Lenin Raghuvanshi

Lenin Raghuvanshi is a Dalit rights activist from India. He is one of the founding members of People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR), which works for the upliftment of the marginalised sections of the society. His work has been recognized with awards like Gwangju Human Rights Award (2007), the ACHA Star Peace award (2008) and the International Human Rights Prize of the city of Weimar (2010).

Personal life

Lenin Raghuvanshi was born in a higher caste Hindu family, to Surendra Nath and Shrimati Savitri Devi, on May 18, 1970. His grandfather Shanti Kumar Singh, was a Gandhian freedom fighter. He did his bachelor's course in Ayurveda, Modern Medicine and Surgery from the State Ayurvedic Medical College, Gurukul Kangari, Haridwar in 1994. Lenin married Shruti Nagvanshi on 22 February 1992 and has a son, Kabeer Karunik.

Initial years

From the beginning, Raghuvansi was averse to the caste system. He refers to his higher caste Hindu upbringing as "feudal". This sprung the seed of social activism in him. He became the president of the Uttar Pradesh chapter of United Nations Youth Organisation at the age of 23 (1993).