Rishikesh Shah (May 16, 1925[1] – November 13, 2002) was a Nepalese writer, politician and human rights activist.

He then became general secretary of the joint Nepali Congress-Nepali Rashtriya Congress front until 1956.

In 1961 Shah was elected by the United Nations General Assembly to chair the International Commission to investigate the death of UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld, who had suffered an air crash over Congo.

Shah served as visiting professor at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India in 1970.

In 1971 he served as Regents' Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, USA.