Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 25: The Ministry of Home Affairs has awarded Padma Shri awards to three persons from the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
They are Chaman Lal Sapru (posthumously) in Literature and Education category and Ghulam Rasool Khan in Art category, both from Jammu and Kashmir and Tsultrim Chonjor from Ladakh in Social Work category.
Chonjor, a 74-year-old Monk hailed from village Stongde in Zanskar and is a known social worker. He is engaged for several years in helping neglected community of the area, which has been isolated with difficult accessibility and is in poverty and despair.
He is often described by the locals as “one-man army” for taking up problems of the people and getting them addressed.
Chaman Lal Sapru, who got Padma award posthumously, was born in Srinagar in the year 1935.He was Professor of Hindi posted in various degree colleges of Kashmir. A well-known social activist, Sapru, had been a renowned professor. He was the founder of the Rama Krishna Ashram in Kashmir. He has authored 18 books.
He passed away in November last year at Delhi.
Meanwhile, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and late singer S P Balasubramaniam were today named for this year’s Padma Vibhushan while former Chief Ministers late Tarun Gogoi and Keshubhai Patel, former Union Minister late Ram Vilas Paswan and former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan have been awarded with Padma Bhushan.
The Union Home Ministry said the President has approved conferment of 119 Padma awards –seven Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan and 102 Padma Shri.
Twenty-nine women are among the Padma awardees and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of foreigners, NRI, PIO AND OCI and one transgender.
Sixteen people have been given the award posthumously.
While sand artist Sudarshan Sahoo has been named for Padma Vibhushan, former Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Nripendra Misra, religious leader Kalbe Sadiq (Posthumous), and social worker Tarlochan Singh have been named for Padma Bhushan.
Former Governor late Mridula Sinha and former Union Minister Bijoya Chakravarty have been named for Padma Shri.
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