Mum's viral barefoot race sparks debate over India's education crisis

Despite having no training, or even a pair of running shoes, Ramabai Ranveer sprinted barefoot to victory in her first-ever race in August.

The 47-year-old widow had entered a 3km (1.86-mile) community run with a single goal: winning the prize money to help pay for her two daughters' education.

When she crossed the finish line first, Ramabai from Maharashtra in western India was delighted. The 3,000-rupee ($31; £23) prize would help her buy books and study materials for her daughters.

It was not much money. It would not come close to covering the cost of higher education in India, or even a course at the coaching centre where one of her daughters is preparing for a government recruitment examination.

But videos of her barefoot run spread rapidly on social media and in newspapers, striking a nerve as India's education system faces unusual scrutiny.

"Is it glory or a source of shame for us as a society?" one social media user remarked.

Soon, a woman who had never imagined becoming a runner was being held up as a symbol of something much bigger: the extraordinary lengths some Indian families go to in the hope that education will give their children a better life.

"My elder daughter came to me early in the morning and said, 'Mummy, I want to take part in a running race'," she told BBC News Marathi from her home in Beed district.