Most Influential indian Social Workers

Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda was one of the most influential spiritual leaders of Vedanta philosophy. He was the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahansa and was the founder of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. Swami Vivekananda was the living embodiment of sacrifice and dedicated his life to the country and yearned for the progress of the poor, the helpless and the downtrodden.

Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhian way of education put emphasis on the development of body, mind, heart & soul. His scheme of education he called “Nai Talim” a beautiful blend of craft, art, health & education in one & covers the whole education of the individual till death. His education is more for girls than the boys. Gandhi ji was the first who Break the bridge between touchable & untouchable. He was the devotee of non-violence.

Aruna Roy is best known for her efforts to fight corruption and promote government transparency. Her parents have had a major impact on her life; her father instilled a strong social conscience, while her mother taught her to be independent minded. After studying in Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry and Indraprastha College in Delhi, Aruna started teaching. But, she realised that teaching wasn’t her passion as she aimed to become a civil servant. She cleared the Indian Administrative Services (IAS) examination in 1967. Aruna is known as a prominent leader of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), a social and grassroots organisation for the empowerment of workers and peasants. In 2005, she played a crucial role in establishing the Right to Information Act (RTI). Aruna has received various awards for her service to the society, such as the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 2000, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academia and Management in 2010. In 2011, Aruna was named as one of the ‘100 most influential people across the world’ by Time Magazine.

Manasi Pradhan is an author and poet who received the Rani Lakshmibai Stree Shakti Puraskar in 2013 for her work in fighting for women rights. Born to a poor family in the state of Odisha, she travelled 15 km daily to the only school in the entire region. She was the first woman from her village to earn a law degree. She has won many accolades including the ‘Outstanding Women Award’ in 2011 from the United Nation’s UN Women and National Commission for Women. She is the founder of Nirbhaya Vahini and OYSS Women and head the Honour for Women National Campaign, a nationwide movement to end violence against women in India. She is also serving on the panel of Central Board of Film Certification (Censor Board) for India. She is a member of the International Governing Council of World Women Organization (WWO) and Inquiry Committee of the National Commission for Women.

Laxmi Agarwal is an Indian campaigner with Stop Acid Attacks and a TV host. She is an acid attack survivor and speaks for the rights of acid attack victims. She was attacked in 2005, at age 15, by a 32-year-old man whose advances she had rejected. Her story, among others, was told in a series on acid attack victims by Hindustan Times. She has also advocated against acid attacks through gathering 27,000 signatures for a petition to curb acid sales, and taking that cause to the Indian Supreme Court. Her petition led the Supreme Court to order the central and state governments to regulate the sale of acid, and the Parliament to make prosecutions of acid attacks easier to pursue. She is the director of Chhanv Foundation, a NGO dedicated to help the survivors of acid attacks in India. Laxmi received a 2014 International Women of Courage award by US First Lady Michelle Obama. She was also chosen as the NDTV Indian of the Year. She is also the face of Viva and Diva, promoting all girls to reflect on their inner beauty rather than exterior appearance.

Janak McGillan is a known social worker for the world, but for the villagers in Sanawadia village of M.P, she is the ever-smiling and gentle Didi. A Padma Shri awardee, she’s the pioneer behind sustainable and filth-free living in Central India.

Alice Garg founded the Bal Rashmi Society in 1972 with the motto “Save Children, Save Generation”. Through the organisation, she has been able to transform the lives of 3000 children and their families in 280 villages of Rajasthan.

