Sayed Mehboob Shah Qadri, popularly known as Sayedbhai, is an Indian social reformer from Pune. [1] [2] He was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, for his work in social services in 2020. [3] [4]
At the age of four, Qadri's family moved to Pune from his native city Hyderabad. He had a brother and four sisters. He started working when he was 13. When he was 20, the divorce of her sister prompted him to work for divorced women. He met social reformer Hamid Dalwai and co-founded Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal, an organisation promoting social reforms in Muslims, on 22 March 1970. The organisation rehabilitates Muslim women divorced by their husbands through triple talaq, an Islamic form of divorce. It provides financial support, legal assistance and vocational training to divorced women. It has rehabilitated more than ten thousand women over the fifty years. It also awards Hamid Dalwai Smruti Puraskar to a social worker every year. [1]
Qadri was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, for his work in social services in 2020. [3] [4]
Hamid Umar Dalwai was an Indian journalist, social reformer, thinker, activist, author, writer and the founder of Muslim Satyashodhak Mandal and Indian Secular Society. Despite being an atheist, he attempted and advocated for several modernistic and liberal reforms within the Indian Muslim community, most notably being his futile agitation against the practice of triple talaq and polygyny during the 1960s. He has also authored several books, including Muslim Politics in Secular India (1968).
A. B. Shah (1920-1981) was the founder-president of the Indian Secular Society. The organization had its headquarters in Pune in Shah's lifetime but has now shifted to Mumbai. Until his death, A. B. Shah was the editor of The Secularist, a journal published by the Indian Secular Society (ISS). He also the edited the New Quest published by the Indian Association for Cultural Freedom. Shah took much interest in the problems of Indian Muslims. Shah's writings include What Ails our Muslims? and Religion and Society in India. Shah also edited Jayaprakash Narayan's Prison Diary, written by the prominent Indian leader in jail during the Emergency of 1975. Professor Shah was a mathematician and a scholar, who became interested in comparative religion and social reform, leading to founding Indian Secular Society.
Balwant Moreshwar Purandare, popularly known as Babasaheb Purandare, was an Indian writer of books and plays from Maharashtra, India. His works are mostly based on the life of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the 17th-century founder of the Maratha Empire; as a result he is called Shiv-Shahir. He is mostly known for his popular play on Shivaji, Jaanta Raja. Purandare also studied the history of the Peshwas of Pune. In 2015, he was awarded the Maharashtra Bhushan Award, Maharashtra's highest civilian award. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's highest second-civilian award on 25 January 2019.
Vijay Kumar Chopra is the chief executive officer and editor in chief of the Punjab Kesari print news organisation. He is involved in social welfare work and has received a Padma Shri award. In August 2009, he was elected by the Chairman of the Press Trust of India.
Anuradha Koirala, Okaldhunga district, is a Nepalese social activist and the founder of Maiti Nepal – a non-profit organization in Nepal, dedicated to helping victims of sex trafficking. She was appointed as 1st Governor of Bagmati Province from by the Government of Nepal.
Sister R. S. Subbalakshmi, was a social reformer and educationist in India.
Mary Clubwala Jadhav MBE (1909–1975) was an Indian philanthropist.
S. Ramakrishnan is the founder president of Amar Seva Sangam, Ayikudi, Tamil Nadu, India. He is known for his contributions to the field of rehabilitation for persons with disabilities. Ramakrishnan was awarded the civilian honour, Padma Shri, by Government of India for the year 2020.
Niranjan Pranshankar Pandya is an Indian blind social worker and the secretary of Poona Blind Mens' Association, a non governmental organization working for the cause of visually impaired people of Pune and neighbouring areas. He was honored by the Government of India, in 2012, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Padma Shri recipient Harekala Hajabba is an Indian social activist and orange vendor living and working in the city of Mangaluru, Karnataka, India. He saved money from his business to build a school in his village. In 2020, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award, for his initiative and achievement.
Eliza Nelson, née Eliza Mendonca, is an Indian field hockey player and a former captain of the women's national field hockey team of India. She received the Arjuna Award in 1981 and the Government of India awarded her the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1983.
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.
Damal Kandalai Srinivasan is an Indian social worker, business person, philanthropist and the co-founder of Hindu Mission Hospital, Chennai. He is also the secretary of Valluvar Gurukulam, an educational institution founded in 1940 for the children of the refugees from Burma, which has since grown to the present-day Valluvar Gurukulam Higher Secondary School. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2016, for his contributions to society.
Sitavva Joddati is a Karnataka-based social activist working for the emancipation and empowerment of women suffering within the Devadasi system. In 2018, she was conferred the Padma Sri, the fourth highest civilian award, by the President of India.
Mohammed Sharif, popularly known as Sharif Chacha, is an Indian bicycle mechanic and social worker from Uttar Pradesh. He is known for performing last rites for over 25000 unidentified and unclaimed dead bodies. He was conferred with India's fourth-highest civilian award the Padma Shri in 2020 for his contribution in social work.
Ramzan Khan, popularly known as Munna Master, is an Indian singer and social worker who sings Bhajans and takes care of cows. He hails from Jaipur district of Rajasthan. He was conferred with Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India in 2020 for his contribution to arts.
Dr. Raman Gangakhedkar M.B.B.S., DCH, M.P.H is an Indian public health expert and epidemiologist. He served as Head Scientist of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research before retiring on 30 June 2020. He is a recipient of the 2020 Padma Shri award, the fourth highest civilian award in India.
Yadla Gopalarao is an Indian theatre artist. He was conferred with Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award, in arts in 2020. He is known for his role as "Nakshtraka" in Satya Harishchandra . He performed in about 5,600 plays.
Datuk Ramli bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian choreographer and classical ballet dancer. He founded the Sutra Dance Theater as well as the Sutra Foundation to encourage people to learn various traditional dances. In 2018, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri for his contribution to Odissi.