Giving It Back
A former woman police officer in Karnataka who had run-in with a state minister and later quit the service has launched a political party. “I am teaching my party members how to police politicians for the good of the people”, she told Bhavana Akella
Such A Man Lives
It has been The Weekend Leader’s aim to showcase real-life heroes and inspire its readers to serve the community. This year’s Person of the Year Dr. Thiruvengadam Veeraraghavan is one such human being. Award function report with photos
Walking for Women
Eleven states, 3,600 kms and 260 days. Meet Srishti Bakshi, who is on a mission to cover the entire stretch from Kanyakumari to Kashmir -- on foot, and all alone – to create awareness about the security and social status of women in India, says Somrita Ghosh
Scrap is Gold
Jai Prakash Chaudhary has come a long way from his life of poverty as a scrap collector in Delhi. Now, he is an eco-entrepreneur and heads a company that employs 70 people and generates annual revenue of over Rs 1 crore, says Sofia Danish Khan
Father of Many
Heading a Rs 1,000 crore turnover business, Mahesh Savani has organised the weddings of over 2,000 fatherless girls. Each wedding costs him around Rs 4 lakh. His father started as a labourer and became a diamond merchant later, says Deven Lad
The Noble Soul
Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak’s non-profit has changed the lives of lakhs of manual scavengers many of whom have been provided jobs in his organisation that employs over 50,000 people and generates an annual revenue of Rs 500 crore, says Gurvinder Singh
The Unstoppable Winner
Rajalakshmi S.J. may have lost her mobility, but not her will. The orthodontist, who won the Miss Popularity title at the Miss World Wheelchair 2017, fights for the rights of the differently-abled and delivers motivational talks, says Bhumika K
The Home Maker
In 2006, this professor in Kerala noticed one of her students was living in an unsafe house and decided to build a new house for him. Since then she has built 78 homes for poor people in Pathanamthitta and Kollam districts, says Sanu George
Two Rupee Doctor
Vijay’s Tamil blockbuster ‘Mersal’ has turned the public mood against corporate hospitals and put the spotlight on ‘two rupee doctor’ Thiruvengadam Veeraraghavan, who is serving the poor patients commuting on his bike, says P C Vinoj Kumar
Mission Educate Girls
Safeena Husain worked for many years in development projects abroad, but returned to India to work in rural areas among girl children. She has helped more than 200,000 out-of-school girls become part of the education system, says Mudita Girotra
Blooming Lives
In remote villages of Uttarakhand, women have a new source of livelihood and their lives are changing. Thanks to Pratibha Krishnaiah, a computer engineer from Bengaluru, they earn between Rs 2,000 and 5,000 per month. Anvi Mehta has the story
Dharavi’s App Guru
Nawneet Ranjan made a documentary on life in Mumbai’s Dharavi slums and it won critical acclaim at international film festivals. He is now changing the lives of the children of Dharavi, teaching them coding and app development, says Deven Lad
The Mind Healer
She had a difficult childhood, but that didn’t stop Manika Majumdar in joining a Kolkata-based NGO to offer counselling for people with mental health issues. Partho Burman profiles the unsung hero who was taunted for working with ‘mad people’
The Rain Man
When the sky turns overcast, people of Chennai no longer tune in to their television sets to listen to the weather forecast – they log in to Pradeep John’s Facebook page. P C Vinoj Kumar profiles Chennai’s popular independent weather forecaster
Raising hopes
Former school coordinator Juin Dutta conducts informal classes for underprivileged children and runs a hostel for them at Vadodara with the help of volunteers. Kavita Kanan Chandra spoke to the gritty woman, who has bigger plans to achieve