Dr. H Sudarshan

Dr. H. Sudarshan is a physician, social worker and tribal rights activist with over five decades of experience in tribal health, rural development and public health. He holds an M.B.B.S. from Bangalore Medical College (1973) and was awarded the Padma Shri in 2000 for his contributions to social service and public health.

He founded the Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra (VGKK) in 1981 and has been closely associated with Karuna Trust. His work has brought together public health, tribal welfare, education, livelihoods and sustainable development, with significant contributions to health policy and governance.

His past policy and advisory roles include Chairperson of the Government of Karnataka Task Force on Health & Family Welfare, Member of the WHO Working Group on Macro-economics & Health, and Steering Group Member of the Planning Commission on Empowerment of Scheduled Tribes.

Key Contributions / Achievements:
Through VGKK and Karuna Trust, Dr. Sudarshan has developed community-based approaches to primary healthcare, education, livelihood security and biodiversity conservation, with a particular focus on tribal and rural communities. His contributions to social service, public health and tribal welfare have been recognised through the Right Livelihood Award (1994), Padma Shri (2000), Karnataka Rajyotsava Award for Social Work (1984), Ashoka Fellowship, and Mother Teresa Award for Social Justice (2014).

Publications / Research:

• Sudarshan, H., & Srinivas, P. N. (2011). Good governance in health care: The Karnataka experience. The Lancet, 377(9768), 790–792. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)62041-7
• Thomas, R., Srinivasan, R., & Sudarshan, H. (2013). Nutritional status of tribal children and adolescents in rural South India: The effect of an NGO-delivered nutritional programme. The Indian Journal of Paediatrics, 80(10), 821–825. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-013-1098-4
• Huss, R., Sudarshan, H., Green, A., & others. (2010). Good governance and corruption in the health sector: Lessons from the Karnataka experience. Health Policy and Planning.