Born to agricultural labourers in drought-prone Marathwada, Maharashtra, Santosh believes in the emancipatory power of education, inspired by Savitribai Phule and Dr B R Ambedkar. Despite challenges, they graduated from Fergusson College and earned their Master’s in Public Policy and Governance from TISS. Currently, they are working on liaising, research and implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 in Odisha. Focused on social justice, they aim to understand the generational wealth inequality faced by historically oppressed and marginalised communities. Through academic and judicial activism, they aspire to produce independent scholarship from the People’s perspective! They believe that pedagogy, peer learning, interdisciplinary courses and faculty at the YIF will help them to widen their perspective.
Young India Fellowship
