On 08 November 2021, the central government awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, to Harekala Hajabba of Karnataka. President Ram Nath Kovind honoured Harekala Hajba with the Padma Shri award at a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were also present on this occasion.
Harekala Hajba was given this honour for doing social work in the field of education. President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Padma Shri, one of the country’s most prestigious honours, on Harekala Hajba at the Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Harekala Hajba, who is called Akshar Sant, never got a formal education in school himself.
Know who is Harekala Hajba?
• Harekala Hajba is an orange seller in the city of Mangalore, Karnataka. His age is 65 years. Harekala Hajba could not study due to lack of school in his village, but his dedication towards education was such that now he has emerged as an example for the educated also.
• Harekala Hajba, by adding money from the business of selling oranges in his village, built a school for the children of the village and was successful in connecting the children to education. He himself could not study as there was no school in his village.
Harekala Hajba lives in New Padapu, a village in South Kannada in Karnataka. Harekala, who was under the shadow of failure since childhood, always felt sad about not being able to go to school. This sorrow inspired him to do something different.
• Harekala Hajba wondered what if I could not go to school. He used his earnings to build the school.
Padma Shri or Padma Shri is an honour given by the Government of India generally only to Indian citizens for their contribution in various fields of life such as arts, education, industry, literature, science, sports, medicine, social service and public life etc. It is given to recognize a distinguished contribution. This is the fourth award in the hierarchy of civilian awards of India.
