People idolize the wrong people. They find inspiration in cricketers, film stars and even politicians. People fail to recognize those who truly deserve the respect and recognition in the society. There are so many stories of courageous Indians who worked towards the betterment of the society but have remained untold and unheard by society. Here are the 20 unsung heroes who selflessly devoted their lives to a cause. Their life is an inspiration for all of us and it’s time that we give them the recognition they deserve.
1. Sindhutai Sapkal – Mother Of Orphans
She is the woman full of energy and passion. Sindhutai emerged stronger with every difficulty she faced and is a “mother” to over 1400 orphans and children who were abandoned by their parents. The situations she faced could force anyone to lose courage and succumb to the adverse situations. She was born on 14 November 1948 at Pimpri Meghe village in Wardha district of Maharashtra. Even though she has an interest towards studies, she could not continue her studies after fourth grade due to family responsibilities and early marriage.
She got married at a tender age of 10 to a 30-year old man. Her husband used to beat her up every day and finally threw her out of the house when she was nine-months pregnant. She gave birth to her daughter in a cow shelter and cut the umbilical cord with a stone. The saddest part is she walked a few kilometers in that condition to her mother’s place, who refused to give shelter to her. Yes. Her own mother refused to give shelter.
She started begging at railway platforms for food to look after her daughter. When she realized that there are many orphans and children abandoned by their parents, she adopted those around her who couldn’t earn and didn’t have parents to take care of them. Sindhutai Sapkal has a huge family of 207 sons-in-law, 36 daughters-in-law and over 1000 grandchildren. Some of them are engineers, doctors, and lawyers. She has won over 500 awards, but wait, have you ever heard of her.
2. Gangadhara Tilak Katnam – Filled 1,125 Potholes On Hyderabad’s Roads
Usually, people relax after retirement. But Gandhara Tilak Katnam is not like others. The 67-years old retired Railway employee starts his car every morning and drives around on Hyderabad roads to repair the potholes. So far, he filled 1,125 potholes to make Hyderabad’s roads safer for commuters and has exhausted his pension in this process. The backseat of his car always has a few gunny bags full of tar mixed gravel and are emptied whenever a pothole is spotted.
3. Omkarnath Sharma – Medicine Baba
Popularly known as “Medicine Baba”, he walks around the streets of Delhi, knocking on the doors of relatively well-to-do households to collect free medicines for the needy. He started a free medicine bank for the poor and the needy. Sharma got inspiration when he saw people suffering due to inadequate medicines.
Sharma began this mission in 2008 when a bridge collapsed in Delhi and he saw many injured people being turned away from hospitals because they didn’t have the required medicines. He wakes up every morning and walks 5-7 kms procuring non-prescription medicines. He has now gained some regular contributors.
4. Nandlal Master – Educates Village Children
Nandlal Master, the local weaver from a village near Varanasi observed that people end up getting their children married since they can’t afford their education. So, he has been on a mission to empower women and abolish child labor. Nandlal started a learning center to educate children from villages around him. Now, he has over 500 students from less privileged homes. He conducted more than 700 weddings to help out families. He is now on a mission to promote inter-caste marriages and breaking traditions like dowry.
5. Daripalli Ramaiah – The Man Who Planted More Than 10 Million Trees
Daripalli Ramaiah carries seeds in his pockets and travels indefinite distances to reach a spot of barren land so that he could plant the seeds and saplings he was carrying. He sold his three-acre plot of land to gather the necessary funds to purchase seeds and plant saplings. When someone gifted him Rs. 5,000 during his son’s marriage, he used that money also to this cause! He carries a scarf which says “Vriksho Rakshati Rakshitaha” whenever he sets out to plant saplings.
Ramaiah was awarded plenty of state and national awards on account of his work towards tree plantation. Last year in June, the Telangana government awarded him a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.
