Ms Aruna Roy

Aruna Roy is a post-graduate in English literature and served as an officer of the Indian Administrative Service. She resigned in 1975 to join the Social Work and Research Centre set up by her husband in Tilonia, Rajasthan. Following this, she established the MKSS along with Shankar Singh and Nikhil Dey. A social activist and founder of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Aruna Roy is well known for her movement on Right to Information (RTI) which was enacted in 2005. She also served in the Indian Administrative Services but later devoted her time in social and political activism. Winner of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 2000, she has empowered Indian villagers through MKSS to claim what is rightfully theirs by upholding and exercising the people’s right to information. The MKSS works on human rights and women’s rights issues in Rajasthan to local “jan sunwais” or “public hearings” on social issues and more. In 2010, the then President Pratibha Patil presented the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academia and Management to Ms Roy.