30 unsung heroes among 113 to receive Padma Shri awards

30 unsung heroes among 113 to receive Padma Shri awards

30 unsung heroes among 113 to receive Padma Shri awards ByNeeraj Chauhan, New Delhi Jan 26, 2025 04:49 AM IST Share Via Copy Link The Union government on Saturday announced 113 awardees for the Padma Shri including 30 unsung heroes for their exemplary achievements in diverse fields

The Union government on Saturday announced 113 awardees for the Padma Shri, the country’s fourth highest civilian award, including 30 unsung heroes for their exemplary achievements in diverse fields ranging from folk music, yoga to sports.

A foreign national picked for the prestigious award is Jonas Masetti (43), a Brazil-based mechanical engineer-turned-Hindu spiritual leader, who promoted Indian spirituality, philosophy and culture. (HT)

The list of unsung heroes include 102-year-old Libia Lobo Sardesai, who played a pivotal role in Goa’s liberation from Portugese colonial rule. Lobo had co-founded the underground radio station ‘Voz Da Liberdade’ (voice of freedom) wither her husband Vaman Sardesai in 1955, broadcasting anti-colonial and pro-liberation messages in secret. She was the first female lawyer in the courts of Goa and played a key role in shaping the state’s tourism industry as its first tourism director.

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Para-archer Harvinder Singh (33), who won a gold at the 2024 Paris Paralympics and bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralymics, will also receive the Padma Shri. Fondly called as Kaithal ka Eklavya, the Paralympian is also the world number one in Recurve Men Open discipline.

Shaikha AJ Al Sabah (48), a yoga practitioner who founded Kuwait’s first licensed Yoga studio, will also be awarded the Padma Shri for promoting the spiritual discipline in the Gulf region. Another foreign national picked for the prestigious award is Jonas Masetti (43), a Brazil-based mechanical engineer-turned-Hindu spiritual leader, who promoted Indian spirituality, philosophy and culture.

Those honoured from the field of arts this year include Sally Holkar (82), a veteran social entrepreneur from Khargone, who devoted over five decades to revitalise the 300-year-old Maheshwari handloom industry; Naren Gurung (70), a versatile folk artist from Gangtok promoting Sikkimese-Nepali folk music and dance traditions; Pandi Ram Mandavi, a 68-year-old master instrument maker and wood carver from the Gond Muria tribe in Chhattisgarh; and Madhya Pradesh’s prolific Nirgun folk singer, Bheru Singh Chouhan (63), who devoted five decades to bhajan music rooted in the traditional Malvi folk style.

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Other artists named for the Padma Shri were Gondhali folk maestro Venkappa Ambaji Sugatekar (81) from Karnataka. Known as the ‘Bhishma’ of Gondhali music and storytelling, Sugatekar sang over 1,000 Gondhali songs. P Datchanamoorthy (68), an instrumentalist from Puducherry specialising in Thavil –– a classical percussion instrument vital to South Indian music and culture –– will also receive the prestigious award.

Besides, master puppeteer, Bhimavva Doddabalappa Shillekyathara (96), from Karnataka, who has been performing the traditional Togalu Gombeyaata (leather) puppetry for the past 70 years; Parmar Lavjibhai Nagjibhai (64), a weaver from Dangasia comunity of Surendranagar in Gujarat; and Joynacharan Bathari (84), the senior-most flag bearer of Dimasa tribal folk music in Assam are some of the other recipients. The oldest pioneer of Sujani embroidery, Nirmala Devi (75) from Bihar, has also been picked for the award for reviving the traditional needle work art in the state.

The Padma Shri list also includes: Neerja Bhatla, a Delhi-based gynecologist specialising in cervical cancer detection and prevention; Bhim Singh Bhavesh, a social worker from Bhojpur known for supporting the marginalized Musahar community through his foundation Nayee Asha; Radha Bahin Bhatt (91), known for empowering women in Uttarakhand; Vilas Dangre (70), a visually impaired homeopathic doctor who has dedicated over 50 years treating economically weaker section patients at nominal cost in Maharashtra; Jumde Yomgam Gamlin for her efforts on deaddiction in Arunachal Pradesh; and Hugh and Collen Gantzer, a travel blogger couple who have reported extensively on India’s tourism for five decades.