India Honors Seven Women Change-Makers

India is celebrating the 75th year of the country’s independence from British rule. As a part of these celebrations, the federal government Tuesday honored seven women for their exceptional achievements in various fields – healthcare, environment protection, and aviation. 

The year-long celebrations have been christened “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.” 

India’s federal government has documented the stories of these seven women in collaboration with the over-the-top platform Netflix. These documentary films will now be screened on Netflix, Indian minister for information and broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, told reporters Tuesday. 

These women change-makers include Basanti Devi, a Padma Shri (India’s fourth-highest civilian award) recipient environmentalist from Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand state, known for her contribution towards revitalizing the Kosi River. Anshu Jamsenpa, a Padma Shri awardee who is the first woman in the world to summit Mount Everest twice in five days in 2017, and Harshini Kanhekar, the first female firefighter in India. 

The other four women felicitated by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry at the event in New Delhi Tuesday are Poonam Nautiyal, a healthcare worker who launched a drive in the Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand to increase Covid-19 vaccination rates. Dr. Tessy Thomas is the first woman scientist to head a missile project in India, Tanvi Jagadish, India’s first competitive woman stand-up paddleboarder, and Aarohi Pandit, the world’s youngest and first woman pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean solo in a light-sport aircraft. 

The I&B Ministry said that stories of these women would be available on various social media channels of the ministry, Netflix, and broadcast across the state-run Doordarshan television network. To ensure maximum reach, they will also be made available in other languages like Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, English, and Malayalam. 

According to I&B minister Anurag Thakur, “The plank of jan bhaagidaari (participation of people) has been at the core of the movement to mark the 75 years of independence.” He said, “This is one of the initiatives to celebrate the involvement of women and their achievements. Netflix and the ministry will partner to develop a creative ecosystem by organizing training programs for post-production, VFX, animation, and music production. They will be organized on the ground and virtually.” 

Basanti Devi 

Widowed at the age of 14, the life of 64-year-old Basanti Devi took a dramatic change when she visited the Mahila Kausani Ashram in Almora to meet a relative. Recalling her 40 years of work in the field of environment, she says she was inspired and impressed with the atmosphere at the Ashram, which was “free from the evil of untouchability and social discrimination. Basanti Devi was conferred with the Padma Shri award to contribute to the ‘Save Kosi Movement’ and environmental protection. Basanti Devi is also looked upon as a champion of women’s empowerment. 

Anshu Jamsenpa 

Anshu Jamsenpa is the first woman in the world to scale the summit of Mount Everest twice in a season and the fastest double summiteer to do so within five days. Jamsenpa hails from Bomdila in Arunachal Pradesh, summited Everest on May 12, 2011, for the first time, and again on May 21, the same year. Anshu Jamsenpa was awarded India’s fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2021. 

Harshini Kanhekar 

As a young girl, Harshini Kanhekar dreamt of joining the armed forces. She was not a bright student in school, but she was always up for extra-curricular activities. Harshini wanted to wear a uniform, so she took a chance and applied to the Fire engineering course. Harshini Kanhekar is the first woman to get admission to National Fire Service College in Nagpur. She is an inspiration for many women in India. 

Dr. Tessy Thomas 

Dr. Tessy Thomas is the Director-General (Aeronautical Systems) in India. She has designed the guidance scheme for long-range missile systems used in all Agni missiles. Dr. Thomas has contributed to various fields such as Guidance, Control, Inertial Navigation, Trajectory Simulation, and Mission Design. Dr. Tessy Thomas also leads a major project, AGNI-4, as Project Director for a state-of-the-art system with many innovative technologies for the first time and successfully flights tested and proven.