New Delhi, January 26: Eighty-four-year-old Jagdish Lal Ahuja who serves free food daily to hundreds of poor patients and attendants outside PGIMER Chandigarh and Arunoday Mondal, a doctor who travels six hours every weekend to treat patients in remote Sundarban villages, are among the 21 unsung heroes who have been honoured with the Padma Shri Awards 2020. Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and George Fernandes to be Awarded Padma Vibhushan 2020 Posthumously, Here's The Full List of Awardees.
The awardees were announced on the eve of the Republic Day by the Ministry of Home Affairs. As many as 118 people have been selected for Padma Shri awards this year. Padma Awards 2020: Manohar Parrikar, Anand Mahindra, Srinivasan Among 16 Citizens to Get Padma Bhushan.
Jagdish Lal Ahuja Honoured With Padma Shri:
Jagdish Lal Ahuja wins Padma Shri for selflessly organising langars for poor patients daily for two decades pic.twitter.com/cIcq3azWef
— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 25, 2020
The list also includes Mohammed Sharif who has performed the last rites of over 25,000 unclaimed bodies in and around Faizabad over the past 25 years. A bicycle mechanic by profession, Sharif struggles to make ends meet. However, he has never let his personal struggles come in the way of pursuing his cause.
Mohammed Sharif Honoured with Padma Shri
Mohammed Sharif, a bicycle mechanic who has been performing the last rites of thousands of unclaimed dead bodies for the last 25 years wins Padma Shri pic.twitter.com/Mrekk7oC9z
— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 25, 2020
Some of the other awardees who are being honoured for their unique contributions are 72-year-old Tulasi Gowda from Karnataka, a social worker known as the 'Encyclopedia of Forest' due to her vast knowledge of diverse species of plants and herbs - despite not having any formal education. Despite growing up in poverty amongst the backward community, she has planted and nurtured thousands of trees over the past 60 years.
Tulasi Gowda Honoured with Padma Shri
Tulasi Gowda wins Padma Shri for having diverse knowledge of plants and herbs despite not having formal education pic.twitter.com/fnU6MKdBeE
— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 25, 2020
Tulasi Gowda wins Padma Shri for having diverse knowledge of plants and herbs despite not having formal education pic.twitter.com/fnU6MKdBeE
— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 25, 2020
Abdul Jabbar, known as 'Voice of Bhopal' will be awarded for having "fought for fair treatment and rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas Tragedy survivors for over 3 decades".
Abdul Jabbar Honoured With Padma Shri
Abdul Jabbar
Padma Shri | Social Work (Service) | Madhya Pradesh pic.twitter.com/1qRrH8TRYs
— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 25, 2020
61-year-old Munna Master is a Bhajan singer from a traditional Muslim family of Bagaru in Jaipur district, carrying forward the family tradition of singing Ram-Krishna bhajans.
Munna Master Honoured with Padma Shri
Munna Master
Padma Shri | Art (Vocals - Bhajan) | Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/vR6nQ7PdI1
— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 25, 2020
Usha Chaumar from Rajasthan, a 53-year-old social worker is a Dalit woman whose life is an embodiment of strong will and empowerment - one who was helpless herself has now become the voice of countless.
Usha Chaumar Honoured with Padma Shri
Usha Chaumar
Padma Shri | Social Work (Sanitation) | Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/31tpXgl2YD
— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 25, 2020
Radha Mohan and his daughter Sabarmatee, both Gandhians, have converted a piece of degraded land into a vast food forest in Odisha by using only organic techniques are among the Padma Shri awardees.
Radha Mohan and his daughter Sabarmatee Honoured with Padma Shri
Radha Mohan & Sabarmatee
Padma Shri | Others (Agriculture - Organic) | Odisha pic.twitter.com/kE1MUnJ35r
— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 25, 2020
'Uncle Moosa of Arunachal', 69-year-old Sathyanarayan Mundayoor, working in the field of Affordable Education has been promoting education and reading culture in remote areas of remote Arunachal Pradesh for four decades.
Sathyanarayan Mundayoor Honoured With Padma Shri
Sathyanarayan Mundayoor
Padma Shri | Social Work (Affordable Education) | Arunachal Pradesh pic.twitter.com/OychgWWXMx
— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 25, 2020
Popatrao Pawar from Maharashtra will be awarded for transforming "a drought-prone village into a green model village".
Popatrao Pawar Honoured with Padma Shri
Popatrao Pawar
Padma Shri | Social Work (Water) | Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/trJMeETZkI
— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 25, 2020
Kushal Konwar Sarma from Assam, who earned the sobriquet "Haathi ka Saathi" will be awarded for "extraordinary elephant doctor helping of Asia's Endangered".
Kushal Konwar Sarma Honoured With Padma Shri
Kushal Konwar Sarma
Padma Shri | Medicine (Veterinary) | Assam pic.twitter.com/uPKGjLeO5x
— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 25, 2020
52-year-old Trinity Saioo from Meghalaya is a school teacher and tribal farmer who led 800 women in the Jaintia Hills regions to cultivate and boost the popularity of the indigenous, high curcumin content Lakadong variety of Turmeric.
Trinity Saioo Honoured With Padma Shri
Trinity Saioo
Padma Shri | Others (Agriculture - Organic) | Meghalaya pic.twitter.com/lzHdfziXiY
— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 25, 2020
Also among the Padma Shri awardees is S Ramakrishnan from Tamil Nadu, a neck-down fully paralyzed social worker who has risen as one of India's biggest names in the rehabilitation of divyang people.