Dr. Hanumappa Sudarshan (born 30 December 1950) is an Indian social worker and tribal rights activist. He is known for his contributions to the upliftment of the forest dwelling tribes (mainly Soligas) in the Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka. He is also a recipient of the

Right Livelihood Award The Right Livelihood Award is an international award to "honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today." The prize was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob v ...

and the Padma Shri.Roll of Honour for Dr. Sudarshan on his receiving the Right Livelihood Award is presented by A biography of Dr. Sudarshan is provided by

Early life and education

Sudarshan was born in

Yemalur Yemalur is a village, about 14 km from Bangalore city in Southern India. It is situated between the HAL Airport of Bangalore and the Bellandur lake. The village has about 4000 inhabitants. Most of the local people have been living here mu ...

on the outskirts of Bangalore. He graduated from

Bangalore Medical College Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), (Beṅgaḷūru Vaidyakīya Mahāvidyālaya mattu Sanśōdhanā Sansthé) formerly Bangalore Medical College (BMC), is a medical college run by the Government of Karnataka. It is located ...

and became a medical doctor in the year 1973. He is also an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

at IGNOU.

Career

After graduation, he joined the health institutions of

Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) is a Hindu religious and spiritual organisation which forms the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as the ''Ramakrishna Movement'' or the ''Vedanta Movement''. The mission is named after and inspired by th ...

which took him to the Himalayas of Uttar Pradesh, Belur Math in West Bengal and Ponnampet in Karnataka as part of the job.A biodata of Dr. Sudarshan is presented by Instead of pursuing a medical practice in the cities, he decided to work with tribal communities and in 1980, he started the Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra for the integrated development of the tribals in the Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka. He is also the founder and Honorary Secretary of the ''Karuna Trust'', which is dedicated to rural development in the states of Karnataka and Arunachal Pradesh. He claims inspiration from the man-making and nation-building ideals of

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...

. He advocates Gandhian ideals for rural development.Urs, R
"On an untrodden path"
''The Hindu'', Bangalore, 26 August 2005.

Sudarshan Army

Indian poet Shaunak Chakraborty got impressed by his ideology and work towards society so he decided to establish a non profit organization named ''Sudarshan Army'' on 30 July 2019 which got its name from him.

Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra (VGKK)

VGKK is an organisation with a mission of ''Sustainable development of tribal people through rights-based approaches to health, education, livelihood security and biodiversity conservation''.Overview of Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra is provided by Founded in October 1981 by Dr. Sudarshan, VGKK has worked with tribals in the Chamarijanagar district and Mysore district of Karnataka and also with tribals in the states of Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and has interacted with about 20,000 people. The organisation has always had a tribal youth as its President. Jadeya Gowda, one of the first few children who was taught by Dr. Sudarshan, is the President. He did a graduation and post-graduation in agriculture and has completed his PhD from the niversity of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore Presently working as Associate Professor at College of Forestry, Ponnampet. VGKK runs a 450 pupil school for the tribes of B R Hills where the students are provided education equivalent to that provided in the urban areas. Subjects related to the tribal welfare such as environmental issues, tribal values and culture are also a part of the curriculum. VGKK also has a vocational training institute where 16 crafts are taught. As a result of the efforts of VGKK, about 60% of the Soliga tribe now get a minimum of 300 days of employment per year from the Forest Department of Karnataka and other agencies.

Karuna Trust

Started in the year 1986 by Dr. Sudarshan, Karuna Trust (India) is an organisation involved with integrated rural development and is affiliated to VGKK.Overview of Karuna trust is provided by The prevalence of leprosy in Yelandur Taluk of Chamarajanagar district was the motivation to start this trust. Another focus area for this trust is education and livelihood improvement. Karuna Trust runs 72 Primary Health Care (PHC) Centres in all the districts of the state of Karnataka and Arunachal Pradesh.

Positions held

Dr. Sudarshan has held many positions in his career such as the chairmanship of the ''Task Force on Health and Family Welfare'' organised by Government of Karnataka, the ''Task Force on Public Private Partnership'' organised by National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) of Government of India and Institute of Health management & Research (IHMR), Bangalore. He was also associated as a member of ''Working Group 6 on Macro-economics & Health'' organised by the World Health Organization and was also a Steering Group member of the Planning Commission on the Empowerment of

Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

in India's 11th Five Year Plan. He has also been the Vigilance Director for the Karnataka Lokayukta, an

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

organisation. During his tenure, he adopted a method of regular visits and raids to several Government departments and earned critical acclaim for this.Lokayukta's surprise visits

Awards

(1994), ''for showing how tribal culture can contribute to a process that secures the basic rights and fundamental needs of indigenous people and conserves their environment.'' * Padma Shri Award (2000) *

Rajyotsava ''Kannada Rajyotsava'', also known as Karnataka Formation Day or Karnataka Day, is a state public holiday and celebrated on 1 November of every year. This was the day in 1956 when all the Kannada language-speaking regions of south western Indi ...

State Award for social work (1984) – Government of Karnataka. *

Ashoka Fellow Ashoka (formerly branded Ashoka: Innovators for the Public) is an American-based nonprofit organization that promotes social entrepreneurship by connecting and supporting individual social entrepreneurs. Their stated mission is "the creation of a ...

. *

Mother Teresa Awards The Mother Teresa Awards, officially called the Mother Teresa Memorial Awards for Social Justice, are international and national awards presented annually to honour individuals and organizations that promote peace, equality and social justice, and a ...

for Social Justice in 2014.