Karmaveer Noble Laureates 2009-10
REAL WEALTH CREATORS FOR THE COMMUNITIES
Karmaveer Puraskaar, 2009
Siva Cotipalli
DhanaX was co- founded by Siva Cotipalli in 2007, along with the team of zealous and extremely competent financial experts. After graduating from BITS-Pilani and IIM-Kozhikode and working for five years, Siva wanted to build a business that would benefit millions of poor Indians, and thus came up with the idea of DhanaX. He strongly believes that doing well and doing good need not be conflicting objectives. In a country like India, with wide, unequal distribution of wealth, Siva has built a unique platform for the “haves” of India to help “have-nots” without getting involved in charities. DhanaX is a social lending site that matches lenders with investable savings and low-income borrowers who have no access to initial capital for their enterprises. Nevertheless, the project is a for-profit social enterprise and not a non- profit organisation. Dhanax encourages people to repay loans and not to fall in the vicious circle of debts.
GOVERNMENT CITIZEN KARMAVEER PURASKAAR, 2009
IPS Officer
D R Kaarthikeyan
An Agriculturist turned lawyer-turned IPS officer, Dr. Kaarthikeyan served the nation with great distinction in many capacities in India and abroad. He has been Director of CBI, Director General of NHRC and CRPF. Presently he holds important positions in many sectors, be it corporate, social or spiritual organisations. He has been traveling all over India and abroad promoting Peace, Religious Harmony, Spirituality, Human Rights and respect for Environment. His work to society has been widely recognized over time and there is an endless list of honours conferred upon him for the same. A few important awards to his credit are-the ‘Humanitarian Award’ from the Integral Yoga International, USA for outstanding achievement in service to humanity; “For the Sake of Honour” by the Rotary Clubs; Rajiv Gandhi Award for Harmony by the Interfaith Harmony of India, Atma Jyothi by the World Academy of Spiritual Sciences; Jewel of Delhi by the All India Conference of Intellectuals; President’s Medal for Distinguished Service and many more by various civil society organisations. He has a successful track record to date and is widely respected for his commitment and quality of service in various spheres in various fields of activity.
GOVERNMENT CITIZEN KARMAVEER PURASKAAR, 2009
Panchayati Raj
Vijaytai Prabhakar Patil
A dynamic and inspiring personality, Vijaytai Prabhakar Patil, is the name behind the success of Vadgaon Budruk Gram Panchayat. Vadgaon Budruk gram panchayat has won various taluka, district, division and state level awards in the field of forestry, health, sanitation and education. It has stood out as a leader amongst the 28000 odd other panchayats of Maharashtra. This panchayat has revamped the entire face of the village, converting dusty roads to concretes, equipping the village with solar energy, providing healthy sanitation and proper education at school level. All this has been made possible by the leadership of Vijaytai Prabhakar Patil who has transcended all boundaries of caste, gender, religion and age to bring about this spectacular change. She has stood strong constantly as a motivation for all the villagers to bring about this change.
ARTISTES 4 CHANGE KARMAVEER PURASKAAR, 2009
Music- Singer
D J Narain
"Presently the front person and lead singer cum composer of one of India’s biggest Pop & Rock Band ‘The Aryans’, Dhamendra Jai Narain, popularly known as DJ Narain, has 5 successful albums , more than 800 concerts and numerous awards to his credit. Through his meaningful music, Narain has reached out to millions of Indians, especially the youth over the last decade. A youth & rock icon, he has also been a notable Civil Services officer and a professor of Mass Communication at the elite Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. He is perhaps the only person in India who can be dubbed as rockstar and civil servant simultaneously. A brilliant scholar throughout, Narain has been recipient of perhaps every single academic scholarship which Goveremnment had to offer. A keen student of economics as well, Mr Narain has also been a lecturer of Monetery Economics in Lucknow University, prior to joining the civil services and making it big as Aryans. A multifaceted personality , DJ Narain is one of the founders of Kshitij, an NGO in the field of non-formal education and universal health campaigns for over 7 years . He has always been very supportive of any initiatives taken in the field of literacy and shown active involvement in launching Universal Literacy campaigns in Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. In Delhi, he is actively supporting the cause of several NGO's to help raise awareness about their key domain issues . His book ‘Soldiering On’ is an anthology of the saga of Indian Armed forces during the last 100 years and has been widely reviewed and appreciated by the media".
ART CITIZEN KARMAVEER PURASKAAR, 2009
Art Entrepreneur
Isha Singh
With over 18 years of work experience in cross-cultural global environment, Isha Singh has been successfully able to combine her passion for arts with her compassion for the unprivileged. A firm believer of giving back to the society, she has created Art Laureate, an art gallery that provides a platform for those artists who have not been fortunate enough to showcase their talent. She is an active volunteer for Literacy India, a registered NGO and has participated in various fundraising programs for them. Environment protection and drive against Corruption are the other two issues that she has been passionately working for. Her contribution to society has crossed national boundaries as she has extended her help to children in New Jersey and Bahrain. She has also been involved with the Standard Chartered Bank (Abu Dhabi), The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and PNC Bank (New Jersey).
ART CITIZENS KARMAVEER PURASKAAR, 2009
Visual Artist
Ritam Banerjee
Ritam Banerjee is a professional photographer and it is his passion for his profession that gives his photography a whole new meaning. Photography, he says, is still about making positives out of negatives and when the going gets tough he uses his pictures brilliantly to bring the brighter side of life into focus. ‘A picture speaks a thousand words’ is not a cliché for him. He strongly believes that images are powerful tools of communication and he uses the lens to the best of his ability to illustrate how one can make a change rather than just complain. Be it the much hyped Slumdog Millionaire or the sensitive issues like 26\11 terror attacks, he makes sure that his pictures get across to the world what he perceives through his lens. Interestingly, he likes to see the glass half full as he believes that hope is the foundation of justice. He has big names like Citigroup, Deloitte, Microsoft, TATA Steel, Jet Airways etc. and now the ‘Incredible India’ campaign to his credit. Mr.Ritam shares his passion and knowledge with students at various colleges like Fergusson College, Symbiosis College, SIES College and has provided them with a platform to enhance their skills with equipments that were missing during his formative years.
