INDIA AGAINST NEGATIVITY

Prof. Achyuta Samanta has dedicated his life to transformative social initiatives that empower communities, alongside his contributions to education, healthcare, and tribal welfare. His initiatives include outreach programs such as Art of Giving, Kanya Kiran, Nanhi Pari, Education for All, Health Empowerment of Rural Odisha (HERO), New Mind New Dreams, the Kalinga Fellowship and many more. Building on this legacy, he launched India Against Negativity (IAN) as a distinctive platform, a citizen-driven movement that addresses societal attitudes, public discourse, and structural negativity through law, youth activism, and media, aiming to transform society itself rather than providing direct services.

IAN is a transformative civil-society movement founded by eminent educationist and global humanitarian, Prof. Achyuta Samanta (founder of KIIT, KISS and KIMS). It was formally launched on 31 August 2014 in Bhubaneswar to promote positivity through purposeful, progressive, and proactive actions for nation-building. It empowers citizens to recognize, resist, and replace negative forces with constructive alternatives, building a society rooted in positivity, unity, and collective progress. The launch was inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik, with a host of jurists and public figures in attendance (including Justice A. K. Patnaik, Justice M. M. Das, Governor S.C. Jamir, Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingha Deb, and many MPs & MLAs).

The forum was described as India’s first broad-based effort to protest against negativism and protect the victims of negativity. IAN’s philosophy is grounded in Prof. Achyuta Samanta’s lifelong commitment to social work, which demonstrates that compassion and constructive action are stronger than any force of negativity. We believe that every citizen has the power to replace complaint with contribution, fear with courage, and despair with hope. We believe in transformative power of positivity. Negativity thrives when society is fragmented, when the vulnerable are silenced, and when self-interest overrides collective interest. Positivity, on the other hand goes beyond optimism. It is an active, transformative force that unites, builds, and restores.

Ignore Negativity, Harness Positive Energy

Too much negativity can hinder development

Who we are

India Against Negativity (IAN) is a movement that aspires to eliminate negativity from the democratic society of India to positively impact the public narrative, policy, culture and democratic values. It’s a forum where like-minded positive people congregate to raise their voice to empower the victims suffering at the hand of negativism.

Where we work

We do not and cannot have a set boundary to work. Our work is pervasive to all areas of life, all issues affecting our world from culture to politics, from education to gender, from society to family. Bhunaneswar is the Headquarters of IAN. It has seven national branches in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Ranchi and Patna; and thirty regional branches in all thirty district headquarters of Odisha.

What Drives Us

India Against Negativity (IAN) is a movement to promote positivity and protest negativity.

The man behind this exceptional endeavour, Dr Achyuta Samanta, is the visionary founder of the state of Odisha’s leading educational institutes, KISS and KIIT, both Deemed-to-be Universities. Using his illustration of achieving extraordinary success despite coming from an underprivileged background, he hopes to change the mindset of India through this unique campaign against “negativity” while promoting “positivity”. The conviction from his personal experience propelled him to launch the forum, IAN, to counter the consequences of negativism.

Philosophy

A glorious history of 5,000 years and a cultural tradition of several centuries have made what India today is. Despite all the achievements, India seems to be falling apart because of evil designs of some people who have been trying to spread negativity across the country. In order to have a rich India, vibrant with youthfulness and a promise to look ahead, everyone should fight negativity and pessimism.

There is no doubt that several sections are working to retain the cohesiveness of the Indian society. People with impeccable integrity and values must join together to fight against negativity. A negative feeling always leads to pessimistic attitude. The issues of corruption, the growth of communal violence lead to the spread of negativity. The devil is not as black as is painted. Everything is not lost. The social, corporate and government must come forward and join hands to fight negativity. It should be the duty of every human being to promote positivity and protest negativity.There is no denying of the fact that discrimination against individuals, inequality, violence against women is rampant in every society all over the world. Everywhere, there are legislations to deal with these problems, but the legislations sometimes fail to protect the victims. Here, negativity of feelings aggravates the situation. This leads to tyranny. To protect and help the victims of negativity, a common platform needs to be created to fight against the negativity.

Our Path

IAN is a movement of minds and hearts. Together, we can ensure that negativity has no fertile ground to grow, and positivity becomes the true force shaping India’s future. The movement operates on four foundational pillars: Constructive Consciousness (developing solution-oriented thinking), Unified Action (building bridges across communities), Inclusive Progress (ensuring development reaches the marginalized), and Cultural Renaissance (reclaiming India’s syncretic traditions). We act through three interconnected strategies:

Resistance & Action – using law, activism, and public campaigns to challenge harmful structures.
Creation of Alternatives – fostering education, youth engagement, and positive narratives.
Personal Transformation – nurturing empathy, responsibility, and service in everyday life.

JOIN THE CAMPAIGN

We welcome like-minded people, organisation, individual, institutions having similar objectives.

Campaigns & Programs

Positive India Campaign – National drive to promote affirmative dialogue.
Legal Action Forum – PIL workshops and pro bono clinics for citizens.
Youth Fellowship – Training young leaders in activism, law, and constructive change.
Media for Positivity – Fellowships and awards for journalists telling positive, solution-driven stories.
Annual IAN Awards – Honouring individuals and groups fighting negativity.

Interested in the IAN Campaign?
Register for the Joining with Us.

Call to Action

IAN aims to establish networks in 500 districts, engage one million active participants, and create lasting institutional reforms. The movement targets youth, marginalized communities, and civil society organizations, offering practical interventions including community mobilization, educational programs, policy advocacy, and alternative economic models.

Following Prof. Achyuta Samanta’s example of dedicating one’s life to social transformation, IAN calls upon every Indian to:

Reject negativity in thought, word, and deed
Actively participate in positive community building
Hold leaders accountable to highest ethical standards
Contribute skills and resources for collective welfare
Inspire others through personal example

In the Media

Events

Inaugurated by

Shri Naveen Patnaik
Hon'ble Chief Minister of Odisha

Date : 31st August, 2014 (Sunday)
Time : 10.30 A.M. to 5.00 P.M.

Inaugural Session

Naveen asks people to shun negativism

CM Naveen Patnaik asking people to shun negativism and adopt positive thinking as it helps in moving forward.

Valedictory Session

His Excellency Dr. S. C. Jamir
Hon'ble Governor of Odisha

‘Fight negativism; be positive to ensure rapid growth’

Focus Areas

Education

Healthcare

Justice Delivery

Infrastructure

Employment Generation

Urban Management

Programmes

IAN seeks to promote democracy, good governance and public policy reforms through advocacy, interventions and by engagement with policy makers, dissemination of ideas, events, and campaigns. At higher level, we seek to use mechanisms like RTI and PIL, participate in parliamentary committees and submit our inputs on various important issues. Our effort is to bring together various stakeholders to fight for a common cause.