Padma Shri awardee noted social worker Avdhash Kaushal passes away

Academic and activist Avdhash Kaushal, who consulted the Government of India on numerous policy review works, died at a private hospital in Dehradun early on Tuesday. Kaushal was put on the ventilator last Sunday after his vital organs stopped working due to multiple health complications. He was 87 years old. He was the founder of the NGO named Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand). He was known for his fight against human rights and the conservation of the environment. Kaushal had been close to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

In 2003, Kaushal was invited by the United Nations to the World Summit in Geneva, to chair the panel on a discussion on the importance of local content within information and communication technology. Kaushal was also nominated as a member of the international committee to probe into war crimes and disappearances in Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the civil war in that country.