New Delhi, Jan 25 The prestigious Padma awards announced on Saturday honoured at least 30 "unsung heroes" as their efforts towards bringing positive and productive changes to society and impacting the lives of the community were acknowledged and recognised.
Shaikha Sabah, a yoga practitioner from Kuwait, Maharashtra’s impaired homeopathy doctor Vilas Dangre, a social activist from Arunachal Pradesh working towards de-addiction were among many those who made it to the coveted Padma awards list this year.
Shaikha Sabah established 'Daratma', Kuwait’s first licensed yoga studio in the country while Vilas Dangre (70) is a visually impaired homoeopathy doctor who treats the under-privileged persons in Maharashtra.
Harvinder Singh, a para-archer from Haryana who became the first Indian to win a gold medal at Paralympic Games is also among the list of 30 Unsung Heroes.
Besides, Jonas Masetti, a spiritual leader from Brazil, instrumental in popularising Vedanta; Neerja Bhatla, a cervical cancer crusader and head of gyne and obstetrics department at AIIMS-New Delhi; Bhim Singh Bhavesh, a dedicated social worker from Bhojpur working for the uplift of Musahar community, one of society’s most marginalised group for the past 22 years through his foundation Nayee Asha (Bihar) have also been honoured.
There are also many others:
P. Dhatchanamoorthy, instrumental in specialising in Thavil, a classical percussion instrument vital to South Indian music and culture with over five decades of experience. (Puducherry).
L Hangthing, popular as fruit man, he is a farmer from Nolkak in Nagaland with over 30 years of expertise in cultivating non-native fruits (Nagaland).
Hugh and Colleen Gantzer -- the travel bloggers. The husband and wife duo are recognised for their contribution to Indian travel journalism for over five decades. (Uttarakhand).
Jagdish Joshila, an author in Nimadi and Hindi from Koregaon, founded the Nimadi prose literature and is the first Nimadi novelist (Madhya Pradesh).
Bheru Singh Chauhan, a prolific Nirgun folk singer rooted in the traditional Malvi folk style since age 9 rendering verses of Sant Kabir, Gorakhnath and Dadu (Madhya Pradesh).
Naren Gurung -- a versatile folk artist from Gangtok promoting Sikkimese Nepali folk music and dance traditions (Sikkim).
Hariman Sharma, an apple farmer from Bilaspur who developed a low-chilling apple variety which grows at low altitudes at 1800 feet above sea level, a first-of-its-kind innovation (Himachal Pradesh).
The list also includes:
Jumde Gamlin, who has been dedicatedly working towards de-addiction in Arunachal Pradesh.
Venkappa Sugatekar, a Gondhali folk maestro from a nomadic society in Karnataka.
Nirmal Devi, the oldest pioneer of Sujani embroidery from Bihar.
Joynacharan Bathari, aged 84 -- the senior-most flag bearer of Dimasa tribal art from Assam.
Suresh Soni, founder of Sahyog Kushtha Yagna Trust working for the care of leprosy patients from Gujarat.
Radha Bahin Bhatt, a leading Gandhian from Uttarakhand.
Pandi Ram Mandavi, 68-year-old master instrument maker and wood carver from the Gond Muria tribe has been bringing tribal melodies to life through his craft, from Chhattisgarh; Chaitram Pawar, conserved 400 hectares of forest, helping implement a Joint Forest Management in the 1990s and personally planted 5,000 trees from Maharashtra.
Vijayalakshmi Deshmane, a veteran cancer surgeon from Gulbarga in Karnataka.
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