“Why ‘Truth Is Vegan‘? You should’ve started with your own name in it, something like ‘Harsha Activist’ or ‘Vegan Harsha’ or just my name ‘Harsha Atmakuri’ “ said a few activists and friends when I first started Truth Is Vegan.
TIV is named with the realisation that – anyone who seeks Truth will inevitably come to the conclusion that they must go vegan. Hence TRUTH IS VEGAN.
My answer was: “For me, the message is more important than myself. I can do work from behind without the need to be present on the screen unless it’s necessary.” However, it came with a mild setback – people (including many activists) thought and still think TIV is an organisation run by a group of people. Nevertheless, that’s how the perception goes and I never bothered about it.
ROUNDING UP MY WORK IN 2018-2019:
This 21Sep I complete 1 year of “Truth Is Vegan.” When I first started TIV, I was aimless about what to do and where to start. I began with a video explaining why – Truth Is Vegan, followed by several interview videos of various vegan celebrities in India, personal activism and self-designed posters that depict SPECIESISM, ANIMAL RIGHTS and COMPASSION in various forms, etc.
In Feb 2019, I started a new branch under TIV – a photoblog for vegans called “Vegans Of India (VOI).” Inspired from pages like Humans Of New York, the intention is to capture and share the stories of various vegans from all walks of life – so that people can make the instant connection to the vegan community, aiding in understanding animal rights along with inspiring them to go vegan.
This was a unique initiative and it is a success. The unique thing is that it showed vegans under a different light – not the stereotypical angry person but a kind, caring person who is doing some good for the wellbeing of animals, the world and also to humans.
So far I’ve made about 26 videos under TIV, 52 interviews on VOI, about 80 posters, written a few articles, etc. which were shared on social media (Whatsapp, facebook, twitter, etc.) presented in college lectures and seminars, etc – viewed and/or read by millions of people both in India and around the world. Thus aiding in spreading the message of Animal Rights / Veganism in whatever little way possible.
Besides online activism, I do occasional college lectures, participate in public outreaches, and contribute whichever way possible in community building, encouraging and empowering animal rights activists, knowledge sharing and occasionally helping in local animal rescues, etc.
Having said that, whatever I accomplished so far, it is inspired by great men like Tolstoy and many other dedicated vegan activists and animal rescuers in India and around the world. I must confess that I couldn’t accomplish whatever I did so far, without the help of a few activists who selflessly supported me in my journey.
More work ahead, more videos to come, more posters and inspiring stories to be shared, and much more. Working alone has its own challenges and also rewards. Hoping for a stronger year and collaborative work.
Thank you for reading and your support. 🙏
~Harsha Atmakuri