Abstract: The National Rural Health Mission has envisioned a change in the public health system marching towards an affordable and equitable health care system in the country. It has envisaged for community ownership in the program and volunteerism from amongst community members to attain their participation in the planning process. The framework for the same entails that AWW has been engrossed in ICDS and has not been able to act as change agent. Henceforth a woman volunteer from the community called ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) would fill her role. The major difference between an ASHA and AWW would come in terms of ASHA being a volunteer from the community, who would act in close coordination with a support system (PRI, AWW and ANM). She is supposed to play immense role in village health plan along with PRI members and other stakeholders of the community.However the incentivised nature of the program, stringent monitoring for fulfilling coverage of vertical programs, the emphasis on skill building of ASHA in the training modules specifically for functioning as community mobiliser for JSY, immunization, family planning has restricted her role only to a health worker at periphery. This article discusses conceptualisation of ASHA as a volunteer activist and agent of communitization viz a viz her role as a health worker.