Despite having no training, or even a pair of running shoes, Ramabai Ranveer sprinted barefoot to victory in her first-ever race in August. The 47-year-old widow had entered a 3km (1.86-mile) community run with a single goal: winning the prize money to help pay for her two daughters’ education. When she crossed the finish line first, Ramabai from Maharashtra in western India was delighted. The 3,000-rupee ($31; £23) prize would help her buy books and study materials for her daughters.
It was not much money. It would not come close to covering the cost of higher education in India, or even a course at the coaching centre where one of her daughters is preparing for a government recruitment examination. But videos of her barefoot run spread rapidly on social media and in newspapers, striking a nerve as India’s education system faces unusual scrutiny. “Is it glory or a source of shame for us as a society?” one social media user remarked.
Soon, a woman who had never imagined becoming a runner was being held up as a symbol of something much bigger: the extraordinary lengths some Indian families go to in the hope that education will give their children a better life. For Ramabai, the decision to run was simple. “My elder daughter came to me early in the morning and said, ‘Mummy, I want to take part in a running race’,” she told BBC News Marathi from her home in Beed district. “I asked her where it was and she said it was nearby.
She told me that if she won the prize money, it would help with her education.” Her younger daughter, Arati, lives in Nanded and was struggling to afford books. “I couldn’t send her money to buy books and because of that she didn’t speak to me on the phone for eight days,” Ramabai said. “So I decided I had to run and win the race.” When her slippers kept slipping off, she removed them, gathered her sari and ran barefoot, pulling ahead to win the women’s 30-60 category. Her elder daughter, Pooja, also won a prize after finishing second in her age group.
But she reserved her praise for her mother, describing her as courageous. Ramabai has been the family’s sole provider since her husband died in 2012. “I did whatever work I could find,” she said. “I picked soybeans and chickpeas in other people’s fields.
I also collected turmeric, processed it and sold it.” She left school when she was 13. Her daughters, she says, should have the opportunities she never had. “I believe that as long as I am alive, I should do everything I can to give my daughters a good education.” That aspiration is shared by millions of Indian families. But getting a child through the education system and into a secure career can involve years of preparation, intense competition and, for many families, considerable expense.
One of Ramabai’s daughters is preparing for police recruitment and the other for the civil services – two fiercely competitive routes into the security and social status associated with a coveted and secure government job. Millions of young Indians spend years preparing for such examinations, often paying for coaching and study materials. But faith in the system has been shaken by repeated allegations of question-paper leaks and other irregularities. The controversies have fed a wider sense of frustration among young Indians over education, jobs and the increasingly uncertain promise of a secure future.
That frustration has also fuelled student-led protests and youth movements demanding changes to India’s education system. For families such as Ramabai’s, education is something they make sacrifices for every day. After her husband’s death, she took whatever work she could find. She now cooks at the coaching centre where one of her daughters prepares for police recruitment.
Ramabai’s run also drew the attention of authorities. Earlier this month, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant directed local officials to provide her with financial assistance of 50,000 rupees. But Sukhadeo Thorat, a former chairman of the University Grants Commission, says the family’s story points to broader structural challenges. “If a woman is compelled to struggle so hard for her daughters’ education, it shows that government education schemes are not reaching people adequately,” he said.
“Both the central and state governments run a variety of schemes. The problem is that implementation remains weak.” For Ramabai, though, the debate is secondary. What matters most is ensuring her daughters have a better future. “I don’t want them to go through the hardships I have faced,” she said.
“I don’t want them to struggle through mud or travel under the scorching sun and rain. Whatever I have suffered, I don’t want my daughters to suffer the same.” Additional reporting by Laignee Barron. Follow BBC News India on Instagram, external, YouTube,, external X, external and Facebook, external.
