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Rural Development
Moved by the sight of his father toiling in his agricultural fields under the scorching sun using only crude farming implements, Shrawan Bajya turned his passion for machines into a quest to help India’s farmers. With no qualifications in either science or technology, Shrawan went on to indigenously manufacture a range of affordable farming devices that have helped hundreds of farmers. The machines built by him are effective but cost a fraction of what commercially produced machines would cost
Education
In Cuttack in the state of Odisha is a nondescript tea stall that stands by the roadside. What makes it so special is that its owner (who also makes and sells the tea) has devoted his life to teaching underprivileged slum children living in the locality. The name of this hero is D. Prakash Rao. He spends a significant part of his meagre earnings to buy books and stationery for his students. He has set up a school called Asha Ashwasan.
Healthcare
At a time when the cost of even basic healthcare is spiralling upwards all over India, Kallesh Murashillin is a doctor in the village of Mallasamudra in Karnataka who treats his patients for free. From those patients who feel awkward about accepting free treatment, he charges a token fee of just Rs. 10. He moves around on a cycle and says his decision to offer free treatment was triggered by the abject poverty he saw in Mallasamudra.
Water Conservation
At a time when water bodies and wetlands across India are rapidly disappearing, and water is scarce, Ramveer Tanwar organized Jal Chaupals in his village and worked tirelessly with the villagers and the village children. He successfully revived more than ten dead, polluted water bodies across Uttar Pradesh in just 5 years. In conjunction with the Government, he set up a Groundwater Army to take this movement to other villages.
Protecting the Environment
Chewang Norphel, an engineer from Ladakh, noticed that pollution and global warming were taking a toll on glaciers in the region. This in turn caused acute water shortages because glaciers are the only source of water (especially drinking water) in Ladakh. Norphel did something astounding. In 1987 he created the first artificial glacier in the village of Phuktse Phu solving the water problems for everyone including farmers. He went on to build several more
Protecting the Environment
Jadav Payeng has spent decades as a lone environmental activist, single-handedly turning a barren sandbar on the River Brahmaputra into a forest spread across more than 1300 acres. He started out by planting bamboo saplings and then planted other varieties of trees and other plants. Today the forest created by Jadav has become the habitat of Bengal tigers, rhinoceros, deer and various species of birds.
Healthcare
Dr Rani Bang, a gynaecologist, has spent the past two decades working for tribal communities in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. Along with her husband, Dr Abhay Bang, she has worked tirelessly to introduce modern medicines to poor villagers across underdeveloped tribal areas. Dr Rani Bang’s efforts have resulted in a significant reduction in infant mortality in these areas. She says that Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings inspired her to dedicate her life to serving the poor.
Education
Beena Rao has dedicated her life to giving slum children in Surat, Gujarat, a better future through education. She started out by personally teaching children in small groups; as the number of students grew, she set up a team of volunteers under an initiative named Prayas. Beena Rao and her team have educated over 10,000 slum children. She has developed a holistic curriculum encompassing not just education but also life skills, behavioural skills, yoga and health
Water Conservation
Shirish Apte has played a vital role in rejuvenating traditional water storage tanks in Maharashtra. These tanks, known as Malguzari tanks has been left to dry up after the local landlords got into a dispute with the state government. Shirish Apte realized that such tanks could help local people meet their water needs and also serve farmers as a source of water for irrigation. He worked tirelessly to rejuvenate 21 such tanks.
Water Conservation
Ayyappa Masagi is a "water warrior" who has trained thousands of villagers in rainwater harvesting, bore well recharging and water conservation. Starting out with Karnataka, he has taken his water conservation practices across thirteen states spanning thousands of projects. In the process, he has also created over 700 artificial lakes across India. Ayyappa Masagi believes in using traditional water conservation techniques that have been prevalent in India since ancient times.
Water Conservation
Rajendra Singh has spent over two decades helping villagers in parched regions of Rajasthan conserve water by building traditional mud dams known as Johads. He has worked with villagers to build more than 11,800 Johads across over 1,000 villages. These Johads helped in reviving local aquifers and also revived rivers and streams by restoring the flow of underground rivers. Rajendra Singh has shown that proper management of water resources can prevent water crises, even in water
Healthcare
Yog Raj Mengi was a retired senior citizen living in the Reasi district of Jammu & Kashmir, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit India. Realizing how dangerous the virus was, Yog Raj Mengi used his own frugal pension money to buy a sewing machine and other raw materials. He began sewing face masks for the protection of his fellow citizens, and he distributed them for free. He ended up distributing more than 6,000 free face masks to poor and underprivileged people.
Healthcare
Rama Sahu is a community health worker in Odisha. In spite of fighting a personal battle with uterine cancer, Rama Sahu goes to work each day, moving from door-to-door, advising vulnerable families from poor backgrounds on the dangers of COVID-19 and teaches them to protect themselves through social distancing, hand sanitizing, face covering and isolation. She braves the lockdowns and the risks of infection to diligently do her work each and every day.
Improving Sanitation
Swapnil Chaturvedi has actively been promoting community toilets and the development of low-cost sanitation options for poor and underprivileged slum populations long before Swachh Bharat became a buzzword. Thanks to the tireless efforts of this software engineer who quit his comfortable US-based job to become a sanitation activist, each day more than 1.5 lakh people living in more than a hundred slums across Pune, Maharashtra, use over 3,000 community toilets developed by Swapnil Chaturvedi.
Women's Empowerment
Kanchan Parulekar has spent almost three decades helping women from poor andunderprivileged backgrounds to start their own businesses and earn their ownlivelihoods. Having worked in a bank, Ms Parulkar had handled sustainablelivelihood projects across Maharashtra. She put this knowledge andexperience to good use, empowering over 6,500 women by developingentrepreneurial skills in areas like organic farming, food processing,handicrafts, etc.
Protecting the Environment
D Saravanan is an environmentalist who has dedicated more than 25 years of his life to transforming a tract of barren land into dense forest in Tamil Nadu. Before Saravanan began his work, even grass would not grow on this land. The forest created by Saravanan is spread across more than 100 acres and situated near the village of Poothurai. This forest has now been named Aranya Forest and Sanctuary, and is home to over 10 million trees and around 900 species of indigenous plants.
Slum Development
I am nominating Mr. Nitin Jain as a Hidden Hero for his selfless dedication to social welfare and his tireless efforts in uplifting marginalized communities. Despite working behind the scenes, his impact has been far-reaching—empowering over 15,000 lives through his NGO, Spread Smile Foundation. His work is driven not by recognition, but by a deep sense of responsibility and compassion. From leading grassroots initiatives to collaborating with government programs, he exemplifies integrity, humility, and visionary leadership. Mr. Jain’s quiet yet powerful contributions make him a true changemaker and an unsung hero who deserves to be celebrated.
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