Santhosh Singh, India

“Common People have power within them, that power is the traditional knowledge that they have. We just give a direction to this knowledge and they create wonders.”

My work has taught me the power of nonviolence, and the impact it can create”

Santhosh Singh  is a social activist, an active member of Ekta Parishad since 30 years. An accomplished photographer, he was trained by a Swiss Photojournalist, Maja Koene. “I was very young when I learned photography from Maja Behan( sister) and it was like getting an extra eye.”

Santhosh Singh has been associated with Navrachna Samaj Sevi Sansthan (Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh) which is working with the youth of marginalised communities. He has a keen interest in poetry and singing because of which he gives a special importance to arts while working with the marginalized communities.

“One of the most interesting things about my work is the love that we receive from villagers”. Santhosh Singh has been actively working in various villages of Madhya Pradesh. He has led many camps, where people build dams and common structure through a participatory process.

Santhosh Singh has been in various leadership roles of Ekta Parishad and has participated in all the national struggles of Ekta Parishad.

“It was not difficult to decide whether I want to walk from Delhi to Geneva because I was there from the time when this idea came up and I know the need for such a big global action.”

“I feel this yatra offers immense possibilities of learning, understanding and networking. It is one step closer towards Gandhi’s Gram Swarajya.”