Why Swati Ramanathan, Co-Founder Jana Group, Is A Name To Remember

Remember the name- Swati Ramanathan because she is the person you are going to be talking about soon. 

 It was 2001, and Swati, along with her husband, Ramesh, came back to India from the USA with one goal in their mind- a better quality of life for the Indian cities. Both Swati and Ramesh were in their early 30s, had earned substantial money and wanted to go back to their roots and work in the place they truly belonged. 

Swati Ramanthan, one of the brilliant minds behind Janaagraha

So, Swati and Ramesh packed their bags, wrapped everything in New York, came back to their birthplace and founded Janaagraha– Janaagraha Centre of Citizenship and Democracy in 2001. So basically, Janaagraha originally started as a movement to include people’s participation in public governance, but over time it evolved into an institution of citizenship and democracy. 

Swati and her husband Ramesh’s ideas about Janaagraha is pretty simple- they believe that improved quality of life happens only when the infrastructure, citizenship and services are improved. So, the couple adheres to improvements on a very micro level- they fix city systems with the help of authorities like the law, policies and sectors like gender equality, climate change, public safety, water and sanitisation, etc.

Why Swati & Ramesh Ramanathan’s Indian Dream is Finer than the American Dream

But let me tell you one thing, this insightful idea didn’t come to the couple after coming to India. Long back, when they lived in their cushy lives and the American Dream- the couple was invited to an event in a local park when they saw people from their neighbourhood- people working 9-5 jobs, coming to the park and voluntarily cleaning the place after the event ended. It propelled their need to do something for their country as well, and now here we are- with Janaagraha and IUSF (Indian Urban Space Foundation).

Swati Ramanathan founded IUSF

 Now, let’s talk about IUSF– Swati Ramanathan founded IUSF that strives to transform Indian cities into majorly urban infrastructural set-ups. Their ideology is similar to Janaagraha- to improve standards of living with the help of technological advances and participate eagerly in the planning of cities, management of urban spaces, creation and development of infrastructure and delivery systems for urban services. 

A person with a great vision and a huge heart

Swati Ramanathan is an entrepreneur, a dreamer, a realist, but mostly a person with a great vision and a huge heart. It is difficult to leave a cushy job in an already developed country with more technological advances and come to a country that was still in the process of development. She came and built the buildings of development, not just for herself, but for others too.

Never miss real stories from India's women.

Register Now

Exemplifying her work in an article in the Live Mint, Swati talks about how it’s unfortunate that our governments have given little to zero support to citizenships in the cities. While in the US, governments gave all the support needed and encouraged them to participate in their local ownership matters.

Unfortunately, in India, people depend on the entire concept of dependency and want third-person parties to do their work. She further explains how Janaagraha strives to do work slowly- and not spend their entire lives doing it. 

Swati has spent over two decades working for the country, and she deserves all the praise and support she’s gotten over the years.

Swati and Ramesh created something beautiful- not just out of their Bollywoodish love story- but also out of their goal towards an independent and democratic urban India.

Image Source: Janagraha.org

Comments