Vandana Shiva (born 5 November 1952) is a physicist, ecofeminist, environmental activist and author. Shiva, currently based in New Delhi, is author of over 300 papers in leading scientific and technical journals. In 2002, she was awarded the Durban Institute of Technology's Hajee M.L. Sultan Leadership Award. She was described as "probably at this time, the brightest, freshest activist who is asking all of the most pertinent issues that confront the world." Shiva, a physicist who gave up a job at a prominent Bangalore-India based institution to campaign for what she saw as important since the early 'eighties, has raised basic themes of water, seeds, women's health and education of girls. Dr Vandana Shiva also was awarded the Golden Plant Award, the international award of ecology. She is the author of a number of prominent publications -- "Staying Alive", "The Violence of the Green Revolution", "Monocultures of the Mind", and "Captive Minds Captive Lives". Earlier, she has been actively involved with the innovative hug-the-trees Chipko campaign of Northern India and the World Rainforest Movement.
Vandana Shiva — Quoted in a booklet No Patents on Seeds: A Handbook For Activists, collectively authored by the the Navdanya Team, run by Dr Shiva and her colleagues, first published in Feburary 2005 and republished in January 2006.
