5 from TS and 7 from AP honoured with Padma Awards

Hyderabad: Swami Chinna Jeeyar, and Kamlesh D Patel both in Spiritualism from Telangana have been conferred Padma Bhushan. Three from Telangana and 7 from Andhra Pradesh have been conferred Padma Shri.

For the year 2023, President of India Draupadi Murmu has approved the conferment of 106 Padma Awards, including three duo cases (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one). The list comprises 6 Padma Vibhushan, 9 Padma Bhushan, and 91 Padma Shri Awards. 19 of the awardees are women, and the list also includes 2 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 7 Posthumous awardees.

The winners of the Padma Awards- one of the highest civilian honors in the country- are announced annually on the eve of Republic Day. This Award is split into three categories based on the level of achievement. First comes Padma Vibhushan, followed by Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The nominations for Padma Awards are presented to a special committee, which is constituted each year separately by the prime minister. These Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions, which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan, usually around March/ April every year.

Padma Bhushan:

From Telangana:

Swami Chinna Jeeyar (spirtualism)

Kamlesh D Patel (spirtualism)

Padma Shri

From Telangana

B Ramakrishna Reddy (Literature & Education)

Modadugu Vijay Gupta (Science & Engineering)

Hanumantha Rao Pasupuleti (Medicine)

From AP

Sankurathri Chandra Sekhar (Social work)

M Keeravani (Art)

Ganesh Nagappa Krishnaraja Nagara (Science & Engineering)

CV Raju (Art)

Abba Reddy Nageswara Rao (Science & Engineering)

Kota Sachidananda Sastry (Art)

Prakash Chandra Sood (Literature & Education)

Unsung heroes

Two persons from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are among the 26 unsung and unique heroes who were choosen for one of the highest civilian awards in their respective fields. Dr. Chandra Sekhar Sankurathri of Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, and B Ramakrishna Reddy of Telangana have been conferred with Padma Shri.

'Seva Ke Shikhar'

Dr. Chandra Sekhar Sankurathri Andhra Pradesh has been conferred Padma Shri under the 'Seva Ka Shikhar' category for his free medical education for the poor. After losing his wife, and two children in Air India Kanishka bombing on 23 June 1985, he channelized his grief into a lifelong commitment towards the betterment of society.

A native of Kakinada district, Chandra Sekhar, at the age of 78, established a foundation that runs an eye care institute and school in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. He is a social worker who dedicated his life to providing free medical and education services to needy people. Chandra Sekhar attended the Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, and the University of Alberta, Canada, and worked as a scientific evaluator with Health Canada in Ottawa.

He established the Manjari Sankurathri Memorial Foundation in 1989 in memory of his wife and the Sankurathri Foundation in India in memory of his family in 1989 to improve the quality of life of needy people in the rural and remote areas of Andhra Pradesh. He established Sarada Vidyalayam in 1992 in his daughter's name, a High school that provides free education for poor rural children. Sankurathri established the Srikiran Institute of Ophthalmology in 1993, named after his son. Dr. Chandra Sekhar has provided free education to more than 3,500 children from economically weaker sections. He provided treatment for over 3 lakh eye patients, with 98% of surgeries for free.

He was the first Indian to be nominated for the CNN Hero award by CNN International in 2008 and awarded the 'Humanitarian of the Year' by the Indo-Canada Chamber of commerce, Canada, in 2013.

'Bhasha Rakshak

B Rama Krishna Reddy of Telangana has been conferred Padma Shri under the 'Bhasha Ka Rakshak' category. Popularly known as BRK, the linguistic professor has made immense contributions towards the preservation of Tribal and Southern Languages like Kuvi, Manda, and Kui. He built a cultural bridge connecting Tribal languages with other languages. The professor drafted the Manda-English dictionary & Kuvi-Oriya-English dictionary and co-authored five books for this cause.

He is the 37th President of the Dravidian Linguistics Association. He was awarded the honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) by the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute (Deemed University), Pune, in 2014.

He completed his Graduation and Post-Graduation in Hindi Language and Literature from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. He did his PG in Linguistics at Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune. Ramakrishna Reddy is a retired professor from Osmania University and PSTU.