Vinayak Lohani
Vinayak Lohani | |
|---|---|
| File:Vinayak Lohani.jpg | |
| Born | 12 April 1978 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Citizenship | India |
| Education | B.Tech, MBA |
| Alma mater | IIT Kharagpur, IIM Calcutta |
| Known for | Founder of Parivaar, Social Entrepreneur |
Vinayak Lohani (Hindi: विनायक लोहनी,Bengali: বিনায়ক লোহনী) is the founder of Parivaar, a humanitarian institution based in West Bengal.[1] He, inspired by the spiritual and humanistic ideals of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, decided to devote his entire life to serving the ‘Divine in Man’ as taught by Swami Vivekananda.[2][3][4][5]
Background, early life and education
Vinayak Lohani was born in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh and did his schooling there. His family roots are from Almora district of Kumaon region in Uttarakhand, and their family surname was originally Upadhyaya, until a few generations back an ancestor took Lohumi (then changed to Lohani) as a title. His father served in the MP Cadre of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). He went to IIT Kharagpur to do his B.Tech and thereafter worked for Infosys for a year. In 2001, he joined IIM Calcutta to do his MBA.[6][7]
Career
At IIM Calcutta, Vinayak opted out of the placement process. After completing the MBA course, with just 3 children in a small rented building and almost no financial resources,he started Parivaar in late 2003.[2][3] Till the level of 15 children at Parivaar, he used to take some lectures for students appearing for management entrance examinations and through that could meet the expenses. Gradually people began to be inspired by his dedicated service and started to support the initiative. The number of children at Parivaar grew. At the end of 2004, Parivaar purchased its own land and developed its first campus: Parivaar Ashram. In 2011, Parivaar expanded to having separate campuses for boys and girls. As of August 2016, there are 1458 resident children (girls and boys) at Parivaar, making it the largest and high-quality residential program for children from impoverished strata in West Bengal.[7]
Inspiration
Just about the time of starting Parivaar he also received 'Diksha' (spiritual initiation) from Swami Ranganathananda, the then President of the Ramakrishna Order at Belur Math. He considers the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda tradition as his spiritual home.
Vinayak has used the successes and lessons learned at Parivaar to mentor many organizations in different parts of India. He has helped these organizations grow through the collaborative platform of donors, volunteers, and service-delivery grassroots NGOs called Caring Friends. In 2011, the Government of India’s Ministry of Women and Child Development made him a member of the Ministry’s Task Force, one of the very few non-governmental/civil society sector persons to be included.
Many academic case-studies have been authored dealing with grassroots social entrepreneurship and organization-building, highlighting Vinayak and Parivaar. These cases have been taught and discussed at various business schools in India. Additionally, best-selling author Rashmi Bansal’s book I have a Dream has an entire chapter on Vinayak and the initial phase of Parivaar.
Over the years, Parivaar’s mission began to attract dedicated youth, many of whom joined Parivaar as resident workers, teachers, and support staff, called Seva-vratees. Along with Vinayak, they are now the bearers of this mission, and live and work at Parivaar bringing transformation to the lives of children, families, communities, and India.[2]
In 2014 and 2015, Vinayak has taken inspirational 30-hour courses on 'Social Entrepreneurship' IIM Calcutta and IIM Indore. The course has successfully analyzed the journeys of various eminent social entrepreneurs and agents of social change using theoretical constructs and also changed the world-view of several students, familiarizing them with the real ground zero problems faced by the majority population of the country.
Awards and Honors
- National Award for Child Welfare 2011 presented by the President of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.[3][7]
- Sanskriti Award, India’s premier award for young achievers in 2011 from the Former President of India Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.[3][7][8][9]
- CNN-IBN’s Young Indian Leader of the Year Award 2012.[3][10]
- IIM Calcutta’s Distinguished Alumnus Award (1 of 9 recipients out of 8000 alumni).[3][7][11]
- IIT Kharagpur’s ‘Distinguished Alumnus Award’ (youngest recipient in the history of the award) awarded in 2014.
- Swami Ranganathananda Memorial Humanitarian Award 2014 presented at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture Calcutta.[12]
- Swami Rama Humanitarian Award 2015 presented by Hon. Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.
- Vivekananda Seva Samman 2015 presented by Hon. Governor, West Bengal.
- Bhaorao Deoras Seva Samman 2015 presented at Lucknow by Hon Governor, Uttar Pradesh.
- Telegraph ‘Special Honour’ conferred by Telegraph Education Foundation Calcutta in 2014.[13][14]
- ‘True Legends Award’ presented by ‘The Telegraph’ in association with ‘100 Pipers’ in April 2015.[15]
- Spirit of Mastek Award conferred by the Mastek Corporation.[7][16]
- Karmaveer Puraskaar Award presented by the International Confederation of NGOs in 2011.[7][17]
- ‘Transforming India through Transforming Indians’ felicitation from Chinmaya Mission Kolkata.[7][18]
- Rotary Club of Calcutta Megacity Vocational Excellence Award 2012.[7]
- Rotary Club of Calcutta Metropolitan Vocational Excellence Award 2014.
Current Roles with Government of India
- Induction into Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) (2015 onwards), the apex consultational forum in Ministry of Human Resource Development (India).
- Induction into the National Committee for Promotion of Social and Economic Welfare constituted by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India (2014-2017).[19]
- Inducted into the Governing Board of Childline India Foundation (2014 onwards), constituted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (India) which manages 24-hour child helpline services across nearly 350 towns in India.[20]
- Inducted as a Member of Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation (BRLF) (2015 onwards), set up by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, as a funding and capacity-building institution towards accelerating sustainable action in the domain of rural livelihoods.
- Induction into Government of India’s Ministry of Women and Child’s Working Group for the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2011).
References
- ^ "Tehelka - The People's Paper". Archive.tehelka.com. 2004-11-20. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
- ^ a b c "About the Founder". Parivaar. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "National Child Welfare Award for 2011". Sociovigil. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ "Soulless Traffick Shown The Palm | Vinayak Lohani". Outlookindia.com. 2004-02-09. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
- ^ "The Beauty Of Illuminated Things | Vinayak Lohani". Outlookindia.com. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
- ^ "BLOGS/Beyond the Numbers-The Power of One". Forbes India. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "About Parivaar and its Founder Vinayak Lohani". arpanfoundation. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ "Sanskriti Award for 2011 held in New Delhi". The Times of India. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ "Sanskriti Award for 2011 Conferred". Hindustan Times. 18 November 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ "Young Indian Leaders". IBN. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ "IIMC Distinguished Alumnus 2011 Awardees". IIMC. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ "Ranganathananda Award" (PDF). sriramakrishna.org. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
- ^ "Calcutta Story". Telegraphindia.com. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ "vinayak-lohani-wins-telegraph-education-foundation's-certificate-honour". alumnilive.iimcal.ac.in. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ "True Legend Award". telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
- ^ "Winners of Spirit of Mastek Awards". Mastek. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ "Karmaveer Nobel Laureates Awards 2011-12". karmaveerglobalawards. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ "Transforming Indians to Transform India". Chinmaya Mission. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ "Official Document" (PDF). Retrieved 16 May 2015.
- ^ "Official Website". Childlineindia.org.in. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
