Trupti Desai is an Indian social activist dedicated to achieving equality between men and women. She also started her own organizations – Bhumata Brigade and Bhumata Foundation. The Pune-based organization works against injustice against women and corruption.
Wiki/Biography
Trupti Desai was born on Thursday, December 12, 1985 in Nipani, Belgaum, Karnataka (age 35; as of 2021). Her zodiac sign is Sagittarius. Nipani lies on the border of Karnataka and Maharashtra and her family has roots in Kolhapur. At the age of eight, the family left Kolhapur and moved to Pune. After completing her studies, she went to Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women’s College in Mumbai but dropped out in the first year due to some personal reasons.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′3″
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
Tupti’s father’s name is Dattatraya Narasimha Shinde and her mother’s name is Sanjeevani Shinde. She has a sister, Tejashree Shinde.
husband and children
She married Prashant Desai in 2006 and has a son, Yogiraj Desai.
Tupti Desai with husband and son
religion
Tupti Desai was born into a Hindu family. Her family was very religious and they were ardent followers of Kolhapur spiritual guru Gangajiri Maharaj.
Profession
After dropping out of college, Trupti was appointed president of the Krantiveer Jhopdi Vikas Sangh. The organization’s goal is to benefit people living in slum areas. They usually help them with their day-to-day problems like providing ration cards, dealing with unemployment issues, legal issues, etc. In 2007, Tupti Desai protested against NCP Chairman Ajit Pawar and Ajit Cooperative Bank for allegedly defrauding Rs. 500 million rupees. Banks took money from more than 35,000 people but did not repay it. Trupti set up the Ajit Bank Sangharsh Samiti to help people recover their money, and after four years of court proceedings, she successfully recovered the money of 29,000 people. After the success of this protest, people suggested that Trupti should set up an organization to help people and help them fight for their rights. This led to the formation of the Bumata Brigade in 2010. Tupti came into the limelight after the Ajit Cooperative Bank protests and the formation of the organization, and she came under the radar of some senior officials of the Indian National Congress (INC). The party offered her a ticket to contest the next civic elections from Balaji Nagar constituency. Despite her campaign and her popularity, she lost the election. The organization worked for the welfare of both men and women, but Trupti formed a separate organization called the Bhumata Ranragini Brigade specifically to help women. The wing played an important role in protests against the old tradition of not allowing women to enter the Shani Singh Napur temple in Maharashtra.
Tupti Desai during protests
dispute
- In November 2015, Tupti saw news of priests cleaning an idol at the Shani Hinganapur temple after a woman entered the place of worship. Tupti was agitated by the news and decided to protest against the years of practice and the temple council. She demanded equal rights for women and allowed them to worship in temples like men. The protests intensified and the state government asked the board to allow women entry into the temple. On April 8, 2016, Tupti entered the Shani Singh Napur temple along with several other women in a procession towards the temple. Amid the media and national attention, a number of questions have been raised about protest funding. To this, Trupti responded:
Social organizations like the Chhatrapati Group of Kolhapur helped us organize buses to take women from Kolhapur and Pune to Shanishinganapur. “
Trupti Desai at Shani Shingnapur temple
- After the success of this campaign, Tupti decided to launch a campaign to give women the right to pray in all temples. She then took the movement to the Mahalakshmi Temple in Kolhapur. The temple administrators allowed her to enter the temple, but the priests and people in the city were ready to prevent them from entering. Following the attack, a case was registered against five priests and two others who were later arrested for attacking Trupti Desai and his supporters. Trupti, on the other hand, warned the authorities that if no action is taken against the accused, then she will return to Kolhapur to lodge a formal complaint against the priests. She also claimed that the priests planned to murder her inside the temple.
- Trupti Desai further expands her campaign and aims to enter the Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai. When she got there, she was met by an angry mob who started banging on her car windows, demanding she go back and leave the place. She also received an anonymous call stating that the reward amount was Rs. She had $100,000 on her. After this incident, she decided to march towards the residence of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. However, the residence security and police stopped her and said she needed to make an appointment to see the CM.
Tupti Desai in conversation with former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis
- In November 2018, Tupti Desai planned to visit the Sabarimala temple in Kerala and request the temple board to abolish the old rule that did not allow menstruating women to enter the temple. This provision was implemented in 1991 due to the religious sentiments of the people. However, the rule was annulled by India’s Supreme Court in October 2018, but temple authorities still do not allow women to enter the temple. Tupti Desai decided to visit the temple and when she landed at Cochin International Airport, she was stopped from stepping out as a large number of protesters were waiting for her outside. After being stranded at the airport for fourteen hours, she was sent back to Pune.
- In 2017, Trupti Desai faced charges under the Anti-Dalit Atrocities Act for misbehaving with Dalit doctor Vijay Makasare. Vijay said in an official statement that he was on his way to a place when Tupti Desai, her husband and some goons stopped him in the middle of the road and started beating and abusing him.
Tupti Desai arrested
Facts/Trivia
- After the first attempt failed, Tupti Desai returned to Haji Ali Dargah in May 2016 under police protection and managed to enter the mosque, but she was unable to enter the inner sanctum, which was open only to men.
At Haji Ali Dargah, I prayed that women must be allowed to enter the inner sanctum, as they had done before ’11: Trupti Desai pic.twitter.com/DtYASmBtDu
— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2016
- Trupti Desai stars in Blush’s original series Angry Goddess. In the episode featuring her and her team, Trupti was seen leaving the house with a stick in her hand during the introduction.
- Tupti’s father, Dattatraya Narasimha Shinde, was sentenced to six months in jail and fined Rs. In 2019, Rs 60 lakh was levied on him. Shinde was a follower of Gagangiri Maharaj of Kolhapur and businessman Maheshkumar J. Attal was also a devotee of the spiritual guru. He started visiting Shinde’s house, thinking it was the guru’s temple, and started donating money. Some time later, when Atal demanded his money, Trupti’s father decided not to return it and later filed a lawsuit against him, which lasted for fifteen years before the matter was settled out of court.
- In November 2019, Tupti Desai decided to march to the Sabarimala temple in Kerala along with another social activist Bindu Amini and some of her supporters, but she Stopped by protesters at the airport. In July 2020, Bindu Ammini was attacked with chilli powder by protesters while visiting the Kochi police chief’s office. She was in the office talking about the security arrangements for their visit to the Sabarimala temple.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education