Bhopal/Neemuch, April 19 -- He was just 10 when a policeman enquired about his father's name during a raid in his village. The question stung because he did not know who his father was. With the defiance only a child can muster, he, in return, asked the officer his father's name. The policeman's reply stayed with the boy: the uniform is his identity, not his father's name. On that day, he decided to join the police.

This is the story of a 24-year-old youth from the Banchhada community from Hadpipaliya, Manasa in Neemuch. He had to fight hard through school and college because, although his community falls under the Scheduled Caste (SC) category, getting a caste certificate without a father's name was difficult, given that his mother was ...