Padma Awards – from Monks to Farmers
People from different walks of life from the Himalayan states of the country were last month bestowed with prestigious civilian awards, the Padma Shri, for their exemplary work in the field of social work, art, culture, sport, agriculture et al. In fact, while 13 of them are from the North East, another four are from Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. Uttarakhand is the only Himalayan State which had no Padma awardee this year. In yet another proud moment, Nawang Chamba Stanzin Thiksay Khenpo Rinpoche has been given the Padma Shri.

The 9th reincarnation of Jangsem Sherab Zangpo, a contemporary disciple of Lord Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Yellow Hat sect of the Tibetan Buddhism, he has given countless teachings and initiations to the Ladakhis and in particular, to the monks of Thiksay Monastery and has also undertaken several noteworthy initiatives such as setting up of a common kitchen to offer
free meals to monks and health care facilities through the cultural and welfare society of the monastery. In fact, he also served as a Member of Parliament from 1999 to 2002 in Rajya Sabha.
From the neighbouring Jammu and Kashmir, Mohan Singh and Ghulam Mohammed Zaz have been conferred with this award. While Mohan Singh has been given the award in the field of literature and education, Zaz has been awarded for his outstanding work in the field of art. From the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh, a farmer Nek Ram Sharma from its Mandi district, has been conferred the prestigious award for his distinguished service in agriculture sector. In fact, the only Padma awardee from the state, he maintains he has been growing nine different grains through organic farming, something he used to do as a hobby.
As many as 13 distinguished personalities from Northeast states have been given the Padma awards of whom three are from
Assam, two from Manipur, Tripura and Nagaland each, and one each from Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Meghalaya. Hemaprova Chhutia, Chandra Gaoswami, both art, Ramkuiwangbe Jene, social work are from Assam while K Shanathoiba Sarma, sports, Thounaojam Chaoba Singh, Public affairs are from Manipur. Also, Narendra Chandra Debbarma,(posthumous in public affairs), Bikram Bahadur Jamatia, social work are from Tripura, Neihunuo and Sorhie Moa Subong, both art, are from Nagaland. The others include K C Runremsangi, art, from Mizoram, Karma Wangchu, posthumous in social work from Arunachal Pradesh, Risingbor Kurkalang, art, from Meghalaya