Presentation of Weimar’s 2010 Human Rights Award to Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi, FNF Alumni

Presentation of Weimar’s 2010 Human Rights Award to Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi, FNF Alumni

On 10 December, International Human Rights Day, Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi from India will be presented with the 2010 Human Rights Award of the city of Weimar.

“Being the Founder of ‘People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)’, Dr. Raghuvanshi strives for observation and assertion of fundamental rights of disadvantaged fractions of the population, such as women, children, Dalits and indigenous minorities.

With his committee he has created structures, substantiating enforcement of fundamental rights.” as stated in the municipal council’s explanatory statement, met on 23 June 2010, determining Dr. Raghuvanshi to be awarded. The awardee has been suggested by “Friedrich-Nauman-Stiftung für die Freiheit” (Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Liberty).

For the past 15 years, Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi has advocated the Dalit’s (members of the lowest cast) rights and concerns in the Indian Federal State Uttar Pradesh. Coherently to this engagement, he founded the ‘People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR)’ in 1996. This Organization supports aggrieved populace, such as children, women or minorities to claim their fundamental rights.

For that purpose he keeps records on any kind of violation of human rights, such as starvation, police torture or child labour and in co-operation with local human rights groups attends their victims. Cases, dealt with by PVCHR, have, due to Lenin Raghuvanshi’s engagement, been seized by the UN - Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

Another of Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi’s successful initiatives is his conceptual design of “people friendly villages”. In areas, first and foremost inhabited by Dalis, primary schools are installed, offering alternative teaching methods and advocating girls’ education. Ambition is the fortification of administrative and organizational abilities of marginalized groups, in order to enable them to call for their rights and arrogate specific concerns from the state.

Frequently addressing politically aggravating, often socio-critical topics, Dr. Raghuvanshi has been subject to harassment and death thread against himself, as well as his colleagues. Moreover he was confronted with an incorrect accusal for alleged subversive statements.

The prize will be awarded on 10th December 2010, 7.30 p.m. at ‘Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar’ (Franz Liszt academy of Music). The award is endowed with 2.500,00 € and an artistic supplement by Bauhaus Universität Weimar (Bauhaus University).

Short vita of the awardee

Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi was born on 18th May 1970 in Varanasi. Honours graduate of Medical Science, Ayurveda and Surgery at Gurukul Kangari University, State University for Ayurveda and Medicine in 1994. Since 1992 married to Shruti Nagvanshi, 1 son, Kabeer Karunik, 12 years old.