Avdhash Kaushal: Grassroots Man of the Year

Padamshree awardee, Mr. Avdhash Kaushal has been fighting for the rights of the marginalised hill communities since the early 90s. Working towards promoting gender equality in local self government through capacity building for women, Mr Kaushal has been running the NGO called Rural Litigation Entitlement Kendra. His efforts have yielded results to the extent that today Uttaranchal has over 40 per cent women in Panchayati Raj institutions against mandated 33 per cent. His team traverses the hill path for days together, conducts training for women panchayat members regarding their entitlements and also holds training workshops to ensure that they become at par or even better representatives of the people.