Grassroots Nation

In part 2 of this conversation, Jagdeesh Rao Puppala talks about the longstanding collaboration between theorists, researchers, practitioners and the government that has resulted in deepening our understanding of the commons. If you haven’t listened to part 1 yet, we strongly encourage you to do so first! Jagdeesh Rao Puppala is in conversation with his colleague Irina Snissar Lobo. This interview...

For more than three decades, Jagdeesh Rao Puppala has devoted his life to addressing one of the most complex challenges of our time: the stewardship of the commons: our shared resources and the collective responsibility they demand. A close collaborator of Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom, he is a co-founder of the Foundation for Ecological Security and served as its chief executive for nearly 20 year...

For over three decades, Gagan Sethi has been at the forefront of India’s civil society movement, building institutions, mentoring grassroots leaders, and advocating for the rights of marginalized communities. A co-founder of Janvikas, his work has spanned minority rights, Dalit empowerment, gender justice, and community-led governance. Along the way, he has helped shape and nurture several importa...

In this conversation, Dr Anita Patil-Deshmukh, Executive Director of Partners for Urban Knowledge, Action and Research (PUKAR), speaks with Natasha Joshi, the Chief Strategy Officer at Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies about the journey that led her from medicine to development work. Together, they reflect on her formative years in a family shaped by activism, the early household lessons on equity an...

In this conversation, Dr Rajesh Tandon, the founder of PRIA sits down with Nikita Rakhyani to revisit the journey of an organisation born out of a deep belief in people’s power to shape their own futures. Together, they reflect on PRIA’s early days, the ideas and values that defined its mandate, and the conviction that knowledge, democracy, and development must be rooted in participation. Dr Tando...

Dr. Rajesh Tandon, founder of Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), reflects on the ideas and experiences that shaped an organisation dedicated to democracy, civil society, and citizen participation. From his early academic journey—from IIT Kanpur and IIM Calcutta to a PhD at Case Western Reserve University—to a pivotal return to India during the Emergency, Dr. Tandon shares how witnessing the ga...

A chance meeting, political upheaval, finding one’s community, falling in love: each of these has a profound impact on the course of one’s life. In this final episode of our miniseries, we hear from four of India’s most prominent social leaders about some of the early influences that shaped their careers. This is a mini-series from Grassroots Nation that presents some of the key themes that have a...

Few will remember that in 1980 the average life span in India was 52 whereas now it’s 82. It is thanks to the ingenuity, presence of mind and advocacy of India’s public health workers that India has made tremendous advances in the space of public health in the past few decades. In this special episode you will hear from three doctors talk about the communities and cases that inspired their ground...

A lifetime devoted to public service demands a certain kind of mental fortitude--it’s a fundamental requirement to keep up the drive and the belief in the possibility for positive change. In this special episode you will hear some of India’s most inspiring social leaders talk about the spiritual and religious influences to the activities and pastimes that have helped them stay motivated and inspir...

India’s environmental movement is unique because of its deep connection to social justice, indigenous rights, and grassroots activism. Unlike purely conservation-focused movements, many Indian efforts combine scientific inquiry, strong legislation with the protection of livelihoods and local cultures. It is a widely held view that conservation must work in harmony with the needs of local communiti...

This is a mini series from Grassroots Nation that presents some of the key themes that have arisen in our conversations with some of India’s greatest social leaders. Each episode will explore a set of ideas: from watershed moments in India’s history that have left lasting impressions, to reflections on how their personal philosophies took shape and how they see their work contributing to the large...

This is the first of a mini series from Grassroots Nation that presents some of the key themes that have arisen in our conversations with some of India’s greatest social leaders. Each episode will explore a set of ideas: from watershed moments in India’s history that have left lasting impressions, to reflections on how their personal philosophies took shape and how they see their work contributing...

Ananthapadmanabhan Guruswamy has been at the helm of many institutions in India. Before earning a B.Tech in electrical engineering from IIT, Chennai, Ananth’s early inspirations and explorations in education led him to teach and be associated with the Krishnamurti Foundation India in Chennai, where he taught at the school for 11 years. He then led Teacher Education at the Azim Premji Foundation, w...

