UNSUNG HEROES OF INDIA
India has a long history, with a lot of ‘heroes’ who broke through the norms. They fought for their own rights as well as for their homeland. But among these are those who don’t get to be under the spotlight. These unsung heroes deserve all the praise in the world for their efforts for this country. We take great pride to say there’s a fighter in every Indian and this list honours 5 such lesser-known Indian personalities who deserve to be talked about more.
Anand Kumar – Trains underprivileged students for IIT-JEE
A movie on his life was made starring Hritik Roshan called ‘Super 30’. He hails from Patna where his father was a clerk. He could not attend Cambridge university due his family’s financial situation. His papers on the ‘Number Theory’ were published in international magazines. He trained underprivileged students for IIT-JEE. 15 years later, 27 of his 30 students he trained ended up clearing the exam under his guidance.
Anandibai Joshi – First woman doctor from India
Born in 1865 and married off at the age of 9, Anandibai Joshi overcame the rampant stigma and discrimination against women at a time when women’s education was an irrelevant topic by the patriarchal society. She fought for her dreams and trained herself in medicine as well as western ways of medicine, becoming the very first female physician in South Asia at that time. With the help of a liberal husband she opened the gates for Indian women who wanted to get education and not be held down by the patriarchal society.
Mamta Rawat – Saved thousands of lives in the Uttarakhand floods of 2013
During the 2013 Uttarakhand Flood, Mamta Rawat who had been trained in mountaineering climbed dangerous terrains to save thousands of stranded pilgrims and locals. She led 30 school students to safety and carried the elderly on her back. She was only 24 years old at that time and had no official badge or government support for this rescue operation.
Sohaila Abdulali – Fighting sexual violence, one book at a time
Sohaila was 17 when she was raped by a group of four armed men and held her friend hostage for hours. She decided not to let this unfortunate incident pull her back; she overcame the incident and went on to write two books. Her article, “After being raped, I was wounded, my honour wasn’t” was published in the New York Times.
Shekhar Naik – Captain of Indian Blind Cricket Team
Born in 1986 to a poor family, Shekhar Naik suffered from blindness since birth. Without any support, Naik’s interest in sports could never be fuelled as a kid. When 12 years old he was selected in the state level tournament; where his cricket talent was noticed for the first time. 17 years later, he was selected as the captain for Indian Blind cricket team.
