R Madhavan, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Satish Shah (posthumously), former JNU VC and UGC Chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, retired IPS officer K Vijay Kumar, who led ‘Operation Cocoon’ to capture or kill Veerappan, and RVS Mani, former Under Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, are among the 113 awardees selected for the Padma Shri awards this year, the Centre announced on Sunday.
Apart from Sharma and Kaur, other winners in the sports category are former cricketer Praveen Kumar, Dronacharya award-winning hockey coach Baldev Singh, tennis legend Vijay Amritraj, hockey goalkeeper Savita Punia, war art trainer Bhagwandas Raikwar, martial art coach K Pajanivel and the now-deceased Georgian wrestling coach Vladimir Mestvirishvili.
Mestvirishvili was the famed coach of Indian wrestlers like Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya.
Bhagwandas Raikwar is a Madhya Pradesh-based Bundeli war art trainer. He is a master of four Bundeli weapons and a mentor to over 1000 disciples. K Pajanivel is a Puducherry-based renowned Silambam coach, who revived the ancient martial art form. He also trained over 5000 students in the discipline.
Among awardees in the arts category are actors Madhavan Ranganathan and Prosenjit Chatterjee, a prominent star in the Bengali film industry. Satish Shah (posthumously) is also being honoured for stellar performances in several films. Veteran actor Anil Kumar Rastogi, who has been active in theatre for more than six decades now, also received the Padma.
In the civil services category, K Vijay Kumar and R V S Mani received the award. “Kumar led the Special Task Force which was instrumental in launching ‘Operation Cocoon’ to capture or kill Veerappan. RVS Mani, a distinguished government official, authored five books of national interest,” an official said.
Professor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, former Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), undertook several significant initiatives including the introduction of the Central University Entrance Test. He also played a key role in implementing the NEP 2022.
