), which was backed by ActionAid. The movement adopted three villages near Varanasi and an urban slum, with an objective of providing better education to the children there.[9] He was elected in 2001 into the executive council of Voice of People, supported by Child Rights and You (CRY), an organisation active in 15 districts of Uttar Pradesh, which works for the rights of the children.[10] He was appointed as a member of the District Vigilance Committee on Bonded Labour under Bonded Labour abolition Act 1976 by the Governor of UP in 2002. He filed an FIR (First Information Report) against Rajendar Thripathi, the village head of Belwa in the Badagaon administrative district in his capacity as a member of the Disctict Vigilance Committee. However, Rajendar escaped arrest, and Lenin has been reported to be receiving death threats since then.[11] In revenge, the head of Belwa village filed a case against Raghuvanshi and two PVCHR staff members for "statements conducing to public mischief" and "anti-state activities"; the latter proceeding of case was stayed by High Court.[11]
In 2004, he conceptualised the 'Jan Mitra Gaon' (People-friendly villages) project, under which three villages and an urban slum were adopted with the motives of eradicating child labour, providing education to girls, reintroducing non-traditional education and improving the state of educational institutions.[12]
Raghuvansi represented the Bunkar Dastkar Adhikar Manch in the People's Tribunal on Human Rights, chaired by Sayeda Hameed, a member of the Planning Commission of India, briefing on the reportedly poor situation of the Varanasi weavers.[13] Bunkar Dastkar Adhikar Manch is a Varanasi based outfit, founded by Siddiq Hassan, in 2004, that lobbies for the weaver community.[14] Varanasi Weavers Trust was conceptualised in 2004 by the Sri Lankan economist Darin Gunasekara and Raguvansi, with the objective of easy accessibility of the capital and market to the poor in a democratised way. The demand was then put forth to the Indian Government for the establishment of the trust.[15]
On January 15, 2005, human rights groups from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Srilanka, PVCHR (India), INSEC (Nepal), People's Forum for Human Rights (Bhutan), Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, LOKOJ (Bangladesh) and Wiros Lokh Institute (Srilanka), met with an objective of a united South Asia, working for the common good, in Kathmandu. This convention was named People's SAARC, leading to the formation of a South Asian People's Forum, with Raghuvansi as its coordinator. Afghanistan was later added to this SAARC.[16]
Raghuvanshi is a 2001 Ashoka Fellow.[2] He was appointed as the state director for the European Union funded National Project on Prevention of Torture in 2006,[17] in recognition of the reports published by PVCHR on torture incidents in the state. He drafted a Testimonial model for India along with Dr.Inger Agger,[18] working further on dealing with torture. He was awarded the Gwangju Human Rights Award in 2007, along with Irom Sharmila[4] In 2008, he received ACHA Star Peace award from Association for Communal Harmony in Asia USA along with B. M. Kutty, Karamat Ali and Mubashir Mirza from Pakistan.[5] In 2010, he was elected as the president for the Association of Cultural Harmony in Asia, USA.[19] City council of Weimar, Germany, chose him for the 2010 International Human Rights award.[6]
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