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
*worker*
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
For any Bengali, this face needs no introduction — Bantul the Great. But during the India–Pakistan wars of the last century that split a subcontinent and birthed a nation, this comic book hero became something else: a symbol of hope and resistance.
Thread. 1/16
The bald-headed, barrel-chested comic strip hero in the 1960s became more than just a childhood favorite. He was the neighborhood strongman. No crime escaped his fist. Thieves, thugs, and goons all met the same fate — smashed into shape by Bantul.
2/16
Before we meet Bantul, let’s meet the man who drew him into existence. Narayan Debnath (1925–2022): India's longest-running comics creator. The quiet genius behind Handa Bhonda, Nonte Fonte, and Bantul the Great.
In Vidarbha, Maharashtra, the towns of Yavatmal and Murtizapur share a colonial-era legacy tied to cotton trade, a freedom fighter’s wife, and a rare wedding gift that still echoes through history. 1/19
The year was 1944. A newlywed couple and a retinue of relatives were waiting on the railway platform at Murtizapur to board the next train to Daryapur. 2/19
One half of the pair was Balwantrao Deshmukh, a freedom fighter who had only recently been released from Nagpur jail due to his active participation in the Quit India Movement of 1942. 3/19
Terror isn’t just fueled by hate — it runs on money.
From fake charities to bank heists, hawala to narco-trade—a secret economy powers the bloodshed. How terror groups sustain themselves — and why it matters more than ever.
Explained.
1/25
Militants need money as much as guns. In India’s insurgent zones, groups like LeT & JeM fuel their campaigns through a shadow terror economy — bank heists, extortion, hawala, fake charities. Globally, others follow the same playbook. Here is a simple breakdown. (Data 2002)
2/25
In Kashmir, militants often fund terror the hard way — through theft and intimidation. Late 2016 saw a wave of bank heists, all linked to Lashkar operatives. A three-man team hit J&K Bank branches on Nov 21, Dec 8, and Dec 15, 2016, escaping with ₹13L, ₹13.38L, and ₹10L.
3/25
The heinous Pahalgam attack underscores the chilling reality of Lashkar-e-Taiba’s never-ending menace. But where did this ruthless group come from? The answers lie in a complex web of religious extremism, geopolitics, and strategic patronage.
LeT's dark origins, explained.
1/23
In the late 1970s Pakistan’s military ruler Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq seized power and launched an intense Islamization campaign. He allied closely with Saudi Arabia, adopting a Saudi-backed policy of Islamization that infused strict Wahhabi ideas into state and society.
2/23
Saudi money poured into new madrassas (religious schools) teaching a puritanical Islam, many of them set up explicitly to train fighters for jihad. By the mid-1980s these schools were producing youth steeped in militant ideology as part of Zia’s strategy. 3/23
You may know Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes from 7 Khoon Maaf. But her story began long before the film—a few centuries ago, in Bengal.
In 2021, we followed the trail down a narrow lane off GT Road—and stood before the real Susanna’s tomb.
A Thread.
1/25
In Vishal Bhardwaj's 7 Khoon Maaf, Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes (Priyanka Chopra) marries—and kills—all her husbands in a quest for love. Each marriage ends tragically, but the film only scratches the surface of her story.
2/25
The plot is dark, tragic, and deeply mysterious, but it is based (?) on a real-life figure whose story stretches back centuries. After years of planning, we had finally reached the tomb of Susanna Anna Maria in an winter afternoon.
Larger-than-life cutouts are a staple of Tamil cinema.
A ritual. A spectacle. But the very first cutout wasn’t of a male superstar. It was of a woman in a silk saree. And it stood for something much bigger than fandom. Thread.
1/20
This is a story of one filmmaker’s relentless resistance to caste system. In 1940, Tamil director Krishnasamy Subrahmanyam released Bhaktha Chetha—a mythological film that delivered a message that was anything but mythical. 2/20
The story centered on Chetha, a lowborn cobbler and devotee of Vishnu living near Hastinapur. Played by the legendary Papanasam Sivan, Chetha’s journey to divine grace challenged everything the caste system stood for. 3/20