About Organization

Arthik Anusandhan Kendra was established in 1968 as a Registered Society in Allahabad in 1968. The initial years were devoted towards researching problems facing rural India. However, AAK decided that direct developmental interventions were also necessary and focused its energy towards building the capacities of people, preparing them to play a more active role in the management of public resources and institutions as well as in local government.

This institutional commitment was adopted since the early 1990s and continues to this day. The initial focus was the tribal area of South Mirzapur and other contiguous areas, AAK has also worked in the city of its birth, Allahabad, by initiating work with the urban homeless and the rickshaw pullers, among the most vulnerable sections of urban society. AAK believes that focused attention on children, especially the girl child is essential to transform society.

AAK works in the city of Allahabad and has focused on issues of the urban homeless and migrant families including those of cycle rickshaw drivers. In rural Mirzapur and Sonebhadra districts, the work has been around issues of land rights, education, health, children with disabilities, organizing self-help groups, livelihoods, community organizing, and supporting local self-governance. AAK has also worked in the Chitrangi block of Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh in the recent past.