Over the next 5 days Paperclip will look back at 50 stories of courage & inspiration from the subcontinent in 2021. We will publish 10 stories each day, in no particular order of ranking as we feel all these stories are equally powerful. Follow #Paperclip50
Sky is not the limit: Andhra Pradesh girl Jahnavi Dengeti became the first Indian to be a part of @NASA's International Space Program. bit.ly/3Ie7FEn#Paperclip50
Protector: ASHA health worked Suman Dhebe walked over 10 Kms everyday during the #secondwave to successfully protect 5 tribal villages around Pune from #COVID contamination #Paperclip50 bit.ly/3Kfowsp
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Saviour: @IASRajBharud, a visionary doctor turned district collector, installed oxygen plants to save a small tribal district in Maharashtra from #COVID during the 2nd wave bit.ly/3IekqPs#Paperclip50
Never Forget: @tusharlall02 composed a poignant musical piece as a heartfelt tribute to Asifa, the 8 year old victim of communal sexual violence in Kathua #Paperclip50
Ambulance on auto: Karnataka auto driver BV Prashanth Kumar ferried emergency patients for free without caring for his life after his mother tested positive bit.ly/3KkkL4Q#Paperclip50
Gritty Lady: Annie Siva became a Sub-Inspector fighting all odds having been abandoned by her husband and family at a young age bit.ly/3tGDnpN#Paperclip50
Fighting in exile: Women members of parliament from Afghanistan escape the Taliban to form a government in exile bit.ly/33lkYUV#Paperclip50
Cottage Industry: Women in drought hit Andhra village help sustain their families making bags, pickles and masks bit.ly/3fGmrr7#Paperclip50
Big Short Story: Sri Lankan author @KanyaDalmeida wins the 2021 Commonwealth Short Story Prize with a curious tale of care giving and abandonement bit.ly/3FErcfm#Paperclip50
Together we can: Civilians, Celebrities, Volunteers join hands to fight the deadly Covid second wave. Together they all made a difference #Paperclip50
Art of writing: Young women calligraphy artists in Kashmir revive a lost art in the midst of the pandemic and internet shutdowns bit.ly/3A8iogR#Paperclip50
All that glitters: Indian olympians and paralympians gift the country a bagful of medals from Tokyo bit.ly/3rVGJTB#Paperclip50
United against hate: @imVkohli and @Neeraj_chopra1 stood up for fellow players Mohammad Shami and Arshad Nadeem in the face of online tirade and abuse based on their religion and nationality #Paperclip50
Rainbow spirit: Telengana gay couple Supriyo Chakraborty and Abhay Dang exchange marriage vows surrounded by friends and family bit.ly/33JVpg6#Paperclip50
Resilience: Unfazed by floods in Rapti, 15-year-old Sandhya Sahani rows boat in flood water to reach school daily in Gorakhpur bit.ly/3nBPdxI#Paperclip50
Indomitable: Couple from Delhi fighting cancer transported 200 dead bodies and 400 patients in their ambulance during #COVID 2nd wave bit.ly/3qBuJXB#Paperclip50
Reunited at last: Fucha Mahli, 70, was finally reunited with his family in Jharkhand after working as a bonded labour in the Andaman for 35 years bit.ly/3GI7Ffq#Paperclip50
Winning smile: They say your smile is a reflection of your soul. Sudha Bharadwaj shows exactly that on her way home after getting bail bit.ly/3nxvkHR#Paperclip50
Truth: Extensive ground reporting on gang rape of Dalit girl in Delhi by Dalit journalist @KotwalMeena caught our eye as the hard hitting and brave journalism the nation needs bit.ly/329zO05#Paperclip50
Empowering: Historic moment for Chhattisgarh as 13 transgenders recruited as police constables in 4 distrcts bit.ly/3GEKvXz#Paperclip50
Everyone is welcome: India's first transgender run salon, La Beaute & Style, creates history bit.ly/3I8Vo42#Paperclip50
