Anita Reddy

Anita Reddy
Born Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Occupation Social worker
Parent(s) Dwarakanath Reddy
Renjini Reddy
Awards Padma Shri
Mahila Sadhaki Award
Jean Harris Award
Woman Achiever Award
Person of the Year
Website
Official web site

Anita Reddy is an Indian social worker from Karnataka and the founder of Association for Voluntary Action and Services (AVAS),[1][2] known for her services for the rehabilitation and upliftment of the slum dwellers in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.[3] The Government of India honored Anita Reddy in 2011, with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri.[4]

Biography

I had to face the land mafia and persons with vested interests. Once, I was even chased by a mob of around 300 people. I had to learn to conduct meetings with slum dwellers in graveyards, says Anita Reddy, about her early experiences.[5]

Anita Reddy was born in Bengaluru, in the South Indian state of Karnataka in a wealthy family to Renjini Reddy and Dwarakanath Reddy, an industrialist and philanthropist.[5] Her schooling was at the Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh after which she went to Houston, USA for higher studies but discontinued studies to return to India. Later she got married to her childhood friend, Pratap Reddy, the son of the first Chief Minister of Karnataka, K. Chengalaraya Reddy.[5]

Her social career started in late seventies when she started working with slum dwelling people. Soon, she founded the Association for Voluntary Action and Services (AVAS) in 1980.[3] Her first initiative was to contribute to the living conditions in the slums by remodeling the housing facilities.[5] Reddy's activities gathered momentum when her father founded the Dwarakanath Reddy Ramanarpanam Trust (DRRT) in 1996,[1][2] bestowed his wealth to the trust and asked Anita Reddy to manage it.[3] With added resources, Reddy worked for the empowerment of the poor people and establishment of better facilities in the slums.[5]

Another achievement credited to Reddy is the formation of the Development of Weavers and Rural Artisans in Kalamkari Art (DWARAKA), a society for the artisans. The society aims to revive the dying art form of Kalamkari and provide the artisans a base for storing and marketing their products.[5] The next project Reddy plans for is the setting up of a Gandhian institute, Dwarakanath Reddy Institute for Knowledge (DRIK), for which she has set up a 40 acre piece of land at Chikballapur. The mission of the institute has been set as the promotion of theatre, music, sports, art and craft and Gandhian studies.[5] The institute also has a training centre for rural children called Viveka.[6]

Anita Reddy represented the Government of India at the Habitat II, the United Nations Human Settlements Conference in Istanbul, Turkey held from June 3 to 14, 1996[3] and the UN Conference held in Kenya as a part of the Year Of The Shelterless.[7] She sat on the Housing Task Force set up by the Government of Karnataka for submitting a report on the housing for the urban poor[7] and was a member of the Karnataka Slum Clearance Board. She also holds the positions of the Managing Trustee of the Ranjini Dwaraknath Reddy Trust (RDRT)[6] and the trustee of the Karnataka chapter of Sarvodaya.[7][8]

Reddy also promotes Jeevanotsav, a cultural platform and the K. C. Reddy Swim Centre in Bengaluru which has produced national level swimmers such as Nisha Millet and Meghana Narayanan,[9] She serves as the Organizing Secretary of Women’s Voice and as the secretary of the State Level Slum Dwellers Federation (KKNSS).[7] She also organizes School based campaigns and dialogues.[10]

Awards and recognitions

Anita Reddy is a recipient of Mahila Sadhaki Award of the Guild of Women Achievers in 1997.[7] A recipient of the Jean Harris Award from Rotary International[11] and the Woman Achiever Award from the Ladies Circle India, she was declared as the Person of the Year by the Namma Bengaluru Foundation in 2010-11.[12][7] The same year, in 2011, Reddy received the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.[4]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Dwaraka". Dwaraka. 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Presentation by Anita Reddy". Video. Story Pick. 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Chai with Manjula". Chai with Manjula. June 2010. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Padma Shri". Padma Shri. 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 "Following a passion from within". The Hindu. September 25, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Kavitha". Kavitha. 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 "Bay Area Desi". Bay Area Desi. 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Interview". YouTube. 10 April 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Swim Gala". Swim Gala. 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Aditi". Aditi. 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Rotary". The Hindu. November 4, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Deccan Herald". Deccan Herald. 9 February 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2014.

External links