Dr Ramesh Awasthi, (co-founder of MASUM)

A man of few words and numerous actions…..is what perfectly
describes Dr Ramesh Awasthi. He is the co-founder of Masum, a prominent Pune based NGO working in the areas of health, domestic violence, women's resource development and self-employment of rural and tribal population since 1987.
He has dedicated more that two decades of his life in providing long term solutions to the problems faced by the rural population.

His stint with activism started in the early seventies. Freshly out of Delhi IIT, he decided to work in the Industry. So appalled was he by the state of corruption in the public and the private sectors that he decided to leave his job.

In 1974, he joined the anti-corruption movement under the guidance of Jai Prakash Narain and started looking for alternatives to the prevailing system which would help in building a new society. He later joined the anti-emergency brigade and participated in marches, speeches and underground newspaper to mobilize public support against the emergency.

“The many incidents that happened during the emergency strengthened my commitment to democratic principles. I decided then that if there is any future to democracy, it is in the
grassroots,” Dr Awasthi recalls.

After completing his PhD he joined the Foundation for Research and Community Health and with his wife went to stay in the villages for a five-year project prepared by them. While working for villagers, he found the system so oppressive against women that he decided to start Masum in 1987.

Masum will soon be completing 20 years with many achievements in the sector of women’s empowerment. “Village women have been trained in feminism and political activism. They are coming out of their low self-esteem and are holding the community answerable for their welfare (elimination of violence and discrimination) and equal status. This in itself is a big achievement for Masum,” he says.

Dr Awasthi continues to lead Masum on the principles of empowerment through community participation and self-employment of women. The credit-schemes which have been started in villages disburse upto Rs 6-8 lakhs per month which are also managed by the local women. He attributes the success of the organization to the Gandhian principles of honesty, transparency and involvement of people in their development. 

On being asked about Pune, he had this to say:  
“Pune is developing fast and with this will come bigger challenges like water supply, infrastructure and health services. Government services need to improve. Since opportunities are growing, there is bound to be an influx of people from other states. Pune is becoming cosmopolitan, so our minds also have to become tolerant. We still have narrow mindsets. We need to open our minds.”

- Interviewed by Amita Makhija ,
  Feb 24, 2006