CIVIL SOCIETY KARMAVEER PURASKAAR, 2009
Disability
Anjlee Agarwal
Anjlee Agarwal, Founder & Executive Director of Samarthyam is involved in disseminating Accessibility Awareness through a novel model which primarily focuses on enabling inclusion of persons with disabilities to access education, tourism, transportation and environment, devoid of any hindrance. Learning from painful struggles and social stigma Anjlee, a disabled Activist and Access Consultant, realized that most of the tourist sites lacks accessibility for disabled and the elderly. She has been catalyst in re-designing the infrastructure set up of Dilli Haat, Delhi Metro Stations, Bus Rapid Transit System, Bus stops and many more public places to make them more users friendly and universally accessible. Furthermore, she is striving hard to get persons with disabilities recognized in the mainstream society by empowering them on disability issues and taking up research projects on Right of Way, Pedestrian infrastructure and Transit systems. As Master Trainer, she continues her work with to sensitize public & stake holders; capacity building of community and bring a wave of celebration in the human race which crosses the boundaries of differences.
CIVIL SOCIETY KARMAVEER PURASKAAR, 2009
Disability
Sanjeev Sachdeva
Honorary Founder and Project Director of Samarthyam, Mr, Sanjeev Sachdeva has been working for the disabled with utmost sincerity. He is presently working on various projects to promote barrier free environment for disabled persons. Since 1996, he has successfully organized more than 60 tours for persons with sever disabilities promoting the concept of Barrier-Free Tourism. In Samarthyam, he has been actively involved with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation thereby promoting a user-friendly system for all. He has been responsible for organizing several workshops and conferences and has been successful over time in spreading awareness and gathering much needed attention towards the issue of accessibility.CIVIL SOCIETY KARMAVEER PURASKAAR, 2009
Hiv
Dr. Chinkholal Thangsing
Dr.Chinkholal Thangsing is currently the Asia Pacific Chief for AIDS Healthcare Foundation and heads programs in India, Cambodia, China, Thailand, Vietnam and Nepal. He is a clinician, an activist and a management expert who has been dedicated to his work in the field of HIVAIDS since 1990. He has dedicated his career, personal life and resources to the fight against HIV/AIDS and has contributed to the treatment of over 15000 patients in India and Asia region. With over 25 years of medical experience, he has been successful in providing treatment consultations, conducting training workshops, spreading awareness on HIV management, sensitization and education of healthcare professionals, provision of ARVs drugs to people living with HIV\AIDS. An excellent communicator, he has immense flair and faith in the quality work that he does
CIVIL SOCIETY KARMAVEER PURASKAAR, 2009
Health
Dr. K Srinath Reddy
Dr. K Srinath Reddy is presently the President of the Public Health Foundation of India. He has shown exemplary social commitment in advancing public health on many fronts by enhancing health awareness among youth through innovative programs like HRIDAY-SHAN, spearheading national and global movements for tobacco control, conducting worksite based on health promotion programs across India, assisting National Human Rights Commission of India in advancing health as a human right and finally establishing the Public Health Foundation of India. Through his dedication and hard work, he desires to bring about a revolution in our country’s overall health response.CIVIL SOCIETY KARMAVEER PURASKAAR, 2009
Education
Manju Bharatram
Mrs. Bharat Ram is the Founder and Chairperson of the innovative Shri Ram Schools in India, which started with the objective of developing each student’s potential to the fullest by giving equal emphasis to academics with cultural and social activities. She is also the Chairperson of Educare, a non-profit consultancy working to transform school education by incorporating relevant competencies for the future, through workshops, seminars to name a few. Mrs. Bharat Ram has also been working for children with disabilities and the blind for over forty years now. She has been involved in fund raising, planning and vocational training for the underprivileged children. She is currently on the board of LEAD International – a global organization committed to Sustainable Development through capacity building and issue-oriented action projects. Her diverse efforts for so long have been duly recognized and appreciated over the length and bredth of our country.
CIVIL SOCIETY KARMAVEER PURASKAAR, 2009
Education, Health And Empowerment
Mamoon Akhtar
Mamoon Akhtar is the Founder-Secretary of Samaritan Help Mission, a voluntary, non-profit organization located in Tikiapara, one of the worst slums of Howrah. SHM is committed for the empowerment of poor children and women through education, vocational training, and spreading health awareness through its health centre and by providing micro-finance to needy women and turning them into small scale entrepreneurs. His mantra in life is to ‘Never, Never, Never Give up’ and he firmly believes that change will come and he constantly works towards it. He has been actively involved in trying to bring a change in the Muslim community through education and empowerment. His objective is to infuse nationalistic feeling in the children from Childhood through education. Mamoon is a true nationalist and humanist and has been trying his best to bring the Muslim community in the main stream of national progress. He has politely but firmly turned down the offers of help exclusively for the education or welfare of the Muslim children. All SHM projects are open to all community and religions and no distinction is made on the basis of caste, community or religion. Promoting women empowerment by boosting their earning capacity and economic independence and family planning are the other two issues he has been passionately working for. He has been
featured in the most prominent English Newspaper of India viz. Times of India on 25th December 2005 in the special report entitled “India’s Idols - Uncommon Heroes: Legends In Our Midst”. He is one of the six heroes selected from all over India.