Dr. Sudarshan and Soliga tribals of India

The Soliga tribals have for centuries lived in the Biligiri Rangana (B.R.) Hills of Karnataka State, for most of that time leading 'a life of abundance and peace, surviving by hunting and shifting cultivation', worshipping God in nature and living in harmony with it. From about the 1950s, however, their forests started to be cleared for industry and modern agriculture, their land expropriated by others, and the Soliga sank into a condition of the utmost poverty and exploitation.

H. Sudarshan was born in 1950 and graduated as a doctor in 1973. He turned his back on the possibility of lucrative urban practice in favour of working with poor communities, and in 1979 he arrived in the B.R. Hills to work among the Soliga. Since then, the Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra (VGKK), which he founded in 1981, has blossomed into a sustainable tribal development program.
–More here.

Other links:
Hope in the hills
Dr. H. Sudarshan helps the Soligas create their own destiny
Also see : Interview with Dr.Sudarshan, on the Karnataka Health Task Force

Re: Dr. Sudarshan and Soliga tribals of India

Good article.  Most inspiring.  Thanks for sharing!