Prakash Baba Amte is a social worker from

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, India. Amte and his wife, Mandakini Amte, were awarded the Magsaysay Award for 'Community Leadership'Citation
from th
website of Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation
in 2008 for their

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

work in the form of the Lok Biradari Prakalp amongst the Madia Gonds in the

Gadchiroli Gadchiroli ( �əɖt͡ʃiɾoliː is a city and a municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as ...

district of

and the neighbouring states of

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

and

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

. In November 2019 he was awarded with the ICMR Lifetime Achievement Award by

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...

Early life

Prakash Amte is the second son of Magsaysay awardee

Baba Amte Murlidhar Devidas Amte (), popularly known as Baba Amte, (26 December 1914 – 9 February 2008) was an Indian social worker and social activist known particularly for his work for the rehabilitation and empowerment of people suffering from le ...

. He obtained a medical degree from Government Medical College (GMC), Nagpur, and he met his wife Mandakini during their post graduation studies at Government Medical College (GMC), Nagpur. Prakash and Mandakini joined Baba Amte and helped her father and others overcome the taboo and fear of leprosy. While pursuing postgraduate studies in surgery, he decided to leave academics and joined his father’s social work in Hemalkasa, a remote tribal area in Maharashtr

Lok Biradari Prakalp

In 1973, Amte moved to Hemalkasa to start the Lok Biradari Prakalp, a project for the development of tribal people, most of whom were the Madia Gond in the forests of

district. He lived and worked there for almost twenty years performing emergency surgical procedures without electricity. The project transformed into a hospital, Lok Biradari Prakalp Davakhana, a residential school, Lok Biradari Prakalp

Ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Gadchiroli Gadchiroli ( �əɖt͡ʃiɾoliː is a city and a municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as ...

district of Maharashtra and the neighbouring states of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

and

also won them recognition. Dr Prakash and his family also run a large animal conservation facility in Hemalkasa in

district of

where rare, protected, and endangered animals are cared and have freedom to roam. The family's legacy in philanthropy and animal conservation is now carried over by their sons Digant and Aniket and their respective families who are helping their parents now.

Bibliography

Amte has published two autobiographies, ''Prakashvata'' (Pathways to Light), originally written in Marathi and now translated into English, Gujarati and Kannada, Sanskrit, Hindi and ''Raanmitra'' (Jungle Friends).

Awards

Amte has received many national and international awards, which include: * 2019 - Lifetime Achievement Award from ICMR presented by Bill Gates. * 2010 - Hamdan Award for Volunteers in Humanitarian Medical Services. * 2014 - Mother Teresa Awards for Social Justice. * 2012 - Lokmanya Tilak Award - Jointly with his brother Vikas Amte * 2009 - Godfrey Philips Lifetime Achievement Award * 2008 -

Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, ...

for Community Leadership - jointly with his wife Mandakini Amte :: Citation: ''"In electing Prakash Amte and Mandakini Amte to receive the 2008 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, the board of trustees recognizes their enhancing the capacity of the Madia Gonds to adapt positively in today's India, through healing and teaching and other compassionate interventions."'' * 2002 -

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

* 1995 - The

Principality of Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a semi-enclave borde ...

issued a postal stamp to honour Prakash and Mandakini Amte. * 1984 - Adivasi Sevak Award, from

Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the executive branch of the Indian states of india, state of Maharashtra. The government is led by the List of chief ministers of Maharashtra, chief minister (currently Devendra Fadnavis since 5 December 2024) ...

, India

In popular culture

The biographical film '' Dr Prakash Baba Amte : The Real Hero'' starring

Nana Patekar Vishwanath Patekar (born 1 January 1951), better known as Nana Patekar, is an Indian actor, film maker, mainly working in Hindi language, Hindi and Marathi language, Marathi cinema. Widely regarded as one of the finest and most influential actors ...

as Prakash Amte and Sonali Kulkarni as Mandakini Amte was released on 10 October 2014. The film has been released in three languages, Hindi, Marathi and English.

Health

In 2022, Dr. Prakash Amte was diagnosed with hairy cell leukemia, a rare blood cancer, and has been receiving treatment at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Pun

References

External links

Report on Lok Biradari Prakalp, Hemalkasa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amte, Prakash Social workers from Maharashtra Living people Ramon Magsaysay Award winners People from Chandrapur district People from Gadchiroli district 1948 births Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work 20th-century Indian educators