Amala Akkineni

Founder

Founder of Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) · Founder of Blue Cross of Hyderabad

Photo: Wikimedia (CC BY-SA)

Amala Akkineni is the founder of Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO)[1] and Blue Cross of Hyderabad (1992)[2], Indian non-profits working on animals from New Delhi.

Amala Akkineni (née Mukherjee) is an Indian actress, Bharatanatyam dancer and animal welfare campaigner. After a career in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada cinema between the mid-1980s and early 1990s, she turned to animal protection work in Hyderabad.

In 1992 she co-founded Blue Cross of Hyderabad with her husband, the actor Nagarjuna Akkineni, and other citizens; she is its founder and chairperson. Blue Cross of Hyderabad was also one of the seven organisations that came together to form the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO).

Early life and education

She was born Amala Mukherjee at Kalaikunda, West Bengal, to a Bengali father, M. K. Mukherjee, and an Irish mother, Meitim Connolly; the family later moved to Chennai. She took a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Bharatanatyam at the Kalakshetra Foundation in Chennai.

Career

Akkineni was a leading actress in Tamil cinema between 1986 and 1992 and also worked in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films. She won Filmfare Awards South for Best Actress – Malayalam for Ulladakkam (1991) and Best Supporting Actress – Telugu for Life Is Beautiful (2012). She is director of the Annapurna College of Film and Media in Hyderabad.

Blue Cross of Hyderabad, founded in 1992 and registered as a society the following year, runs a two-acre shelter housing several hundred animals and is recognised by the Animal Welfare Board of India. Its programmes include animal birth control and anti-rabies vaccination, community veterinary clinics and animal welfare training. The organisation reports having helped more than half a million animals over three decades.

FIAPO, the national federation of Indian animal protection groups, was started by seven animal advocates, among them Blue Cross of Hyderabad represented by Akkineni. She has served on governing boards of both non-governmental and government bodies working on animal welfare.[3][4][5][6]

Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO)

FIAPO is a federation of more than 190 member animal-protection organisations across India, coordinating campaigns against animal cruelty, pursuing legal action for animal rights, building member capacity and promoting farmed-animal welfare and plant-based advocacy.

Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) reports the following, on its own site:

FIAPO is a federation of more than 200 animal protection organisations across India

Blue Cross of Hyderabad

A non-profit registered society founded in 1992 by Amala Akkineni, Nagarjuna Akkineni and animal-friendly citizens, recognised by the Animal Welfare Board of India. Its work centres on the Animal Birth Control and Anti-Rabies Vaccination programme for stray dogs, an animal welfare training centre, community-sponsored clinics and monthly adoption events from its Jubilee Hills shelter.

Blue Cross of Hyderabad reports the following, on its own site: