The character arc of Sunitha Krishnan
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born in 1972 in Bangalore to Palakkad Malayali parents. Between then and now sit a childhood spent travelling the country with a father who made maps for it, dance classes taught to mentally disabled children at the age of eight, schools run in slums at twelve, a literacy campaign at fifteen and an attack by eight men intended to stop her, a permanent injury to her hearing, a degree in environmental sciences, a masters in social work, a housing rights campaign that stalled a bulldozer, and an organisation that rescues and rehabilitates trafficked women. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Sunitha Krishnan?
Eight men tried to stop her at fifteen. She has not stopped since.
She was born in Bangalore, and because her father worked for the department that makes the maps of India she saw most of the country early, moving from place to place. She started early on the rest of it too. At eight she was teaching dance to mentally disabled children. By twelve she was running schools in slums for children who had none.
At fifteen, while working on a neo-literacy campaign for the Dalit community, she was gang raped by eight men. The record is explicit about why: they did not like that a woman was interfering with what they claimed as a man society. They beat her so badly that she is partially deaf in one ear. That attack, the record says, served as the impetus for what she does today.
She went to Central Government Schools in Bangalore and Bhutan, took a bachelors degree in environmental sciences from St Joseph College in Bangalore, and completed a masters in social work, in medical and psychiatric social work, at Mangalore.
She moved to Hyderabad to coordinate a programme for young women, and got drawn into the housing problems of people living in slums. When the homes of people living along the city river were due to be bulldozed for a beautification project, she joined a housing rights campaign, organised protests and stalled the scheme. It is worth noting the pattern: she keeps ending up standing between somebody powerful and somebody who has nothing.
In Hyderabad she met Brother Jose Vetticatil, and with him co-founded Prajwala, the organisation she still runs as chief functionary. It rescues victims of sex trafficking, rehabilitates them and works to reintegrate them into society, which is three separate hard jobs rather than one. In 2016 she was awarded the Padma Shri, India fourth highest civilian award.
The moments
Sunitha Krishnan's timeline.
The 1970s
Born in Bangalore
Everyday. A childhood spent travelling with a man who mapped the country.
The 1980s
Teaching dance at eight
Milestone, and it changed everything. Eight years old, and running a dance class.
Schools in slums at twelve
Milestone, and it changed everything. Twelve, and running schools.
Eight men, at fifteen
Setback, and it changed everything. They attacked her because she was a woman doing the work.
Stop, or keep going
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: carry on with the work, taken, or step back from it. She took two degrees, stalled a demolition, co-founded Prajwala, and was given the Padma Shri.
The impetus for everything after
Milestone, and it changed everything. The record says plainly what it turned into.
The 1990s
Environmental sciences
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Schools in two countries, then a science degree.
A masters in social work
Milestone, and it changed everything. She went and got qualified for the work she was already doing.
Hyderabad
Milestone, and it changed her direction. A new city, and a programme for young women.
She stops the bulldozers
Milestone, and it changed everything. A beautification scheme, stopped.
She meets Jose Vetticatil
Milestone, and it changed everything. The meeting that produced the organisation.
Prajwala
Milestone, and it changed everything. Rescue, rehabilitate, reintegrate: three hard jobs, not one.
The 2010s
The Padma Shri
Milestone, and it changed everything. Her country, thirty years on, saying so.
Prajwala is still rescuing, still rehabilitating, still trying to get women back into a society that would rather not have them back. What she set moving began with a child of eight teaching a dance class, and eight men decided that was worth attacking her over, and they were wrong about what that would achieve.
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Sunitha Krishnan: frequently asked questions
What people ask about her line.
What is Sunitha Krishnan's character arc?
What is Prajwala, co-founded by Sunitha Krishnan?
What happened to Sunitha Krishnan at fifteen?
What did Sunitha Krishnan do as a child?
What did Sunitha Krishnan study?
What award has Sunitha Krishnan received?
Where does this timeline of Sunitha Krishnan's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with her.
Sources
- Sunitha Krishnan, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- The record of Prajwala, which she co-founded and runs.
- The Padma Shri citation of 2016.
- Her own public account of the attack at fifteen, as summarised there.