Abhiyudh Rajput

Age: 22

Home Town: Princeton, New Jersey

Education: Public Health and Anthropology

Specific Field Interests: Urbanism, Land Use, Environmental Management, Cultural Anthropology

Placement: Foundation for Ecological Security, Anand, Gujarat

Area of Focus: Livelihoods

Fellowship Project: Project of the Commons Initiative: Monitoring and evaluating initiatives to improve rural agency over their land and include women in various decision-making processes.

Highlights: Abhiyudh is an aspiring urban development and public health professional, passionate about understanding the intricate relationships between people, spaces, and cultures. During their undergraduate education in Anthropology and Public Health at the University of Rochester they have explored a breadth of academic interests; the politics of borders in South Asia, global health advocacy with a community health organization in Odisha, as well as urban design in Barcelona, Spain. This past year they conducted Fulbright-funded research to understand how social infrastructure produces pedestrian safety in streets in Delhi, India. This work developed their interest in understanding the ways communities care for and maintain their spaces, leading Abhiyudh to work with the Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) this upcoming year. They will work on the Promise of Commons initiative to ensure gender-inclusive, community-led governance of rural Commons in India. They see this as an opportunity to deepen their understanding of sustainable development, community engagement, and the systems that impact the environment and thus livelihoods. They see this work as a crucial step in their journey as an urban development professional. Outside of work, Abhiyudh is an avid photographer and musician, doing creative photo shoots with friends, capturing street and landscapes as well DJing for friends' parties, queer events, and artistic spaces like fashion shows. A lover of languages, they are excited to further develop their Hindi and Urdu, as well as learn Gujarati during the Fellowship.