Budhri Tati

Budhri Tati has walked the forests of Bastar for four decades, persuading families to send their daughters to school. In 2026 she was named for the Padma Shri in the field of social work, from Chhattisgarh ^[1].

Early years

Tati was born on 15 September 1966 into a poor family in Hiranar village in Bastar ^[2]. At fifteen she was initiated by Swami Sada Premanand Ji Maharaj ^[2]. On 24 January 1984 she joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, and she trained as a social worker with the Rashtriya Sevika Samiti in Nagpur ^[2].

Hostels for girls

From 1986 she used Barsur as a base for long treks through Bastar’s forest villages, encouraging women and girls ^[2]. In 1990 she opened a hostel for girls in Barsur with 11 students ^[2]. Today a free hostel for 50 girls runs at Hiranar, where the girls study from primary school to college ^[2]. The Maa Sharda Girls’ Hostel has run without fees since 2013 ^[2].

Women’s work

She built a permanent training centre for women in Barsur, teaching skills for self-employment, and later the Hiranar Women’s Upliftment Centre ^[2]. As president of the Maa Shakhini Mahila Utthan Kendra, she also runs a centre where children aged three to five learn stories, songs and counting, and an annual gathering of tribal women every 30 January ^[2]. She has worked in Naxal-affected areas ^[2].

Her honours include the Chhattisgarh government’s Minimata award (2007) and an honorary doctorate from Pandit Sundarlal Sharma Open University ^[2].