A dedicated social worker, Shruti
has been the District General Secretary of Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save
Childhood Movement), a national movement against child labour from 1996 to
1997. Shruti is the founder of Savitri Bai Phule Women’s Forum, a social
organisation which works for the empowerment of women members to fight against
social evils like caste and gender based discrimination and the Hindu
conservative patriarchal value system. The organisation draws inspiration from Savitri
Ba Phule who was the first Indian woman to become a teacher and founder of the
first shelter home for the battered women victims. When her husband died
Savitri went against the social traditions by accompanying the dead body and
also lighted the pyre. The Forum celebrates 10th March as Indian Women’s Day,
as this is the death anniversary of Savitri Ba Phule.
People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights,
(PVCHR) was formed in 1996 in collaboration with famous Hindi poet Gyanendra
Pati, internationally well known Sarod maestro Vikash Maharaj, Historian Dr.
Mahendra Pratap Singh and Human Rights activist and her husband Dr. Lenin.
During the past eleven years Shruti
with the help of the organisation has taken up around 3500 cases of
discrimination against women, children and Dalit community. Efforts of her
organisation have been able to secure interventions by the Government,
Commissions and administration (namely local panchayat administration) on
almost three hundred cases. Out of these some two hundred cases had positive
results. These are the cases taken up personally by her, besides many other
cases taken up on behalf of her organisation.
Shruti has been the convenor of
Voice of People, state wide joint alliance of civil society organisations
working for the promotion of children rights since October 2013. Shruti has
also severed on the District Food and Supply Advisory Committee of Varanasi as a
member appointed by Governor of Uttar Pradesh.
In recognition of her contribution, she has been awarded HT Women Appreciation
Certificate by the leading Indian daily English newspaper, The Hindustan Times.
Shruti has also been honoured by Shri P.L.Punia, Chairperson, National
Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for her commendable work
for Dalit rights.
Shruti has written many articles in
both Hindi and English languages. Her article about corporal punishment of
Dalit Mushar children in school of Pindara, Varanasi in India published in
sarokar.net and then published on editorial page of National Hindi daily
‘Jansatta’, which became a suo-motto petition and taken up by the High Court of
Uttar Pradesh. Intervention of High Court brought the justice and hope for the dalit
children.
Shruti along with Dr. Archana
Kaushik of Delhi University wrote an article on plight of weavers of Varanasi,
which is translated into French by Mr. Ben Deboc. http://www.pvchr.net/2011/08/tisseur-de-reve-vie-de-cauchemar.html
Shruti was born and brought up in a
middle class family as the eldest child. Her father was employed with the Life
Insurance Company. She studied up to intermediate (Pre-University studies) at
Basant Kanya Vidyalaya founded by Annie Beasant of the Theosophical Society of
India. Since her childhood days, Shruti nourished the idea of a just and
equitable society and often used to get deeply disturbed by looking at the
existing social inequalities and exploitation and especially the widening gap between
the rich and the poor in her native city of Varanasi where poor people were
often forced to go to bed without food. Despite family opposition to her ideas,
Shruti took up the challenge to work and help the poor and the deprived.
Born on 2 January 1975 at Varanasi
Married to Lenin Raghuvanshi on 22 February 1992; has a 17 year old
son, Kabeer Karunik
1993: District General Secretary of Bachapan Bachao Andolan (Save
the Childhood Movement), Varanasi.
1996: Founded People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights
(PVCHR) along with Lenin Raghuvanshi, in association with Dr. Mahendra Pratap
(Historian), Vikash Maharaj (Musician), GyanedraPati (poet) to work on child
labour free village.
1999: Founded Jan Mitra Nyas, a public charitable trust, for
carrying out work on crucial issues of governance and Human Rights in five
adopted villages near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
2000: Kabeer Premi Samnwayan Samiti, New Delhi awarded Jan Mitra
Samman in Kabir Mela on3-5 November 2000 with hand of lyricist and writer of
Bollywood Mr. Javed Akhter
2001: Elected to the Executive Council of Voice of People (VOP,
25000 membership), a state wide people's alliance to highlight and bring into
national focus the child right in Uttar Pradesh.
2002: Campaigned and mobilized at State and national level for
prevention of torture.
2003: Established Savitri Bai
Phule Mahila Panchayat, a women forum
2004: Created Model Village "people Friendly Village"
to enable and amplify the voice of the marginalized with especial focus on
realization on child right in field.
2005: Conceived and convened People's SAARC at Varanasi in Uttar
Pradesh. The objective was to bring the issues faced by the people of SAARC
countries on to a common platform and forge a forum based on people to people
relationship to fight against the evil designs of caste, communal, ethnic, and
fascist forces in the region. The most important declaration read, "We
cherish and uphold the Rule of Law, sovereignty of the people, a system of
governance that ensures devolution of power, People' right to self-rule and
control over resources." The core committee comprised of PVCHR (India),
INSEC (Nepal), People's Forum for Human Rights (Bhutan), Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan, LOKOJ (Bangladesh) and Wiroslokh Institute
(Srilanka).This convention also triggered off a series of similar conventions
across the SAARC countries. Two major outcomes of the convention were the
inclusion of Afghanistan in the SAARC, and the inclusion of civil society
voices in the decision making process adopted in the Dhaka declaration in
SAARC, 2005.
2007: Established Folk School for Dalits in Belwa region.
2007: Participated in 2007 Gwangju Human Rights Award of May 18
Foundation of South Korea.
2010: Participated in 2010 International Human Rights Award
ceremony at City council of Weimar in Germany.
2011: Received Usmania Award from Madarsa Usmania, Bazardiha,
Varanasi in India for the development and welfare of education.
2012: Jan Mitra Nyas, a public charitable trust for PVCHR received
ISO 9001: 2008 Certification for quality management system.
2015: Published book “Margin to Center” co-authored with Dr.
Archana Kaushik in frontpage publication, London
Contact: SA 4/2 A, Daualtpur,
Varanasi-221002, India
Email: shruti@pvchr.asia
Mobile: +91-9935599331/0
