About the Foundation.

A citizen foundation for community welfare, cultural preservation, and the ethical development of India-rooted artificial intelligence.

How We Began

The Foundation, in a paragraph.

The Lok Rakshak Sena Foundation was registered on 11 June 2021 as a Section 8 non-profit company under the Companies Act, 2013, with its registered office in Surat, Gujarat. It was founded by Mahesh Patil — a physicist and martial artist whose personal work in community service predates the Foundation by many years. Its spiritual direction is guided by Swami Shree Manuska Das. Its technology arm and the AI Mission are led by Shivam Goswami, the Foundation’s Chief Technology Officer.

The Foundation was formed to hold two convictions together: that classical Indian traditions of ethics and community responsibility remain relevant to the present, and that modern institutional discipline — accounts, audits, published reporting — is essential to any organisation that asks the public to trust it.

What We Believe

Four convictions that shape the work.

1. Service is the point.

The Foundation exists to make specific things better for specific people. Not to represent a cause, not to grow an institution, and not to signal a set of values. The measure of the work is whether people served are, in fact, better served.

2. Heritage carries method, not decoration.

India’s classical traditions contain considered methods of ethics, community governance, environmental care, and personal cultivation. These methods have practical utility today. Treating them as decoration — quoting them in mission statements without applying them in practice — is a failure of respect, not an act of it.

3. Communities know their own problems.

The Foundation does not begin programmes because its planners have identified opportunities. It begins programmes because communities have identified real problems and are prepared to work on them. Central planning that ignores local judgement produces waste.

4. Accountability is not optional.

Every rupee raised is receipted, allocated, and reported. Every year is audited. Every claim on this website is one we can defend with evidence. This is not virtue signalling — it is a minimum standard.

The Work

Community programmes and a flagship initiative.

The Foundation’s work falls into two broad streams.

Community programmes — six focus areas of on-the-ground service work: emergency response, health and community care, education and youth development, legal aid and rights, environment and heritage, and agriculture and rural livelihoods. Each of these is described in detail on our Our Work page.

The AI Mission — the Foundation’s flagship initiative, delivered in partnership with Chandrahas Technologies Pvt. Ltd. The mission is to recover India’s scientific and scriptural heritage through rigorous research, and to support the development of artificial intelligence systems that are ethically and philosophically conscious. See the AI Mission page for the full brief.

Structure

A national foundation with local reach.

The Foundation is structured to combine local presence with national coherence. It operates through local units — organised at the village, ward, taluka, and district level — that carry programme work on the ground. These units are supported by state-level coordination and by a national office that handles policy, finance, and cross-state coordination.

The Foundation is guided by three bodies:

The Board of Directors, which carries legal responsibility for the Foundation under the Companies Act, 2013.
The Programmes and Partnerships Committee, which oversees programme design, delivery, and reporting, and manages relationships with government, courts, hospitals, universities, and corporate CSR partners.
The Advisory Council, comprising scholars, practitioners, and elders who advise on ethical direction and on the AI Mission.

A Clarification

Some things it is useful to be clear about.

We are not a political organisation. The Foundation is deliberately non-partisan and holds no allegiance to any political party or ideology. Members serve as citizens, not as adherents.

We are not a religious organisation. The Foundation engages consultatively with India’s living scholarly and spiritual traditions, and it draws on classical Indian civilisational sources. It does not require religious affiliation from members, beneficiaries, or partners, and it does not discriminate on religious grounds.

We are not a government body. The Foundation is an independent civil society organisation. It is not part of, funded by, or officially affiliated with any national or state government programme.

We are not a technology company. The Foundation’s AI Mission is delivered in partnership with Chandrahas Technologies Pvt. Ltd. The two organisations are formally distinct.

Get Involved

Three ways to contribute.

Whether you have an hour, a month, or a career of expertise — there is a place for you here.

Volunteer

Contribute your time, skills, or presence — through a local unit, a remote role in research or mentorship, or a specialist advisory engagement.

Become a Member

Donate

Support a specific programme or the Foundation as a whole. One-time or recurring. Every contribution is receipted and traceable.

Donate

Partner

For companies with CSR mandates, institutions with joint-programme interest, and long-term programme partners.

Write to Us