National Foundation for India

C.S. Awardee Manisha Tokle has spent over three decades standing alongside some of Maharashtra’s most marginalised communities—advocating for women’s rights, labour justice, and dignity.

From supporting women in s*x work settlements to organising sugarcane-cutting labourers against exploitative practices, her work has been rooted in collective action and social justice.

For Manisha, lasting change comes when women have the power to organise, lead, and claim their rights.

C.S. Awardee Mallepalli Laxmaiah’s journey is rooted in a lifelong commitment to justice, dignity, and constitutional values.

For over four decades, he has worked across journalism, research, and grassroots mobilisation to amplify Dalit and Adivasi voices and challenge systemic inequalities.

From documenting injustice to contributing to policy change, his work has helped strengthen accountability and transform welfare into rights and entitlements.

For Laxmaiah, change begins when communities are heard, organised, and empowered to lead.

C.S. Awardee Kshirasindhu Sagaria has spent over 15 years working alongside Dalit and Adivasi communities in Odisha, strengthening transparency, accountability, and people’s participation.

From exposing corruption through the Right to Information Act to supporting communities in accessing rights and entitlements, his work is rooted in collective action and constitutional values.

For Kshirasindhu, change begins when communities are informed, organised, and able to raise their own voices.

C.S. Awardee Kalamuddin Ansari has spent nearly two decades working closely with Adivasi and tribal communities in Jharkhand.

From securing access to food, livelihoods, and forest rights to supporting survivors of trafficking and child labour, his work is rooted in community trust and collective action.

Through legal awareness, sustainable farming, and grassroots mobilisation, he continues to help communities build stronger, more secure futures for themselves.

C.S. Awardee Heera Devi turned her own journey into a source of strength for countless girls in rural Rajasthan.

From preventing child marriages to helping girls continue their education, her work is rooted in trust, persistence, and community leadership. Today, many young girls she mentored are stepping forward as leaders within their own villages.

C.S. Awardee Gagandeep has spent over two decades standing alongside workers facing some of the harshest forms of exploitation.

From brick kilns to agricultural fields across Punjab, her work combines law, community mobilisation, and persistence to challenge bonded labour and caste-based injustice.

What makes her approach powerful is that it goes beyond legal cases. By training community paralegals, many of them former bonded labourers themselves, she has helped communities build the confidence and knowledge to fight for their own rights.

For Gagandeep, justice is not only about rescue and compensation, but about ensuring dignity, participation, and constitutional rights in everyday life.

For C.S. Awardee Arvind Borkar, land is not just a resource, it’s identity, dignity, and survival.

From securing land rights to restoring water and livelihoods, his work centres one idea: community ownership.

When people have rights over their land, they also find their voice.
watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/sdCtNmm8vYc?si=mHBQPYUFy5Ki2zZ7