Making a Difference
by L. Romal Singh on 13th August, 2008

We all seem to love bad news, at least that’s what news surveys tell us. Every time we look at stories with the most coverage, they are usually ones that are the most violent. Media houses proclaim that bad news sells and channels and newspapers say that they are the only type of story that keeps their readerships balanced. How many of us agree? Not many. And that has been made obvious by a lot of negative responses media houses receive from time to time.

This is where thebetterindia.com steps in. The common man hates reading bad news every single day, and since there is no other option available, he just accepts what he gets as a mute spectator. Dhimant Parekh decided not to jump on that bandwagon and joined a few of his friends to start www.thebetterindia.com.

What’s different?

The website, that runs more like a blog aims to bring out ‘happy’ stories, highlight those who deserve credit and yet are often ignored, apart from progress that India makes when it comes to industry and economy.

Spearheaded by Dhimant Parekh, the website is updated regularly but with one motive keep the bad news out.

The articles are well chosen and diverse in content, and are quite an interesting read, refreshingly different sans all the violence.

The recent most post is on Prakash and Mandakini Amte winning the Magsaysay Award, something most publications in the country happily forgot.

The author’s say

“On a day-to-day basis we read our newspapers and magazines almost all of them devote their prime space to negative stories: stories of murder, arson, scandals and gossip. We however, found that hidden inside, in the deep annals of these publications are the happier stories: stories to use a clichéd phrase that kindle your heart and tell you that all is not lost. We decided to give these stories their due and that’s how this happened,” says Dhimant. “The Better India is an attempt to bring out these stories, those unsung heroes and heroines, those small good deeds, and showcase them to the world. We hope that by showcasing these here, we might be able to inspire at least one amongst our readers, to do something that leaves an impact,” adds Dhimant.

The blog has maintained this original dream and the stories that are chosen reflect this very hope in Dhimant.