Dr Abhay and Rani Bang both grew up in families with deep roots in public service. Dr. Abhay Bang’s parents were followers of the Sarvodaya movement and were deeply inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. In fact, he grew up in the Mahatma’s Sevagram ashram in Wardha Maharashtra. Rani Bang, born Rani Chari, was born into a family of politicians and freedom fighters. The couple met at Nagpur University, where...

Mari Marcel Thekaekara is a writer and co-founder of ACCORD – the Action for Community Organisation, Rehabilitation and Development. Born into a deeply religious family, Mari was brought up with a Jesuit Catholic education that taught her to question all her beliefs and developed a deep sense of empathy within her. She went on to join several institutes that shaped her passion for social action su...

This is Part 2. We recommend you listen to Part 1 first. Stan Thekaekara is a social activist who has worked with indigenous and Adivasi communities for over forty years. He co-founded ACCORD, or the Action for Community Organisation, Rehabilitation and Development and organisation that helped found the Adivasi Munnetra Sangam (AMS), a membership based tribal organisation with 4000 families as mem...

Stan Thekaekara is a social activist who has worked with indigenous and Adivasi communities for over forty years. Born into a deeply religious family in Bengaluru, Stan found himself grappling with his privilege at a very young age. These feelings, accompanied with his exposure to social action through All India Catholic University Federation, or AICUF, set him on the path to working with marginal...

Padmashri Dr Darshan Shankar is the Chairman of the Indian Institute of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, Managing Trustee of Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT) & Founder Vice Chancellor of the Trans-Disciplinary University (TDU) in Bengaluru. Born into a family of modern scientists, Dr. Shankar has always stood for innovation in education from a very young age. Whil...

Dr. A.N. Yellappa Reddy is a renowned environmentalist, a former indian forestry services officer and member of the Lok Adalat or Karnataka High Court for environmental project initiatives. Throughout his career, Dr. Reddy has actively championed the conservation of natural forests, water systems and rehabilitation of endangered flora and fauna. Born in the small village of Adugodi to an agricultu...

Maja Daruwala has been an advocate for human rights and social justice for over four decades. Born in 1945, as the second daughter of Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw, Maja grew up in the cantonments of India, where her early syncretic experiences impressed upon her the fraternal and plural nature of India, then still a young nation. Maja Daruwala went on to study law in England and became a Barrister...

Vijay Mahajan, is the co-founder and founder of some of India’s most well known livelihoods and social enterprise groups: the NGO PRADAN, and the BASIX Social enterprise group that has transformed the livelihoods of over three million lower income households across twenty states in India, as well as in other countries across the world. Born in 1954, Mahajan graduated from the Indian Institute of T...

Devaki Jain is one of India’s best known feminist economists, with a long career working closely with institutions to first recognise and then mainstream women’s issues. Born in 1933 in the erstwhile princely state of Mysore where her father was a minister, Devaki has degrees from the University of Mysore and the University of Oxford and taught economics at Delhi University. In this episode of Gra...

In this episode of Grassroots Nation we hear from Dr Ravi Chopra is the founder Director of the People’s Science Institute in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Through his career he has helped establish several pioneering organisations in the social and development sector, from livelihoods, disability rights, human rights, water resources management and much more. Born in 1947, the year India gained her inde...

Welcome to Season 2 of Grassroots Nation, a podcast from Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, a show in which we dive deep into the life, work, and guiding philosophies of some of our country’s greatest leaders of social change. Professor Madhav Dhananjaya Gadgil is one of India’s most prolific and well known ecologists. He was born in 1942 into an illustrious family - his father, Dhananjaya Gadgil was...

Dr Armida Fernandez is one of India’s foremost neonatologists, treating babies born in some of the most underprivileged and marginalized homes in Mumbai. She has dedicated her life to service in public health. From pioneering the cause of neonatology in the country by focusing on low cost solutions that are available to all, she has championed breastfeeding in India and even started the first huma...