Bertha Gyndykes Dkhar | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Occupation | Educationist |
| Awards | Padma Shri National Award for Child Welfare |
| Website | Official web site |
Bertha Gyndykes Dkhar is a visually impaired Indian educationist, best known as the inventor of the braille code in Khasi. [1] [2] In 2010, the Government of India awarded her with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award. [3]
Bertha Gyndykes Dkhar was born in Shillong, Meghalaya [4] as a visually-impaired child with retinitis pigmentosa, a disease which causes degeneration of the retina, and lost the eyesight completely while she was in college due to which she had to abandon her studies. Without means to support herself, she sold fruits in the market for a living. [2] Continuing with efforts to overcome the disability, Dkhar researched in Braille code and designed the code in Khasi, the local language in Meghalaya. [1] [2]
Bertha Dkhar is the headmistress of the Jyoti Sroat School, a school run by the Bethany Society for the visually impaired children. [5] She received the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri, when she featured in the 2010 Indian Republic Day honours list. [3] She is also a recipient of the national award for Child Welfare from the Government of India in 2000. [6]
Neil Nongkynrih was an Indian concert pianist and conductor. He founded the Shillong Chamber Choir (SCC), which won the reality show India's Got Talent in 2010. He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India in 2015.
Dkhar, is a term used by the Khasis to refer to non-Khasi people in Meghalaya. It is non derogatory but some perceived it as derogatory. For Khasis any non-tribal is a dkhar and they address them by that term. Sometimes the word dkhar have been collectively used with the term heathen (Non-believers), as most of the native Khasis are christian, While non-tribals are mainly hindu. In real, the term is mostly used against affluent Bengali Hindu settlers from West Bengal or the Bengali Hindu refugees from erstwhile East Pakistan It is sometimes abbreviated to ′Khar and may also denote a Khasi clan with the same name.
Jawahar Lal Kaul is an Indian social worker and the founder of the All India Conference of the Blind, an NGO working towards the rehabilitation of the blind. He was honoured by the Government of India, in 2014, which bestowed on him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his services to the field of Social Work.
Nomita Chandy was an Indian social worker from Bangalore, known for her services towards the rehabilitation of destitute children.
Uma Tuli is an Indian social worker, educationist and the founder of Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust, a Delhi-based non-governmental organisation, working for the rehabilitation of physically disabled people. She was honoured by the Government of India, in 2012, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Patricia Mukhim is an Indian social activist, writer, journalist and the editor of Shillong Times, known for her social activism. A recipient of honours such as Chameli Devi Jain award, ONE India award, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry FLO award, Upendra Nath Brahma Soldier of Humanity award, Siva Prasad Barooah National award and North East Excellence award, she was honored by the Government of India, in 2000, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Jyoti Bhushan Banerji was an Indian physician, social worker and the founder of Jyoti Institute of Medical and Rehabilitation Sciences (JIMARS) from the Indian state of Allahabad. He founded the organization in 1971, and later registered it under the name, Viklang Kendra, in 1976, for the rehabilitation of physically disabled people. The organization was renamed again as JIMARS, in 2010, upon the death of Banerji. He was honored by the Government of India, in 2001, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Pushpa Bhuyan was an Indian classical dancer specialising in the Indian classical dance forms of Bharatanatyam and Sattriya. She comes from the Northeast Indian state of Assam, and learned sattriya from Bhabananda Barbayan. She later studied bharatanatyam under Guru Mangudi Dorairaja Iyer. She has also tutored other dancers. A recipient of the North East Television Lifetime Achievement Award, Pushpa Bhuyan was honoured by the Government of India, in 2002, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Verna Elizabeth Watre Ingty was an Indian social worker and a former chairman of Meghalaya State Welfare Advisory Board. She was the president of Mothers' Union of Tura. She was honoured by the Government of India in 2003 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award, making her the first person from Garo tribe to receive the award. Ingty died, aged 72, at Shillong, Meghalaya on 14 January 2004. Her son, P. W. Ingty is an author and an IAS officer.
Dr. Gayatri Sankaran is an Indian Carnatic musician and vocalist specialising in Carnatic vocals and violin performances. She is a recipient of the Kalaimamani award from Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram, a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu. The Government of India honoured her in 2006 with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for her contributions to music, making her the first visually impaired woman to receive the award.
Tiffany Brar is an Indian community service worker who became blind as an infant due to oxygen toxicity. Brar is the founder of the Jyothirgamaya Foundation, a non-profit organization that teaches life skills to blind people of all ages. She is a trainer, a campaigner for disability awareness and an advocates for an inclusive society.
Queenie H. C. Captain was an Indian social worker known for her contributions to the welfare of the visually impaired people in India. She was the co-founder and the president of the National Association for the Blind, the largest non governmental organization for the blind people in India, from 1961 to 1972. She also served as the vice president and the chairperson of the finance raising committee of the organization. She was one of the organizers of the World Assembly of the World Council for the Welfare of the Blind held in New Delhi in 1969 and was the leader of the Indian delegation to the Quin-quennial Conference of the World Council for the Welfare of the Blind at Rome in 1959. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri in 1974.
Silverine Swer (1910–2014), popularly known as Kong Sil, was an Indian social and environmental activist, educationist and civil servant. She was the first person of tribal origin to hold senior posts with the Government of Meghalaya, and was a recipient of the Silver Elephant Medal of the Bharat Scouts and Guides Award and Kaisar-i-Hind Medal. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri in 1990, making her the first recipient of the award from the state of Meghalaya.
Khda Reh Ke Dalvaunga, popularly known as Jagdishbhai, is an Indian visually impaired social worker and one of the 3 founders of the Blind People's Association of India, along with his wife and Kanubhai Ambalal Thaker an Ahmedabad based non governmental organization promoting the interests of the people with physical disabilities. He is a recipient of the Indian civilian honour of the Padma Shri.
Jagdev Singh Guleria is an Indian general physician, cardiologist and a former Dean and Professor of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. He is the senior consultant of General Medicine at Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research and an Emeritus Professor of the National Academy of Medical Sciences. He received the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2003.
Hamlet Bareh Ngapkynta (1931-2012) was an Indian writer, historian and film director from the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya. He is known as the first person from the Khasi tribe, an indigenous ethic group of the state, to secure a doctoral degree (PhD) and as the maker of the first feature film in Khasi language, Ka Synjuk Ri ki Laiphew Syiem. He was the chairman of the executive committee of the Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh and a recipient of the 2004 Meghalaya Day Award. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2004,
Helen Giri Syiem is an Indian musicologist and historian, known for her efforts in promoting Khasi music tradition. A former member of faculty at the North Eastern Hill University, she is a member of the executive council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Kunwar Singh Negi was an Indian braille editor and social worker. He has transliterated 300 books into braille. His major works include Bhagwan Buddh Ka Updesh and Hazrat Mohammed Ki Vani, both being about teachings of Gautam Buddha and Muhammad. He was presented with Indian civilian awards Padma Shri in 1981 and later with Padma Bhushan in 1990.
Thoguluva Shesadri Chandrasekar is an Indian gastroenterologist and the founder chairman of Medindia Hospitals, a healthcare facility based in Chennai. He is credited with the performance of over 23,000 endoscopy procedures and is known for the Braille chart on personal hygiene he prepared in 2015 for the visually impaired people. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2016, for his contributions to medicine.
Badaplin War is an Indian professor and a litterateur. In 2022, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian Government for her contribution in literature and education.
