Bravehearts who made the year worth living

DNA readers salute four brave people who stood up to tough situations in life, unmindful of consequences, and did just what they felt was right.

Manjunathan: Ran in to the oil-adulteration mafia. Could've kept quiet, for fear or favour. Chose to blow their lid-off, fully aware of the consequences. Paid with his life.

A rare example of honesty

Manjunath was one of the greatest men who tried to fight the oil-mafia and paid a heavy price for it. He has set a rare example of honesty and integrity that the nation can emulate. He did not sacrifice his life saving his dear ones, but for what believed is right. I salute such a brave and honest person.— Jayesh Kelkar/Andheri

I salute this great person

The general public in India tend to be silent even if they know that justice is being denied or injustice is being committed. I salute this great person who lost his life making an attempt to fight against oil adulteration mafia. What happened is very sad and no other whistleblower should meet the same fate. — Sudeep M/Goregaon

Highlight his sacrifice

Instead of carrying substandard and useless news, the media should highlight Manjunath's sacrifice. The news channels must carry a special feature on him so that the people realise the worth of the sacrifice he made for the sake of the common man.  He is one of the unsung heroes of India — Lalita Shah/Mahim

We need more Manjunaths

Why is it that it’s always the whistleblower who is killed and culprits always manage to evade punishment? If there would have been one Manjunath for every 10 people in India, our country would have been a much better place to live in. We will never forget him and his  valiant sacrifice. — Suraj Shetty/Mira Road

Hang the culprits, finish the oil-mafia

Manjunath was the veer yoddha who dared to fight against injustice. The people who murdered him should be treated with the most severe punishment possible. We should never forget his sacrifice and must finish the oil-mafia which he fought against. That would be a fitting tribute to the great man. — Feroz Khan/Andheri

Anil Savne: Was returning from work when he saw two men threatening a young woman doctor at gunpoint. He jumped in and saved the doctor from the carjackers. Anil took a bullet in the jaw but ensured the woman is safe.

He could have run

Sometimes you wonder that those days are gone where people died for their country and where people had faith in something. Then suddenly people like Savne show us that bravery still exists and people still give their lives for the safety of others. If he wanted he could have run away and saved his skin, but he fulfilled his duty of being a human being and saved the doctor from the clutches of thieves. This is just mindblowing and I feel that he should be felicitated with a bravery award.— Sarang Pandit/Mira Road

He’s an inspiration

We have heard the word humanism in our life several times but have hardly come across the concept in any person.

But Savne is a real life example of a selfless person who did not think once of the consequences and bravely stood in the line of fire to save a woman.  We all should learn something from you sir. — Prasshant Dedhia/ Vashi

Real life hero

In today's world all of us, including you and me, think only of ourselves. There are very few who come forward to help others. They are real life heroes like Savne. — Pulomi Sathe/Khar

In this material world...

Anil Savne is like a lotus in a pond. In a world full of selfish people this one man shines out. We should all take a lesson or two from him. These are things that we should aim for and not frivolous thing like money and fame.— Kiran Gowde/ Virar

Need more such men

Hats off to Savne who did not fear for his life. I wish we have more people like him and I wish people would change their attitude towards these types of incidents. — Radhika Bhatt/Chembur

Mukhtaran Mai: This Pakistani woman was gang raped to avenge her brother's alleged affair. Despite presidential censure and threats to her life, she fights on giving hope to women world over

Woman of substance

Thanks to her courage, the tradition of silence about rape has been broken and giving hope to several victims who have kept quiet out of fear that society will shun them. Women across the world will now realise that their silence allows the rapist to lead a free life and ruin the life of another innocent woman. — Sameer Duggal/Ghathkopar

A beacon of hope

She has become a beacon of hope for many women who never had the courage to stand up for themselves. She has shown the world that women will no longer succumb to brutality for the sake of society.

Despite being from a conservative country like Pakistan she has broken all rules and spoke out against the injustice meted out to her. — Kalika Chandran/Lower Parel

She fought for her honour

By taking the bold initiative of fighting against the 13 men, who raped her for personal vendetta, Mukhtaran has made sure that every man is afraid to even think about something as loathsome as this. She has ensured that all rape victims can lead a respectful life. — Vipul Niwade/Thane

She stands for courage

She has shown how a woman can fight injustice. She is an inspiration to women who are treated unfairly. She  represents not only rape victims, but all women who, at every juncture have been side-stepped by men. — Mohnish Goel/Andheri

Kuldeep Singh: DTC driver was alerted about a bomb on his bus. He evacuated 66 passengers and was seriously injured while trying to dispose the bomb

He is the real hero

Kuldeep Singh is the real hero of our country. He saved the life of dozens of people who were travelling on the bus. He was hurt in the process but has won the hearts of millions people in India. — Narayan Iyer/Bandra

Great presence of mind

I cannot imagine how bad the tragedy would have been had it not been for this brave person. He showed a good presence of mind and saved so many people. — Ravikant Prassanna/Thane

Deserves an award

Kuldip is one brave man who should be felicitated with a bravery award.

There are very few people in India who would put their life in danger to save the lives of other people. We salute him. — Jamil Shaikh/Santacruz