Laxmi Chand Tyagi

Laxmi Chand Tyagi (Devanāgarī:लक्ष्मी चाँद त्यागी;1 January 1945 - 27 July 2005), known as LC, was an Indian agriculturalist, social leader, and founder of GRAVIS.

Early Life

Born in the village of Vaira Firojpur, Bulandshahar, Uttar Pradesh in 1945, Tyagi was influenced by the philosophies of Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave in his college years. After completing a masters degree in Agriculture at Agra University in 1967, he joined the Bhoodan-Gramdan mission of Vinoba Bhave. It was at this point that he began to embody his personal philosophies by changing his attire from machine made linens to the Khadi promoted by Gandhi and to devote his life to the betterment of the underprivileged classes of India.

Career

After marrying in 1967, Tyagi spend the next ten years managing village development projects in Uttar Pradesh. For seven of those years he served as a Programmes Head for Banwasi Sewa Ashram at Govindpur in the north-Indian state of UP. He then moved to Uttaranchal to develop a 4 district employment program for the Government. With success there, he became a governing board member of the Banwasi Seva Ashram.

In 1983, after having worked in Jodhpur for three years, Tyagi saw a desperate need for social change and progressive thought in the rural areas of the Thar Desert. At the request of his mentor Acharya Kriplani, Tyagi began a rural development experiment in Jelu-Gagadi village. The organization founded by him is known as GRAVIS and is currently one of the leading NGOs in India working for rural development. Tyagi made deep-rooted contacts with the rural communities and proposed pioneering initiatives in the spheres of water security, food security, education and health care. The initiatives led by him reached over 50,000 households and gave birth to a number of organizations working at the grass-root level. GRAVIS, his creation, is currently led by his wife Shashi Tyagi and his son Prakash Tyagi.

During his public life, he contributed to many social movements acroos India and supported a large number of development activists and small-scale groups working at the grass. He represnted various governing bodies and advisory councils of a number of governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Laxmi Tyagi possessed a unique ability of understanding people's wisdom and blending it with science. During his life, he wrote numerous reports and articles focusing on community-based development.

Personal Life

Renowned for his warm personality and uncanny ability to empathize with villagers, Tyagi was a respected and loved social crusader. Living by his principles, even when in opposition, he was a supporter of women’s rights, horizontal stratification of social class, and the right of choice against archaic propriety.

He was married to Shashi Tyagi, a student of education, and father to Abha and Prakash Tyagi.

In his daily life, he adopted the khadi dress of Gandhi and had a passion for active participation in his endeavors. He is remembered for working in the fields, despite injury, every day until midday and equal separation of household and community duties. Approachable by nature, many of his successes can be attributed to the trust and rapport he established with the people he was trying to help. With his devotion and self-less life, he won many friends all over the world.

Death

He died of a renal faliure in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on July 27th 2005. Over 8,000 friends and supporters came to pay him last tributes in his funeral in Jodhpur, India. After his death, the work of GRAVIS continues with same dedication following his ideology.

Bibliography

• Remembering You: Gandhi Vahini Press, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India: July 2006