No place for hate: Fearless Kerala nuns dissent against priest's alleged hate speech against Muslims in the church bit.ly/3A6QRME#Paperclip50
Leading lady: First female Chief Minister of Nepal, Astalaxmi Sakya, is in a league of her own bit.ly/3Klbjhv#Paperclip50
Wings to fly: Roya Mehboob, the New York and Kabul based techpreneur spent frantic hours making calls across the globe to get the all girl Afghan robotics team on a plane to Doha as the Taliban take control bit.ly/3rrEkj3#Paperclip50
Spreading joy: Namgay Tshering, a Bhutanese politician, spreads joy by giving toys bit.ly/328ORqR#Paperclip50
Health for free: Papinder Singh, a native of Husnar in Punjab, runs a free wheatgrass juice langar for all ages after his cancer stricken mother benefitted from the drink bit.ly/3FJWpOE#Paperclip50
Women at the forefront: First female police station in Quetta gives hope to women as they become first responders crushing cultural and bureaucratic barriers bit.ly/32bwstu#Paperclip50
Defeating COVID: Bhutan displays COVID commitment by vaccinating 93% of its adult population by July 2021, recording only 3 deaths bit.ly/3rtX29D#Paperclip50
Reaching higher: Dawa Yangzum Sherpa becomes the first female mountain guide from Nepal and also breaks the speed record on the way to the Manaslu summit bit.ly/3Ag2tNx#Paperclip50
Provide and protect: Senior IPS officer Shrikant Jadhav and his team not only chase dreaded criminals but also provide food and shelter to the needy bit.ly/327ingv#Paperclip50
Demand: Barred from work, Wahida Amiri, a 31 year old Law graduate in Kabul, takes the streets amidst guns and bombs asking for her basic rights bbc.in/33NmEX7#Paperclip50
The fourth pillar: @DainikBhaskar, the country's largest circulated daily, does relentless ground reporting durng the 2nd wave to bring the truth to us bit.ly/3rs10Qn#Paperclip50
Smashing barriers: Tashnuva Anan Shishir goes live on March 8th from a private news channel in #Bangladesh to become the first transgender anchor of the nation bit.ly/3qCJ6ew#Paperclip50
Removing stigma: A 16 year old from Kolkata battles circumstances, local resistance to help her mother recover from COVID and leads in spreading awareness bit.ly/3qA3wVs#Paperclip50
Mother nature: A group of women fight to protect the Sundarbans from the effect of cyclones bit.ly/33JRuzC#Paperclip50
Feeding the weak: Zoeb Bhutia, an entrepreneur from Gangtok, helps feed the ailing during the pandemic bit.ly/3fPKEM5#Paperclip50
Keep the faith: Residents of Lakhimpur district of Bangladesh across religion come together to protect Durga puja pandals and temples after Comilla violence bit.ly/3AaHuLS#Paperclip50
Matching frequency: HAM radio operators in Bengal reunite woman in Bakkhali with her family in Jharkhand after 37 years bit.ly/3Kn84WU#Paperclip50
Changing uniform: Assam police officer dons the white coat during the pandemic running the local COVID care centre bit.ly/3qLpPaV#Paperclip50
Vaccinate all: Health care officials take the boat and truck to vaccinate people in the remote Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh bit.ly/3A8E6kM#Paperclip50
Big Cat and Thunder Dragon: The UNEP is working closely with the Bhutan government to revive the nation's tiger count amidst constant struggle between man and wild bit.ly/3qASO0K#Paperclip50
Nick of time: Men in green come to the rescue of more than a thousand tourists stuck near the Indo-China border at Nathu La due to snowfall bit.ly/3Ij1Y8l
Cleaning the mess: Everester Jamling Tenzing Norgay and his team of sherpas clean up the Everest trail bit.ly/3qGN59P#Paperclip50
Later today, the Indian Cricket Team is set to face New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad for the T20 world champion crown. But do you know that India's first tryst with cricket began in Gujarat – a little over 300-years ago?