6. Pravin Tulpule – On A Mission To Bring A Smile On The Face Of Children Suffering From Deathly Diseases
Pravin Tulpule, after serving in the Indian Navy for 17 years, decided to serve children in the hope to bring a smile to the face of a child who was suffering from deathly diseases. An ex-officer of the Indian Navy, aka Pintoo – the clown magician shows a magic trick and kids become filled with wonder. He makes a funny face and kids roll on the floor laughing. He makes them laugh, distributes toys or makes hilarious shapes from balloons simply to make the children happy.
Pravin gives the best shows at the pediatric wards of different hospitals where there are children battling various diseases including cancer. He also conducted numerous hygiene-related campaigns in schools, especially focusing on the importance of washing hands which he conveyed through magic tricks. Apart from that, Pravin is a regular donor.
7. Swapnil Tewari – Organization For The Betterment Of Tribal Communities
In 2011, he started a company called “Naked Colours” to support the struggling endangered tribal artisans of India. The organization gives 1/3rd of the total profits made on each painting to artisans, 1/3rd to a school for underserved orphans and children with special abilities. Only 1/3rd was used by him to sustain the company.
Swapnil has rescued troubled families, befriended Naxalites, given a marketing platform to endangered artisans, and brought people from the brink of suicide and much more. He has also begun an organization that focuses on women’s safety – the Pink Whistle Project.
8. Chewang Norphel – The Ice Man Of India
Chewang Norphel who is a civil engineer by profession has created 10 glaciers in Ladakh to help deal with water scarcity in the region. In 1966, he was given the task to build schools, canals, roads, bridges, etc. in a remote district of Ladakh. He trained a number of villagers for this task due to lack of skilled labor in this remote area. However, when he visited the district years later, he found that the villagers he had trained became proper laborers.
9. Kamala Lochan Baliarsingh – Despite Extreme Poverty, He Feeds Stray Dogs
The days have turned to such a stage that people are not even bothering the fellow human beings. Some people do pamper pets, but, no one bothers stray dogs. However, a 60-year-old man from Bhubaneshwar feeds stray dogs despite extreme poverty. Even though he sleeps hungry most of the days, he feeds stray dogs on the roads every day without fail.
Even if he doesn’t get to eat a food all day, he makes sure that the dogs around him are well-fed. For the past 10 years, he has been feeding these stray dogs. And yeah, he does not take charity and he survives with his selflessness.
10. Kalyanasundaram – Man Of The Millennium
People look for several ways to save money and to double the money. They won’t even bother about other lives. And the world is not full of such selfish people who only think to fill their belly. There are selfless people like Kalyanasundaram who first think of others. I should say he is the man of the millennium. Born at Melakarivelamkulam in Tamil Nadu, this unmarried 70-year-old librarian has donated every penny of his earnings towards charity. He did part-time jobs to earn some extra money to survive. The mind-blowing thing is he even donated his pension of Rs. 10 Lakhs and an award of a whopping Rs. 30 Crores also to charity. For the past 30 years, he has been donating all his money to charity and has no misgivings.
11. Venkatraman – Providing Meals For Rs. 1 To The Poor
Venkataraman, a resident of Erode and a son of a former railway employee of Tamil Nadu believes in humanity. He is a hope for those people in Erode for whom it is a daily struggle to arrange even a single meal. For the past eight years, he has been providing food to the poor and needy, three times a day, every single day. And the healthy and filling meals are sold for just Re. 1 at his Sri AMV Homely Mess – a small restaurant located near the Erode General Hospital.
12. Sudhanshu Biswas – Dedicated His Life To Children In Need
Sudhanshu Biswas is an example for the statement, “Age is just a number”. After fighting for freedom of the country in his youth, he chose to settle down in a remote village in his after-years. He dedicated his life to children in need and their education by running Sri Ramakrishna Sevashram (SRKS). Even at this ripe age, his enthusiasm, energy, dedication, and passion is commendable. Wanna have some inspiration? Then do visit his ashram.
