Our Vision
To be a change agent and partner in building an inclusive society that is equitable and sustainable for people, animals and nature.

In May 2000, Major S. Nanjundiah (retired) established a charitable trust, the Ashraya Hastha Trust, with his family members, Dinesh K and Asha Dinesh to help the rural poor. In the initial years, the trust focused on initiatives in education and health in rural Karnataka. However, with time, the trust expanded its support to varied causes and organisations, from the education of economically backward students to setting up infrastructure or addressing challenges in health systems.
In 2014, the grandchildren of Major Nanjundiah, Divya Dinesh and Deeksha Dinesh, joined the board of trustees. They expanded the foundation’s scope of work to fully realise the vision of promoting the dignity, coexistence and wellbeing of all lives, human and non-human.
Inclusion and compassion became the central values driving the transformation. The foundation began to fund work in new areas including disability, mental health, and animal welfare. As of today, the trust has supported initiatives all across India. We remain committed to harnessing collaborations, ideas, and the power of diversity to realise the vision for an equal world.
Our actions may change depending on the needs that arise from time to time. However, our purpose will always remain the same – to be a ray of hope for all forms of life in need.
Karmanye vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana ।
Ma Karmaphalaheturbhurma Te Sangostvakarmani ।।
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.
(Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 47)
Message from the Trustees

OUR PRIORITIES
Health
Education
Animal Welfare
Livelihoods
Emergency response
we remain open to ideas and solutions in other fields that will take forward our vision of an inclusive world.
We remain committed to harnessing collaborations, ideas, and the power of diversity to realise the vision for an equal world.