 "Time names Sunita Narain as Pioneer on list of 100 most influential people")
Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people this year features three women from India, who come from diverse fields. The list, which was released on Thursday, includes environmental activist Sunita Narain, tennis ace Sania Mirza and actress Priyanka Chopra, besides others such as RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Flipkart founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal.
Narain, who was named a Pioneer, heads the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). "A paper that she co-authored in 1991 remains to this day the foundational charter of the global climate-justice movement," writes author Amitav Ghosh in her profile. The CSE, incidentally, was awarded this year by Business Standard as the Public Institution of the year.
Justifying her inclusion on the list, the profile says "She and the organisation that she heads, the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, have been campaigning to reduce the Indian capital's dangerous air-pollution levels for almost two decades. Despite resistance from many quarters, some of their key recommendations have been embraced by the courts." Describing Narain, also a Business Standard columnist, Ghosh writes, "Narain has also consistently opposed the kind of elite conservationism that blames environmental problems on the poor. Instead she has advocated policies that recognise India's forest dwellers and indigenous peoples as essential custodians of their environments." Mirza, who has been named under Icons, was recently awarded the Padma Bhushan.
In her profile, cricketing genius Sachin Tendulkar writes that her "confidence, strength and resilience reach beyond tennis" and she has inspired a generation of Indians to pursue their dreams "and to realise that they can also be the best". Tendulkar describes Mirza as an "inspiration" on the court and lauds her "dedication and willpower" to reinvent herself fully as a doubles player when her singles career was cut short by wrist injuries. Chopra, who features on the cover of Time magazine's Asia edition for the May 2 issue, has been named under Artists.
Narain, who was named a Pioneer, heads the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). "A paper that she co-authored in 1991 remains to this day the foundational charter of the global climate-justice movement," writes author Amitav Ghosh in her profile. The CSE, incidentally, was awarded this year by Business Standard as the Public Institution of the year.
Justifying her inclusion on the list, the profile says "She and the organisation that she heads, the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, have been campaigning to reduce the Indian capital's dangerous air-pollution levels for almost two decades. Despite resistance from many quarters, some of their key recommendations have been embraced by the courts." Describing Narain, also a Business Standard columnist, Ghosh writes, "Narain has also consistently opposed the kind of elite conservationism that blames environmental problems on the poor. Instead she has advocated policies that recognise India's forest dwellers and indigenous peoples as essential custodians of their environments." Mirza, who has been named under Icons, was recently awarded the Padma Bhushan.
In her profile, cricketing genius Sachin Tendulkar writes that her "confidence, strength and resilience reach beyond tennis" and she has inspired a generation of Indians to pursue their dreams "and to realise that they can also be the best". Tendulkar describes Mirza as an "inspiration" on the court and lauds her "dedication and willpower" to reinvent herself fully as a doubles player when her singles career was cut short by wrist injuries. Chopra, who features on the cover of Time magazine's Asia edition for the May 2 issue, has been named under Artists.