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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Indian students strike gold

Mumbai: India’s brightest young scientific minds have once again proven their mettle on the global stage, securing exceptional medal hauls at two of the world’s most prestigious science competitions for secondary school students. Showcasing unprecedented academic prowess, the Indian delegation brought home a historic all-gold sweep at the 58th International Chemistry Olympiad in Uzbekistan, alongside an impressive haul of one gold and three silver medals at the 37th International Biology...

Indian students strike gold

Mumbai: India’s brightest young scientific minds have once again proven their mettle on the global stage, securing exceptional medal hauls at two of the world’s most prestigious science competitions for secondary school students. Showcasing unprecedented academic prowess, the Indian delegation brought home a historic all-gold sweep at the 58th International Chemistry Olympiad in Uzbekistan, alongside an impressive haul of one gold and three silver medals at the 37th International Biology Olympiad in Lithuania. These stellar performances cement India’s position as a powerhouse of STEM talent, reflecting the rigorous training and dedication cultivated by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) and a nationwide network of educators, said national coordinator of Science Olympiads Prof. Anwesh Mazumdar. In a landmark achievement, all four students representing India at the International Chemistry Olympiad, held in Tashkent from July 10 to 19, bagged gold medals. This marks India’s first-ever all-gold sweep in the history of the competition. The victorious quartet includes Debadatta Priyadarshi from Bhubaneswar, Harshit Singla from Mandi Gobindgarh, Kabeer Chillar from Delhi, and Sandeep Kuchi from Hyderabad. This year’s event was the largest to date, featuring 363 students from 93 countries. India’s flawless performance tied the nation for the top spot in the country-wise medals tally, sharing the first position with China, Vietnam, and an individual participant from Russia. The students navigated highly complex experimental and theoretical tasks, including decoding the composition of historical and natural artifacts, calculating the mass of uranium used in a 1966 detonation, and performing advanced pH-metric titrations. The team was guided by Head Mentor Professor Subhajit Bandyopadhyay, Mentor Dr. Indrani Sen, and Scientific Observers Dr. Anubendu Adhikary and Dr. Jayasree Gopalakrishnan. Running concurrently in Vilnius from July 12 to 19, the International Biology Olympiad saw the Indian team secure one gold and three silver medals against a highly competitive field of 307 students from 78 nations. Bhavyaa Gunwal from Mahendragarh clinched the gold medal, while Soumil Maity from Howrah, Nishit Kalani from Pali, and Anmol Kumar from Mansa each brought home silver. The biology competition pushed the boundaries of secondary education with a gruelling six-hour theoretical exam and an intensive six-hour practical laboratory test designed by the Vilnius University Life Sciences Centre. In the labs, students executed complex molecular biology tasks like restriction digestion, evaluated the pharmacokinetics of aspirin, performed precise insect morphology dissections, and utilized cutting-edge digital software for plant transcriptome analysis. The delegation was led by Professor Rekha Vartak and Dr. Anupama Ronad, alongside Scientific Observers Dr. Ranjithsinh Devkar and Dr. Siddhesh Ghag.

The Power of Her

Updated: Mar 3, 2025

‘The Perfect Voice’ celebrates strong, trailblazers in this series with stories of women who brave battles every day that serve as an inspiration to the next generation. We have daughters fulfilling their parent’s dreams, victims of domestic abuse rebuilding their lives and professionals dealing with the famous ‘mom guilt’.

Part 1

The Fight for Justice

Vaibhavi Deshmukh, Beed


Vaibhavi Deshmukh

In Beed district, Vaibhavi Deshmukh, 17, is fighting for justice for her slain father while balancing studies and home with a dream to become a doctor.


At a time when most teenagers her age were poring over their books to prepare for the Higher Secondary Board (HSC) examinations, Vaibhavi Deshmukh could barely find the time to study. She was leading the protests to demand justice for her father—Santosh Deshmukh—whose brutal murder shook Maharashtra. “You all know what happened to my father. He was brutally murdered. I ask you to remain with us and ensure justice is done,” said Vaibhavi, her voice resonating with the pain and determination shared by the crowd.


At 17, she’s been thrown into the centre of massive protests following her father’s murder. Her father was the sarpanch of Massajog village who was murdered on December 9 last year allegedly at the behest of a “politically powerful” person of Beed district.


As the protest spread Vaibhavi boldly faced the mob. Fighting back tears, she has been boldly addressing every gathering, sharing the immense loss and anguish her family has endured since her father’s death. “The pain of losing him is unbearable. My father was a man of principles who always stood for justice. We will not rest until those who did this to him are held accountable. I consider all of you part of our family now, and together, we must ensure this never happens to anyone again,” she declared, her words drawing applause and chants of solidarity.


Recently Vaibhavi appeared for the HSC exam pledging to fulfil father’s dream for her to become a doctor. Despite limited study due to involvement in protests for justice she remains determined. “My father gave his life for justice. He was doing social work and stood for the rights of the people. Now, we demand the same justice for him. Please ensure no one meets a similar fate,” was her emotional plea at a recent rally.


The situation and circumstances have forced the teenager to become stronger, almost overnight. She juggles multiple responsibilities—her studies, her distraught family members, protests, visits of political leaders, media and queries from the investigators. Her brother Viraj has also joined her in the 'Akrosh Morcha'.


While addressing this huge Akrosh Morcha, Vaibhavi made an emotional appeal and said the government must ensure justice for her family. "I am a granddaughter of this soil from Wala village in Renapur tehsil. Stand with us in our fight for justice. May no family face the tragedy we have endured? My father prioritised the welfare of the community over his family and was even honoured with awards for his contributions to the Gram Panchayat. The government must ensure that we get justice and arrest the accused without delay," she stated.


The tears rolling down her cheeks are proof of the deep pain she’s braving but Vaibhavi isn’t one to sit back until the culprits are punished. Fearless, she accuses the authorities of hypocrisy. She said her family had been assured that her father’s killers would be brought to book; instead, the alleged mastermind of his murder, Walmik Karad, had been admitted to a hospital in Beed, where he had been shifted from jail. While doing so, why didn’t you think of my father, who was tortured before being killed?” Vaibhavi said that if the accused had not killed her father after torturing him, he would have been alive today. With a heavy heart, she said, “He would have been with us.” She demanded, “Give justice to my father and name those who are helping the main accused in the murder as co-accused”.


Watching Vaibhavi reminds one of Nisha Pahuja's documentary, 'To Kill A Tiger' which was nominated for the Oscars. Based on a real-life account of a farmer in Jharkhand, it’s the story of a father’s courageous pursuit of justice for his 13-year-old daughter. Here, in Maharashtra’s Beed district, a brave young daughter is relentlessly fighting to avenge her father’s murder. “My dad’s blood is on their hands. I will fight till I get to the end,” she vows.

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