India is home to more than a billion people, and for a country that large to stick, it needs to have people who can live in harmony. That’s why you need social activists in India more than anything.
Social Activism and Social Activists
Social activism is an international set of actions with the aim of bringing any sort of social change. People or eminent leaders who perform such activities to bring change are termed, activists. Effective activism is not just picketing, petitions and marches, but it also includes actions that are as subtle as sewing.
The social activists realize their responsibilities toward the goal and try to work accordingly. It’s why they have found themselves on the wrong side at times. One of the main mottos is to change the wrong practices of the world through any kind of change, be it social, economic, or environmental. This can be done either individually or collectively through social movements. No country, no job, or profession can describe your desire or will to be an activist.
To think of yourself as an activist means to think of yourself as being somehow privileged or more advanced than others in your appreciation of the need for social change, in the knowledge of how to achieve it, and as leading or being at the forefront of the practical struggle to create this change.
Defining us activists means calling our actions the ones which will try to bring any social change, thus disregarding the activity of thousands upon thousands of other non-activities.
Bringing social change or, for that matter, any change requires a great deal of dedication and enthusiasm because bringing a change about something that has been there for a long, followed by society, is incredibly difficult.
Activists never even think about the consequences of their actions. They just know one thing, and that is to bring a change, to open the mind of society to see the clarity and to realize where they went wrong.
The Top Social Activists in India
We all are a part of society. We work according to societal norms. Sometimes the norms are not ethically right, but nobody objects to them because it has been there for quite a long time now. Whenever someone raises his or her voice, then he or she is disowned by society and neglected.
Due to this fear, many do nothing at all. But those few who do not really care about this and act as needed, go on to shine brightly and become an inspiration for all of us. Their qualities are remarkable because they don’t demand anything in return for their work except for the change that they want to bring.
Surrounded by all kinds of people and judged by everybody, if we come to see the true meaning behind many causes, then maybe we all will be able to find activists within us. Once found, all we need to do is to bring it into action.
Having said that, let’s take a brief look at ‘The Social Activists In India, Today’, and here they are mentioned.
1. Kailash Satyarthi – Social Activists
I can never start the list without putting him first and mentioning him at the start. He is a child activist. He aims to restore children’s rights. He and his organization, with the tagline ‘Bachpan Bachao Andolan,’ have helped nearly one lakh children so far. He established ‘Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation‘ in the year 2004. This organization helps in spreading awareness about child issues and complications.
For his remarkable devotion and work towards one of the most important and innocent sections of society, he was awarded the Nobel prize for peace in 2014 along with Malala Yousafzai. Harvard awarded him with Harvard humanitarian award in 2015 as well.
2. Ashok Row Kavi
He is also known as the father of India’s homosexual community. He has been working for the demand for gay rights since the 1980s. He has been a representative at the international AIDS conference in Amsterdam.
He founded the ‘Humsafar trust,’ which is an LGBT and also health organization that works towards demanding equal rights for the homosexual community, gender awareness, and reaching to sexual minorities all around India to help them gain an independent identity.
He himself came out in 1986, which created a lot of buzz. Still, it never even dismantled him, and he kept on going ahead in the path of exploring more about the LGBT community and helping them achieve a specific identity in society, with all due respect and love they deserve.
3. Lakshmi Agarwal
She is a social activist working to support and help to recover the acid attack survivors in India. She was attacked by someone in 2005 because she did not flirt back with that man. She is the founder and key worker of ‘Stop Acid Sale,’ a campaign launched to fight against acid violence and the sale of acid. Her NGO ‘Chhanv Foundation’ is always up to help the survivors of acid attacks in India.
This year only, she was awarded the women empowerment award from IWES, the Ministry of Women and Child Development, and UNICEF. NDTV India announced her to be the Indian of the year. Her PIL let the supreme court make the state government regulate the sale and use of acid in India.
4. Sunitha Krishnan
She is a true inspiration for all of us. She was dedicated to society from a very early age. But a dreaded accident made her even more dedicated.
She was gang raped by 8 men at the age of 15. Today, she is the co-founder of ‘Prajwala,‘ which works for the rescue and rehabilitation of victims of rape, women, and children from sex trafficking. They aim to prevent second-generation prostitution by rescuing and saving women and their children.
They also aim to educate young girls and make them stand on their own legs to become independent. Her story along with others is very inspiring for many of us to realize the severity of the social problems and civil liberties and to work for the betterment of it.
5. Bezwada Wilson
Manual scavenging is something as disgusting as it sounds. He began his fight against manual scavenging in 1986. He never stopped afterward. He went on to go found the ‘Satai Karmachari Andolan’ as an Indian human rights organization for the laborers who do the work.
He is one of the human rights defenders who, in 2016, was nominated as a senior fellow of Ashoka foundation. His organization aims to diminish the construction and employment of manual scavenging and to fight for equal and respected rights for the scavengers.
Here were some of the social activist working for a change in India. You can become one too. All we need to do is to become aware, responsible and dedicated and build a nation we all care for.
Last Updated on by Steffy Michael