Wheelchair-bound, she is on a mission to build a more inclusive worldHoshiarpur girl Pratishtha wins Diana Award

Sanjiv Kumar Bakshi

Hoshiarpur, July 5

Pratishtha Deveshwar (22) from Hoshiarpur, studying at the University of Oxford, has been recognised with the highest accolade a young person can achieve for social work or humanitarian efforts in Britain – the Diana Award — established in memory of Princess Diana.

The award is given out by the charity of the same name and has the support of both her sons — Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex.

Pratishtha Deveshwar is the first ever Indian girl in a wheelchair to enter Oxford. After sustaining a spinal cord injury at the age of 13, Pratishtha became wheelchair-bound and herself experienced how little support existed for persons with disabilities (PwDs) and decided to go vocal for the rights of PwDs. She raised the voice of PwDs from the streets of New Delhi to international United Nations events and is now one of the youngest and most vocal PwD rights activists in India. Becoming the first-ever wheelchair user from India to study at the University of Oxford, Pratishtha is on a mission to build a more inclusive world.

She is currently pursuing masters in the Public Policy at Oxford. She is the elected house chair of Somerville College at Oxford and is one of the top 50 postgraduates selected for the Oxford Global Leadership initiative by the Oxford character project. Her father Munish Sharma is the Deputy Superintendent of Police posted in Dasuya and her mother is a schoolteacher.

Tessy Ojo, CEO of the Diana Award, wrote in his email: “We congratulate all our new Diana Award recipients from the UK and all over the globe who are change-makers for their generation. We know by receiving this honour, they will inspire more young people to get involved in their communities and begin their own journey as active citizens. For over 20 years, the Diana Award has acknowledged the young, encouraging them to continue making positive change in their communities and lives of others.”

The selection process

Award recipients have been put forward by adults who know the young people in a professional capacity and recognised their efforts as a positive contribution to society. Through a rigorous nomination process, these nominators had to demonstrate the nominee’s impact in five key areas — vision, social impact, inspiring others, youth leadership, and service journey. There are 12 Diana Award judging panels representing each the UK region and another three panels representing countries outside of the UK. Each panel consists of three judges. The panels determine which nominations from each UK region/nation/ country will receive the Diana Award.