Vijay Kumbhar


Vijay Kumbhar is a Right to Information activist and Journalist from Pune, India. He has worked with noted social activists like Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Aruna Roy, Shailesh Gandhi and filed more than 80 RTIs.
In 2006, he started the Surajya Sangharsh Samiti, to bring clarity into the government via RTI. However, his brand of activism began much before the groundbreaking RTI Act came into being in 2005.

Life and career

Vijay Kumbhar is known for his public activism and is an RTI Crusader. In 2014, Kumbhar won the Pune Hero award presided by Pratibha Patil, former President of India. The Times Group award was given to Kumbhar for being a person of substance in Pune. He was selected for the award by an online voting method.
He was the first ever citizen in the country to conduct inspections of public office under and helped spread the movement across Maharashtra. Kumbhar has used the Right to Information Act effectively and has also educated others about the power and scope of it through books and lectures.