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Kusuma Sorab
ಕುಸುಮಾ ಸೊರಬ್
The doctor of the people — the environmentalist of the Western Ghats
Years
1937 – 1998
Known as
Kusuma Sorab — the physician and environmentalist
Birthplace
Uttara Kannada, Karnataka
Field
Social Reformers
“The forests are the lungs of the land — and the health of the people is the health of the forest.”
— Kusuma Sorab
The Story
Born in 1937, Kusuma Sorab trained as a doctor and chose to serve in the forests of Uttara Kannada — the Western Ghats of Karnataka — where she worked among the tribal and village people as their physician for decades. Her service took her to the heart of the land's great forests.
Her work among the people opened her eyes to the destruction of the forests that were their home, and she became one of the first environmentalists of the region — campaigning against the felling of the trees and the destruction of the natural wealth of the Ghats. She combined the care of the people with the care of the land.
She died in 1998, honoured as a pioneer of the environmental movement of the Western Ghats. Her life — the doctor and the environmentalist — remains a model of service to both the people and the land of Bhārat.
Core Ideas
The Doctor
Decades of service in the forests of the Ghats.
The Environmentalist
A pioneer of the region's environmental movement.
The Forests
She fought the destruction of the Western Ghats.
The People
Her service was to the tribal and village folk.
The Pioneer
One of the first champions of the region's nature.
Why it matters today
Kusuma Sorab is honoured as a pioneer of the environmental movement of the Western Ghats — the doctor who served the people of the forests and fought for the land that was their home. Her life remains a model of the union of service to the people and care for the earth of Bhārat.