* A 76-year-old retired Army doctor from Jabalpur who has been treating the underprivileged for the last 50 years. * A 79-year-old social worker from Andhra Pradesh’s Kakinada, who lost his wife and two children in the 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing and has since dedicated his life to free medical treatment others. * A 98-year-old self-sustained organic farmer from Sikkim who began practicing traditional agriculture long before the state government launched its organic mission. * A 54-year-old wood carver from Gond tribal community in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker who has rehabilitated former Maoist cadres by teaching them the art. These are among more than a dozen people who have been conferred Padma Awards this year for their years of quiet contribution in the field of social work, or for preserving endangered traditional arts of India. According to the citation of the awardees, Munishwar Chander Dawar (76), who served in the Army as doctor in 1971 war, has been honoured with Padma Shri in medicine (affordable healthcare). “He started selflessly treating the poor.at an affordable price of Rs 20 up from Rs two in 2010,” the citation states. On June 23, 1985, a bomb exploded aboard an Air India flight in which 329 passengers and crew were killed. Sankurathri Chandra Sekhar, a Kakinada-based social worker, lost his wife and two children. “After losing his family, he channelised his grief into a lifelong commitment towards betterment of society. He is instrumental in the treatment of over three lakh eye-patients, with 90 percent surgeries are free,” the citation says. Padma Shri in the category of medicine (physician) went to Ratan Chandra Kar, 66, a retired government doctor from Andaman and Nicobar Islands. “He is working with the Jarawa tribe.and treated Jarawas during the Measles epidemic of 1999. He brought them back from the verge of extinction and contributed to an increase in population from 76 to 270.” the citation states. For working in Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected areas, the government has honoured Ajay Kumar Mandavi (54) and Parshuram Komaji Khune (70). “Ajay has actively rehabilitated misguided people in LWE-affected regions by teaching them the art of wood calligraphy and helped around 400 youth to get livelihood through his help group, Shanta Art Group. Khune is Zadipatti Rangbhumi artist from Gadchiroli and played 800 different roles in more than 5,000 drama shows.He worked for rehabilitation of misguided youth in LWE-affected areas by engaging them in folk culture.” the citation says. For social work, the honour went to Hirabai Lobi, a Siddi tribal social worker who has dedicated her life for betterment of the Siddi community in Gujarat. Mangala Kanti Roy, 102, one of the oldest folk musicians and a Sarinda player from Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, got Padma Shri for folk music. “Roy is popular for producing unique bird calls through Sarinda and also promoting the instrument for eight decades,” the citation records. Then there is Tula Ram Upreti, 98, a self-sustained small farmer from Sikkim who practises organic farming using only traditional methods. “He was doing organic farming since childhood, six decades before the Sikkim government formed the Sikkim organic mission. Training and inspiring other farmers to adopt farming techniques,” the citation notes. Ghulam Mohammed Zaz, a Santoor craftsman from Kashmir, has been conferred with Padma Shri for crafting finest of Santoors for the last seven decades.
