As Republic Day approaches, we are revisiting young changemakers from campuses across India who are living the Fundamental Duties of our Constitution through action, curiosity, service, creativity, and care for people and the planet. 

These stories lead into Better Campus, our upcoming series spotlighting meaningful student-led impact across the country. If you are building something purposeful on your campus, write to us at [email protected].

Sadham Usean Ramasamy, a PhD scholar from IIT-Madras, distinctly remembers the circumstances behind the tragic death of two-year-old Sujith Wilson, who fell into an abandoned and deep borewell in a village near Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, on 26 October 2019. 

The incident took place near the child’s house in Nadukattupatti village on the previous evening while his mother was tending to his elder brother. Authorities soon commenced their rescue, which went on for more than 80 hours, given the interruptions caused by rain. 

This wasn’t the first time a child had fallen inside the borewell, but the operation to rescue Sujith went viral on social media and mainstream news outlets. Despite many praying for his safety, the child was confirmed dead by the authorities in the wee hours of 30 October. 

Following his last rites, celebrities and politicians across India offered their condolences to the family and paid tribute to the young child. It’s an episode that never left Sadham’s mind, and everyday, he would discuss it with a professor from the institute’s mechanical engineering and his first mentor, the late Professor BVSSS Prasad. 

Today, the PhD scholar has invented a tool called the Inflatable Borewell Rescue........

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