The 99-year-old freedom fighter from West Bengal has been honored with the Padma Shri award for the year 2018. Through his selfless organization, he runs schools, orphanages, and dispensaries for the poor and the downtrodden.
13. Prakash Kaur – Started Unique Home For Abandoned Girls
She has left on the street 60 years ago. And Prakash Kaur doesn’t want another newborn and unwanted girl child faces the same fate as hers. She started the Unique Home for girls where she takes care of those girls who have been abandoned by their families. No religion restriction in her home and the girls have Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Sikh names. She treats these girls as her own and doesn’t want to give them up for adoption.
14. Beena Rao – Teaching Slum Children For Free
Beena Rao has been teaching slum children for free in Surat, Gujarat. When asked about her source of inspiration, she said her father was her role model ever since she was a kid. A violinist by profession, he would teach blind students for free in his spare time. Apart from providing education, she also teaches them discipline, yoga, mannerisms, and other aspects which are often neglected by the government schools. And all of this is free of cost.
15. Shachi Singh – Taking Care Of Street Children
When Shachi Singh saw a poor boy on a railway station, she decided to help all those kids who are living on the streets. She started an organization, Ehsaas that takes care of the needs of such children. Lucknow station is now free of child labor. Due to her effort, the government created child-friendly booths for lost children across 72 districts of Uttar Pradesh.
16. Atul Bhide – Built Toilets In Rural India With His Own Money
Sanitation which is one of the biggest problems of India is neglected in rural India. A small village Sogav located 80 km from Mumbai had no toilets until Atul Bhide came and constructed over 200 of them. He is also involved in various community services. Bhide’s dream is to see an India where every house has a toilet.
17. Suresh and Indira Soni – Developed An Entire Village For Leprosy And Mentally Disabled People
Even in this modern world, there are still some group of people believe in caste distinctions and untouchables. However, this couple has developed an entire village for them. Usually, people suffering from leprosy, mental sickness, etc. are not welcomed by the so-called “normal” people of the society.
Suresh and Indira Soni started the ‘Sahyog Kushtha Yagna Trust’ in Gujarat, for them who live here freely without any prejudice. Spread over 30 acres of land, Sahyog has given a new life to many less fortunate people.
18. Navin Gulia – Despite His Disabledness, He Runs NGO To Bring Change In The Lives Of Marginalized Children
Since childhood, Navin Gulia wanted to join Indian Army as a “Commando”. An unfortunate event changed his life forever and made him disabled. He spent two years in a hospital, unable to move. However, Gulia being passionate has started an initiative, ‘Apni Duniya Apna Ashiana’, to support marginalized children from weaker sections of society.
Modifying a basic Maruti 800 into a disabled-friendly model, Gulia drove to Khardung La, and hit the headlines for driving non-stop for 55 hours. Gulia is an example of true courage and immense passion. Clearly, no disability is strong enough to stop someone from chasing his dreams.
19. Babar Ali – The Youngest Headmaster
Babar Ali started his own school when he was just 9-year-old. He observed that several kids couldn’t get an opportunity to attend school due to their financial problem. So, every day he would come back from school and start teaching what he had learned in school that day to those kids.
Isn’t this amazing? Today, Babar Ali is 25 and has won several awards.
20. Dr. Rani Bang – Providing Modern Medical Facilities To Tribal People
Gynecologist Dr. Rani Bang has been serving in the remotest areas for over 20 years by setting up the society for Education, Acton, and Research in community health, along with her doctor husband Abhay. She started many such healthcare initiatives across India, introduced modern medicine in tribal villages and made the villagers aware of good healthcare facilities
There are some doctors who first take money before treating a patient. And, there are many doctors looking for high-paying jobs in the biggest hospitals in the country. This amazing woman and her husband is truly an inspiration. And still the list goes one… there are many souls who are working tirelessly for the betterment of society. And we thank every such individual.
