Prakash Baba Amte | |
|---|---|
 Mandakini Amte and Prakash Amte during the interactive session atMIT college. | |
| Born | (1948-12-26)26 December 1948 (age 76) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | MBBS Former Surgical Registrar IGMC, Nagpur |
| Alma mater | Government Medical College (Nagpur) |
| Occupation | Social worker |
| Years active | 1973 - present |
| Known for | Lok Biradari Prakalp |
| Spouse | Mandakini Amte |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent | Baba Amte (Father) |
| Awards | Padma Shri (2002) Ramon Magsaysay Award (2008) |
| Website | www.lokbiradariprakalp.orgwww.lbphemalkasa.org.in |
Prakash Baba Amte is a social worker fromMaharashtra, India. Amte and his wife,Mandakini Amte, were awarded theMagsaysay Award for 'Community Leadership'[1] in 2008 for theirphilanthropic work[2] in the form of theLok Biradari Prakalp amongst theMadia Gonds in theGadchiroli district ofMaharashtra and the neighbouring states ofTelangana andMadhya Pradesh. In November 2019 he was awarded with the ICMR Lifetime Achievement Award byBill Gates.[3]
Prakash Amte is the second son[2] of Magsaysay awardeeBaba Amte. He obtained a medical degree from Government Medical College (GMC), Nagpur,[2] and he met his wife Mandakini during their post graduation studies at Government Medical College (GMC), Nagpur.[2] Prakash and Mandakini joined Baba Amte and helped her father and others overcome the taboo and fear of leprosy.[2]
In 1973, Amte moved toHemalkasa to start the Lok Biradari Prakalp,[2] a project for the development of tribal people, most of whom were the MadiaGond in the forests ofGadchiroli district.[4] 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 PrakalpAshram Shala, and an orphanage for injured wild animals, theAmte's Animal Park.[5] The project provides health care to about 40,000 individuals annually. TheLok Biradari PrakalpAshram School has over 600 students, residents and day scholars.[6] Work of Amte's for Gond tribals and their philanthropic work in the form of the Lok Biradari Prakalp amongst the Madia Gonds inGadchiroli district of Maharashtra and the neighbouring states ofAndhra Pradesh andMadhya Pradesh also won them recognition.[2] Dr Prakash and his family also run a large animal conservation facility in Hemalkasa inGadchiroli district ofMaharashtra where rare, protected, and endangered animals are cared and have freedom to roam.[2] 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.[2]
Amte has published two autobiographies,Prakashvata (Pathways to Light), originally written in Marathi and now translated into English, Gujarati and Kannada, Sanskrit, Hindi andRaanmitra (Jungle Friends).[7]
Amte has received many national and international awards,[8] which include:
The biographical filmDr Prakash Baba Amte : The Real Hero starringNana Patekar as Prakash Amte andSonali Kulkarni as Mandakini Amte[2] was released on 10 October 2014.[15] The film has been released in three languages, Hindi, Marathi and English.[16]
