dignity in death

When her father passed away, Tumpa Das from Birbhum, West Bengal, stepped into his role at the local crematorium — a job rarely held by women. Over the last decade, she has performed more than 5,000 cremations, breaking gender barriers with courage and compassion.

In 2008, Ravi founded the Earth Saviours Foundation and would personally go out into the streets to find disabled and destitute people — bringing them into the foundation’s shelter home, and serving them around the clock.

Freedom lives in planting forests, protecting wildlife, educating girls, lighting villages, saving lives — meet 7 Indians shaping a stronger, kinder India.

"I spent over a month frantically searching for my son. And finally, one day I found his dead body in a sack, devoured by stray animals. I decided never to let another soul go through that torment," says the cycle mechanic, who was recently awarded the Padma Shri.