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By the mid-18th century, the Mughal Empire was on the decline and European powers were increasingly making their presence felt on the subcontinent. Although late to the party, the British were gradually stepping up their trading activities.
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The Gujarat coast was a hub of maritime trade and one of the busy ports was Khambat – back then known as Cambay. Globally well known for its classical agate industry, Cambay cloth, ivory, golf and lacquer works, one fine day in 1721, Cambay was witness to a strange scene.
In 1905, a young woman in Kerala was dragged into a trial for adultery. The system was built to break her. Instead, she brought the system down with her. It became, and remains, one of the most extraordinary episodes in Kerala’s social history.
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The story unfolded in the princely state of Kochi, within the tightly guarded households of the Namboodiri Brahmin community. At its center was Kuriyedathu Thatri, a young woman whose life and public trial laid bare the double standards of her society. 2/21
To understand what happened, one must first understand the social world Thatri was born into. In early 20th-century Kerala, upper-caste Namboodiri Brahmins lived under rigid patriarchy. Women were confined indoors, their lives dictated by strict codes of conduct. 3/21
1944. On a quiet night in the then State of Madras, a man was stabbed and left bleeding on the streets. He was a tabloid editor. The suspicion had turned toward a beloved comedian widely known as the Charlie Chaplin of the South.
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So who was this Charlie Chaplin of the South? He was N.S. Krishnan also called Kalaivanar- “the devotee of the arts” An actor and comedian who rose during the formative decades of Tamil cinema in the 1940s and 1950s.
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Like Chaplin, he came from a humble background, had little formal education, and turned to stage plays early in life. He set the screen on fire with satire that made audiences laugh, and think. But he was not alone. Beside him stood his wife.
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Did you know Indians born in Suriname were once considered Dutch citizens? And while that might sound strange, all of this connects back to Lord Ram and the settlements of Chinsurah and Baranagar on the banks of the Hooghly. Do read on. 1/24
Moving through the streets of Baranagar in North Kolkata can be challenging at times. Rickshaws, autos, trucks, and even the odd stray cattle all vie for a place. It does not just bustle with activity; it practically lives and breathes it. 2/24
But as you move through the intricate, narrow lanes, you will find old houses, broken and scarred, called Kuthis. Now these kuthis once housed Sahebs, mostly Britishers, but for a time they also housed people from the land of the Oranje, the Dutch. 3/24
In 1977, an Indian art student set out on a bicycle for Sweden, covering more than 11,000 kilometers because he could not afford an airfare to be with the love of his life. An incredible story worth remembering a thousand times. Read on. 1/18
The facts of the journey are striking enough. But to understand why it happened, it is necessary to return to a village in Odisha where Pradyumna Kumar Mahanandia was born into the Kandha tribal community n 1949, historically among India’s most marginalized groups. 2/18
He grew up in poverty, in a house without electricity, and displayed an early aptitude for drawing. In interviews over the years, he has spoken candidly about the discrimination he faced as a child. It was too real to forget. 3/18
The high-octane trailer of #Border2 dropped recently and one character – played by Ahaan Shetty caught our eye. Shetty plays an officer of Indian Navy in the 1971 War and our thoughts went back to a real-life Indian Navy officer who left behind an eternal legacy through his actions in this war. 1/18
The INS Khukri was a Type 14 frigate of the Indian Navy in 1971. The Type 14 was a minimal anti-submarine craft, a cheaper alternative to the more expensive Type 12. They were introduced to the British Royal Navy in the early 1950s. By 1971, they were considered somewhat obsolete. 2/18
India had acquired three Type 14s, which it had named INS Khukri, Kirpan and Kuthar – all part of Western Fleet’s 14th Squadron. On the other hand, in the aftermath of the 1965 war with India, the Pakistan Navy acquired three Daphne class submarines – which it named PNS Hangor, Shushuk, and Mangro. 3/18