102-year-old freedom fighter from Goa among 30 unsung Padma Shri award winners
The Padma Shri awardees this year include Neerja Bhatla, Delhi-based gynecologist specializing in cervical cancer detection and prevention, and Shaikha A J Al Sabah, the yoga practitioner who founded Kuwait’s first licensed Yoga studio
New Delhi: The government on Saturday announced a total of 113 winners for the Padma Shri awards – the country’s fourth highest civilian honour – including individuals from across the country and abroad who have been working silently and broke the glass ceiling in different areas.

Among the 30 unsung heroes named for the Padma Shri award include 102-year-old freedom fighter from Goa – Libia Lobo Sardesai – who played a pivotal role in Goa’s liberation from Portugese colonial rule. She had co-founded the underground radio station ‘Voz Da Liberdade’ (voice of freedom) in 1955, broadcasting anti-colonial and pro-liberation messages in secret from the jungles, alongside her husband, Vaman Sardesai. She became the first female lawyer in the courts of Goa and played a key role in shaping Goa’s tourism industry as its first tourism director.
Harvinder Singh (33), a para-archer, who won first ever gold for India in 2024 Paris paralympic as well as a bronze medal in 2020 Tokyo Paralympic. A resident of Kaithal in Haryana – also fondly called ‘Kaithal ka Eklavya’ - the Paralympian also holds world ranking number 1 in recurve men open 2024.
Shaikha A J Al Sabah (48), a yoga practitioner who founded Kuwait’s first licensed Yoga studio, has been awarded the Padma Shri for promoting the Yoga in the Gulf region by harmonizing traditional techniques with modern methods, promoting global unity. Another foreigner picked for the prestigious award is Jonas Masetti (43) - Brazil based mechanical engineering turned Hindu spiritual leader who has promoted Indian spirituality, philosophy and culture.
Those from the field of art honored this year include – Sally Holkar (82), veteran social entrepreneur from Khargone, who has devoted over five decades to revitalise the 300-year-old Maheshwari handloom industry, inspired by Rani Ahilyabai Holkar’s legacy. Born in America, Holkar transformed the once dying Maheshwari craft into a flourishing, globally acclaimed art form; versatile folk artist from Gangtok, Naren Gurung (70), who has devoted 60 years to preserve and promote Sikkimese Nepali folk music and dance traditions; Pandi Ram Mandavi – a 68-year-old master instrument maker and wood carver from Chhattisgarh’s Gond Muria tribe, who has brought tribal melodies to life through his craft for over five decades; and Madhya Pradesh’s prolific Nirgun folk singer – Bheru Singh Chouhan (63), who has devoted five decades to bhajan music rooted in the traditional Malvi folk style – rendering verses of Sant Kabir, Goraknath and Dadu.
Other artists named for the Padma Shri were Gondhali folk maestro from Karnataka – Venkappa Ambaji Sugatekar (81) - who is known as ‘Bhishma of Gondhali’ music and storytelling, having sung more than 1,000 Gondhali songs; P Datchanamoorthy – a 68-year-old instrumentalist from Puducherry specialising in Thavil – a classical percussion instrument vital to South Indian music and culture with more than five decades of experience; Gokul Chandra Das (57) - A dhak instrument player from North24 Parganas in West Bengal, who broke gender stereotypes by training over 150 women in Dhak, traditionally a male dominated field; Batool Begum (68) - eminent Maand and bhajan folk singer from Jaipur, specializing in Rajasthani folk songs for five decades and Velu Aassan (58) - pariyar artist performing on the parai, a traditional percussion instrument of Tamil Nadu, for over four decades.
Besides, a master puppeteer – Bhimavva Doddabalappa Shillekyathara (96) - from Karnataka, who has been performing globally for past 70 years the traditional Togalu Gombeyaata (leather) puppetry; and Parmar Lavjibhai Nagjibhai (64), a weaver from Dangasia comunity of Surendranagar in Gujarat; and Joynacharan Bathari – 84-year-old senior most flagbearer of Dimasa tribal folk music in Assam – have also been chosen for the award.
The oldest pioneer of Sujani embroidery, Nirmala Devi (75) from Bihar, has been picked for the award for reviving the traditional needle work art of Bihar. Not only has she revived the art but has also made it popular in urban markets across India and globally having worked for four decades.
The Padma Shri list also includes - Neerja Bhatla, a Delhi-based gynecologist specializing in cervical cancer detection and prevention; Bhim Singh Bhavesh, a social worker from Bhojpur known for supporting the marginalized Musahar community through his foundation, Nayee Asha; Radha Bahin Bhatt (91)– who focuses on women empowerment in Uttarakhand; Vilas Dangre – 70 year old visually impaired homeopathic doctor who has dedicated over 50 years treating economically weaker section patients at nominal cost in Maharashtra; Jumde Yomgam Gamlin – who works on deaddiction in Arunachal Pradesh; and Hugh and Collen Gantzer – a travel blogger couple who have written on Indian travel journalism for five decades.
