Prakash Baba Amte (born 26 December 1948) is an Indian doctor and social worker. The younger son of the social reformer Baba Amte, he and his wife, Mandakini, have lived since 1973 at Hemalkasa, in the forests of Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra, where they built the Lok Biradari Prakalp: a free hospital, a residential school and an orphanage for wild animals serving the Madia Gond people. The couple received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2008.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Prakash Murlidhar Amte |
| Born | 26 December 1948, Maharashtra, India |
| Age | 77 |
| Occupation | Physician, social worker |
| Known for | Lok Biradari Prakalp, Hemalkasa |
| Education | Government Medical College, Nagpur (MBBS) |
| Parents | Baba Amte and Sadhana Amte |
| Spouse | Mandakini Amte |
| Awards | Padma Shri (2002); Ramon Magsaysay Award (2008) |
Early Life
Amte grew up at Anandwan, the community for people affected by leprosy that his father had founded near Warora. He and his elder brother, Vikas, both studied medicine at Nagpur. While he was a student his father took the family on a picnic to Bhamragad, deep in the forest near the border with what is now Chhattisgarh, and showed them how the Madia Gond lived, without schools, doctors or roads. Baba Amte decided to start work there, and Prakash promised to join him.
Work
He gave up his postgraduate training in surgery and in 1973 moved to Hemalkasa with Mandakini, an anaesthetist he had met at medical college. For years they lived in a hut without electricity. The tribal people were wary of outsiders and of medicine; trust came slowly, after patients given up for dead recovered. With no specialist help available, the couple learned to treat bear maulings, snakebite, cerebral malaria, burns and difficult births, sometimes operating in the open.
The hospital now treats tens of thousands of patients a year without charge and draws people from across the surrounding districts and neighbouring states. A residential school opened in 1976 for Madia children, who had no tradition of formal schooling. Many of its former pupils have become doctors, teachers, lawyers and officials, and some have returned to work at the project.
The Madia hunted for food, and Amte began offering grain in exchange for the orphaned young of animals they had killed. The result was a wildlife orphanage in his courtyard, home over the years to leopards, bears, hyenas, snakes, crocodiles and deer, which he handles without fear. It is now a recognised rescue centre.
Recognition
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2002. In 2008 he and Mandakini shared the Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership. Monaco issued a postage stamp in the couple’s honour in 1995, and a Marathi film on his life, Dr. Prakash Baba Amte: The Real Hero (2014), starred Nana Patekar.
Personal Life
The couple have two sons, Digant, a doctor, and Aniket, who manage the hospital and the project with their wives, and an adopted daughter, Arti. Amte was treated for a form of leukaemia in 2022 and returned to Hemalkasa after recovering.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Prakash Amte born?
Prakash Amte was born on 26 December 1948 in Maharashtra, India and is 77 years old.
What is Prakash Amte known for?
Known for: Lok Biradari Prakalp, Hemalkasa.
What honours has Prakash Amte received?
Padma Shri (2002); Ramon Magsaysay Award (2008).
Featured image: Prakash Amte with a rescued owl at his animal shelter in Hemalkasa, May 2009. Photo by Satyen K. Bordoloi, in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
