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Dr. Sunila Shrivastava OAM: Australia Day Honours 2025

The co-founder of Melbourne-based Sankat Mochan Samiti has been felicitated with an OAM for her services to the Indian community.

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As a daughter of Indian Freedom Fighter J.L. Verma, Dr. Sunila Shrivastava OAM says serving the community has always been in her blood.  

My father contributed significantly in the field of education: he established the Damor Degree College and was a founding member of Saugor University (now Dr. Hari Singh Gour University) from where I also got my PhD in physics. That has inspired me to educate the young regarding our culture and heritage.” 

Coming to Australia in 1973, the physicist retrained as an IT professional and spent nearly two decades with companies like Telstra and IBM. But once she retired, she felt compelled to support Victoria’s burgeoning Indian-Australian community, a decade long journey that would lead to an OAM.  

“I thought ‘what to do next?’,” she remembers. “My husband and I both recite devotional songs and Indian epics like Ramayana, Hanuman Chalisa at various places. We decided, why not do it in a large group setting for all interested people? In 2008, we organised our first function to recite the Sundarkant Path – that was attended by almost 400 people.” 

 

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Thus began the Sankat Mochan Samiti (SMS), which has grown steadily into a non-profit in Melbourne’s south-east providing physical, spiritual and moral assistance. Aside from cultural and spiritual education, their volunteers provide free meals, promote positive aging in seniors, upskill youth and welcome new migrants. 

In 2014, Dr Sunila Shrivastava helped establish the Sankat Mochan Kendra Indian Cultural Centre, a dedicated space for the Indian community in Oakleigh which she says is her most rewarding achievement so far. Dr. Sunila Shrivastava OAM

“People wanted somewhere to sit in peace and meditate or worship – there was no such facility,” she says of the Centre’s beginnings. “Sometimes if I wanted to sit quietly for 20 minutes without the family or work environment, I used to sit in the car before coming home from work, just to regain my strength or whatever.” 

But perhaps her strongest contribution was as a leader of the SMS’s Hum Tum Task Force, where she could combine her interests in social impact and spiritual connection. Here, she has led many projects providing education on respectful relationships and support for those affected by family violence.  

“At that time we were not even allowed to mention the term ‘ family violence’, so we used to say respectful relationship, but gradually people are getting aware of these things,” Shrivastava remembers.  

arvind and sunila shrivastava
Sunila with husband Arvind. (Source: Supplied)

“In the taskforce we have specialists like lawyers, GPs, psychiatrists, social workers, all pro bono; generally speaking, when women go into these official services, they shift from one place to another – they haven’t got the resources or time, and sometimes they’re not allowed to come out of the house. We provide a one stop shop – you come to us, we listen to your problem, and then we ask what you want us to do.” 

Shrivastava says she has unearthed a meaningful pursuit in the prevention of family violence. 

“This is really our mission, that somehow, we eradicate this particular cancer from society.I know [there’s no] prescription remedy for it, it will take decades to come because it’s so deeply rooted in our blood,” she says.  

Moving to Torquay during the pandemic, Dr Sunila Shrivastava has since moved on from SMS. These days she and husband Arvind, who also holds an OAM, continue to bring peace to the community through Bhakti Tarang, where they hold devotional chanting sessions and celebrations for occasions like Karva Chauth and Janmashtami.

Going forward, Dr. Sunila Shrivastava OAM hopes to keep healing the community and educating them on both family violence and Indian heritage.  

“We have been given an opportunity to come to such a good place, one of the world’s best countries. In addition to the culture here, you should not forget our heritage,” she advises. 

“I’m very thankful to the Australian government for recognising not only my services but the Indian community and all those people who believed in my objective and helped me carry out my objective. 

READ MORE: Dr. Samantha Pillay 0AM: Australia Day Honours 2025

Lakshmi Ganapathy
Lakshmi Ganapathy
Lakshmi is Melbourne Content Creator for Indian Link and the winner of the VMC's 2024 Multicultural Award for Excellence in Media. Best known for her monthly youth segment 'Cutting Chai' and her historical video series 'Linking History' which won the 2024 NSW PMCA Award for 'Best Audio-Visual Report', she is also a highly proficient arts journalist, selected for ArtsHub's Amplify Collective in 2023.

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