Chinna Pillai is from a small village near Madurai. She started a very successful banking system in the villages in Tamil Nadu and is a champion trying to reduce poverty and debt grievances by empowering women. Her intent efforts in leading a savings unit among women in the debt stricken village of Pullucheri became so successful that soon many groups sprung in the region with equal effectiveness. The Kalanjiam, microcredit movement received a huge boost from her dedication and contributions, reaching out to many women living under poverty. Chinna Pillai was one of five women to receive the Stree Shakti Puraskar in 1999. In a picture perfect moment for the press, then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee bowed down in respect and touched her feet while presenting her with the award. She received Padma Shri for her service in 2019

Narayanan Krishnan (born 1981 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu) is an Indian chef-turned-social worker. Krishnan was an award-winning chef with Taj Hotels, Bangalore and was short-listed for an elite job in Switzerland. After witnessing a distressing incident in 2002, he quit his job and began feeding the homeless and mentally disabled in his hometown. from CNN. Krishnan founded the Akshaya Trust organization in 2003, which helps to feed the homeless and mentally-disabled in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. He serves breakfast, lunch and dinner to 425 indigent and elderly people in Madurai. He also provides haircuts and shaves to give dignity to those he serves. He was selected as one of the Top 10 in "CNN heroes 2010" list.The character Narayanan Krishnan played by Jayaprakash in the 2012 Malayalam film Ustad Hotel is based on him.

K. R. Ramaswamy (born 1934), referred to by the media as Traffic Ramaswamy, is an Indian public interest litigator and social activist from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He is a former mill worker, a founder member of Tamil Nadu's Home Guard, and a self-appointed traffic policeman.

Much of his activism relates to regulating traffic in Chennai and filing PIL in court.^[1] Initially he started unofficially directing traffic at the city's busy Parrys Corner.^[2] The local police were pleased with his efforts and provided him with an official identity card.^[2] He acquired the nickname Traffic Ramaswamy after that.

He has brought many public interest lawsuits in the Madras High Court as well as Supreme Court of India. In 2007, he was attacked by his opponents' lawyers on the steps of the courthouse. This was not the first time, he has been attacked: in 2002, he was assaulted by fish sellers, after he obtained a ban on the use of motorised fish carts, damaging his sight and his family have disowned him.He has also had his office ransacked and papers were stolen. However, helped by donations from friends and public he claims he will continue his fight to make Chennai the most livable and lovable city. his Advocate Mr. S. Ganesan helping him to filing PIL case from 2007.

His activism have resulted in the demolition of many illegally constructed buildings in Chennai, restrictions on motorised fish carts, de-congestion of major bus routes by banning auto rickshaws from them, and a review of lavish state funding for a feature film (arguing the money could be more properly used for development work). He is now accompanied day and night by an armed police bodyguard appointed by the Madras High Court.

Kisan Baburao Hazare known as Anna Hazare (born 15 June 1937) is an Indian social activist. He is known for developing a village called Ralegaon Siddhi in India. He played a large part in the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement. He has served in the Indian Army. He won the third highest award in India, the Padma Bhushan. In April 2011, he started an indefinite hunger strike to pressurize the Indian Government to accept his demands on corruption. The Government accepted his demands later, and he ended his fast. In August 2011, he started another hunger strike. This time, he wanted the Government to pass an Ombudsman bill. He ended the fast after the Parliament of India accepted his demands. This movement got a lot of support from city people across India. Hazare has been criticized for many things like his strong views on justice, and forced vasectomy to control population He was the only one man behind the transformation of village ralegan siddhi from the poverty ridden, hopeless place with huge population of alcoholics and drug addict to a "model village" based on sustainable development. he played a key role in persuading the Government of India to pass the The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013. Anna hazare had been campaigning for years, often going on indefinite fasts in his bid to make the government take action towards creating a strong anti-corruption act.


Sunitha Krishnan
It takes nerves of steel to continuously fight for a social cause in the face of adversity. For Sunitha Krishnan, it is rescuing victims of sex trafficking and rehabilitating them into mainstream society. She is the co-founder of Prajwala, a Hyderabad based NGO dedicated to rescuing women from the clutches of prostitution and preventing the second generation from falling into the same trap by providing education. A gang rape survivor, Sunitha channelled her anger to put a smile on a little girl’s face. She has rescued more than 10,000 women and children, and has sensitized many on how to reintegrate them into society. She has been attacked 17 times for the work she does, but that has not deterred her from providing a better life for these women and children. She is also a recipient of this year’s Padma Shri award.