How India’s sports stars overcame tough personal odds to achieve success
By Ajeyo Basu New Delhi, Sep 16 (IANS) Ever since she was a kid, Hima Das woke up every morning before the crack of dawn and would go to the local grazing ground in a…
IANS Special Series
A hijab-wearing Muslim bodybuilder breaks stereotypes in India
By Sanu George Vadakara (Kerala), Sep 9 (IANS) When 23-year-old Majiziya Bhanu took to the stage to compete in the women’s segment of the Mr Kerala competition in Kochi earlier this year, all eyes were…
How Delhi schools are revolutionising education, one teacher at a time
By Nivedita Singh New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) When Roshan Lal, a 40-year-old rickshawpuller, got his son Rakesh admitted to a government school in Delhi, all he wanted for him was to get a decent…
This smart village empowers differently-abled to stand on their own
By Archana Sharma Udaipur, Aug 26 (IANS) In a small village near this famous lake city in Rajasthan, thousands of physically challenged people are given a fresh lease of life. Not only do they receive…
Midwifing change: How maternity deaths were reduced to zero in remote tribal hamlets
By Mohammed Shafeeq Hyderabad, Aug 19 (IANS) The scenic beauty of Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh is in stark contrast to the lives of indigenous tribespeople inhabiting the region. Living in virtual destitution, these tribals…
Angels of hope: They make the poor and helpless aware of their rights
By Mudita Girotra New Delhi, Aug 12 (IANS) When Rambabu, a 27-year-old who worked in a ration shop in Patna, got to know he was suffering from brain tumor, he was devastated. But his nightmare…
In Kashmir’s hate-and-violence narrative, a silver lining of goodwill and amity
By Sheikh Qayoom Srinagar, Aug 5 (IANS) Rajnath, 72, a retired school headmaster, continues to live in his ancestral home in north Kashmir’s Manigam village. The turmoil of the 1990s saw most members of his…
How tribal women of Kanha are driving their own destiny
By Kushagra Dixit Mukki (Madhya Pradesh), July 29 (IANS) Mukki zone in the famous Kanha National Park had been known throughout its recorded history to have been ruled by tigresses, rather than tigers. True to…
How a tiny state is battling joblessness through entrepreneurship
By Sarwar Kashani Gangtok, July 22 (IANS) Sikkim has many distinctions that give the tiny state nestled in the Himalayas between India and China a larger-than-life profile. It is the only organic state in India,…
How a woman grenade blast survivor overcame disability to inspire change
By Bhavana Akella Bengaluru, July 15 (IANS) Malvika Iyer was a charming 13-year-old girl in 2002 when a grenade accidentally blew up in her hands, ripping her forearm and paralysing her legs, in Bikaner, Rajasthan,…
Breaking faith barriers, Shia Muslim artists create Hindu wedding mandaps
By Archana Sharma Jaipur, July 8 (IANS) For centuries, their creations have been used in sombre processions to commemorate and reconstruct the narrative of the 7th century Battle of Karbala in Islamic history. But now,…
American father-daughter duo bring ‘technological difference’ to remote Arunachal village
By Saket Suman Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh), July 1 (IANS) National Geographic explorer Mike Libecki and his 14-year-old daughter Lilliana are essentially travellers who have been to several remote corners of the world. But it is…
An equal-opportunity school sets a sterling example in social integration
By Mohit Dubey Lucknow, June 24 (IANS) Much before the Indian parliament promulgated the Right to Education Act (RTE) in 2009 that guaranteed education to all a committed local teacher had already pioneered the idea…
Rajasthani musicians epitomise India’s syncretic culture, but are a struggling lot
By Archana Sharma Jaipur, June 17 (IANS) They are Muslims, yet they sing Krishna “bhajans” (hymns) from Hindu lore. They have adopted a hybrid culture that is a mix of both religions and lifestyles. Many…
Seema’s story: Educating girls to negotiate life, become change agents
By Umer Rashid Hardoi (Uttar Pradesh), June 10 (IANS) Inside a dimly-lit classroom in this district, with its walls decorated with drawings and paintings made by children, Seema Yadav, 36, is teaching a group of…
Girls can do anything, proves Indian teen who climbed Everest
By Mudita Girotra Hisar (Haryana), June 3 (IANS) On May 15 this year, a teenaged girl from Haryana embarked on the very challenging task of climbing Mount Everest from the Nepal side. But having dropped…
Despite tragic history, mosque and gurdwara stand tall in harmony
By Jaideep Sarin Fatehgarh Sahib (Punjab), May 27 (IANS) This town of sacred pilgrimage in Punjab has been witness to one of the most tragic, painful and violent chapters of Sikh-Mughal history going back three…
Hunger has no religion: Azhar Maqsusi’s mission is manna for Hyderabad homeless
By Mohammed Shafeeq Hyderabad, May 20 (IANS) Homeless beggars, ragpickers and labourers sitting with plates on a mat are waiting under a flyover. As the clock strikes 12.30 pm, a slim man appears on the…
Cabbie who could not save sister builds hospital to treat the poor
By Milinda Ghosh Roy Kolkata, May 13 (IANS) With no cutting-edge medical equipment, air-conditioning or critical care unit in place, the under-construction building in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district hardly matches the popular notion…
Wearing salwar-suits, Indian mother takes to international WWE ring
By Jaideep Sarin Jalandhar (Punjab), May 6 (IANS) WWE fights may be flashy, hard and violent at times but the first Indian woman to get into that ring at the international level has beaten bigger…