The list include about 20 unusual names who have defied odds, virtually single-handedly, to contribute to society in their own manner
Making a departure from the usual practice of giving honours to the who's who and pushers, President Pranab Mukherjee will confer the prestigious civilian award – Padma Shri – to several unsung heroes who are doing their job silently and selflessly in remote corners of the country.
The list include about 20 unusual names who have defied odds, virtually single-handedly, to contribute to society in their own manner. Some of them are:
Granny with a Sword: Meenakshi Amma, 76, is a Kalaripayattu (indigenous martial art) exponent from Kerala. She first took to the arena at the age of seven and since then has dedicated her life to it.
Tree Man: Daripalli Ramaiah, 68, a commoner from Telagana has planted over 1 crore trees, and is lovingly called Chetla Ramaiah, the tree man.
Doctor Dadi: Dr Bhakti Yadav, 91, gynaecologist from Madhya Pradesh, has helped deliver over 1,000 babies free of cost during a career spanning over 68 years.
Agni Rakshak: Bipin Ganatra, 59, volunteer firefighter of Kolkata for the last 40 years. He decided to save people after losing his brother to a fire.
Ambulance Dada: Karimul Haq, 52, a tea garden worker who converted his bike into an ambulance, offering free 24X7 service in badly connected areas of Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. Has helped save over 300 lives.
Saviour Mother: Anuradha Koirala, 67, a Nepalese citizen, she has rescued and rehabilitated 12,000 sex trafficking victims and prevented over 45,000 from being trafficked.
Eco Baba: Balbir Singh Seechewal, 51, who resurrected a 160-km-long river Kali Bein in Punjab by mobilising local volunteers and developing Seechewal model of underground sewerage system.
Nightingale of Halakki: Sukri Bommagowda, an indigenous folk singer, who has led a protest against the sale of liquor from Badigeri Haadi hamlet for the last 58 years through her powerful songs.
Some other notable names who will receive Padma Shri in March this year are cricketer Virat Kohli, and gymnast Dipa Karmakar who came fourth in Rio Olympics. Founder of EdX, online education platform, Anant Agarwal, winner of Bronze medal in wrestling at Rio, Sakshi Malik, captain of the Indian blind cricket team, Shekhar Naik, who led India to victory in the first T20 world Cup in 2012 and ODI cup in 2014.
However, for the country's second highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan, the government has chosen four politicians - Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, BJP veteran MM Joshi, BJP politician and former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, late Sunder Lal Patwa and former Speaker of the Lok Sabha and former chief minister of Meghalaya late PA Sangma, who defected from the Congress along with Pawar on Sonia Gandhi's citizenship issue and first joined NCP and later formed his own party, NPP.
Among three gurus chosen for the Padma awards are Jaggi Vasudev, a votary of PM Modi's policies, who will be conferred Padma Bhushan. Ratnasundar Maharaj of Gujarat and Yoga Guru Niranjana Nanda Saraswati from Bihar will receive the Padma Bhushan. The government has chosen two Sanskrit scholars -- Prof. Devi Prasad Dwivedi from PM Modi's constituency Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand for Padma Bhushan.
The other notable names for Padma Vibhushan are Prof Udipi Ramchandra Rao, former chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for his exemplary work in Science and Engineering and famous playback singer from Kerala KJ Yesudas.
Prof Rao was instrumental in establishing the satellite industry in India in 1972. He oversaw the design and launch of over 18 satellites for communication, remote sensing and meteorological service purposes, beginning with the first Indian satellite Aryabhata in 1975.
Satirist journalist from Tamil Nadu, late Cho Ramaswamy and Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt from Rajasthan, will also be conferred Padma Bhushan. The government this year has not named anyone for Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award.
Among the Padma awardees, 19 are women, five from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and six posthumous awardees.
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