Insight: A Better India

Crime makes news in ways that good old-fashioned humanity does not. To counter this trend and showcase the lesser-known inspirational stories from India, two intrepid ISB alumni dreamed up “The Better India,” a website that offers small doses of optimism – stories where industrious people and communities bring about positive changes in the country.

Anuradha Kedia and Dhimant Parekh, the founders, from the Class of 2007, felt that such “happy stories” would be a perfect antidote to the sensationalism peddled by mainstream media though they acknowledge that the media “does a great job in creating awareness towards things that are not functioning in our country.” But at “The Better India” we learn that parts of the system can work – an abandoned poor girl can become the MLA of her province; little children can, and some do, share their birthday gifts with those that cannot afford such luxuries; waste paper can be transformed into educational material for the hearing impaired and rural women can benefit immensely from several initiatives. The founders hope for a ripple effect, that by reading such positive stories more people will be motivated into making a positive impact through their actions. It is hard to verify if their belief has indeed been vindicated but sometimes the stories have caused a surge of unexpected goodwill. Parekh recounts how an article soliciting help from readers for providing solar lamps to students in electricity-deficient Orissa received an overwhelming response and 1000 solar lamps were presented to the students.

Such positive news finds many fans and many followers – over 6000 on Facebook and 6000 on Twitter.

In talking about what motivates the duo into working continuously toward their goal, Parekh replies modestly, “We just wanted to be of better use to the society that has given us so much.”