Six persons from Gujarat featured in the list of 132 Padma awardees — issued on the eve of the 75th Republic Day on Thursday — with noted interventional cardiologist Dr Tejas Patel (60) among them.
Dr. Tejas Patel from Apex Heart Institute in Ahmedabad is the sole Padma Bhushan awardee from Gujarat in 2024.who runs the Apex Heart Institute in Ahmedabad, was awarded the Padma Shri in 2015 and is the only Padma Bhushan awardee from Gujarat for 2024.
B V Doshi, Distinguished architect, who passed away on January 24, was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, while Areez Khambatta, the founder of Rasna, was posthumously awarded .
Five others, including microbiologist Dr. Yazdi Maneksha Italia, children’s writer Harish Nayak (posthumously), humorist Jagdish Trivedi, Ayurveda practitioner Dayal Mavji Parmar, and novelist Raghuveer Chaudhary, received Padma Shri awards.
Dr Yazdi Maneksha Italia (72), microbiologist , who pioneered the development of India’s first sickle cell anemia control programme of the Gujarat government. He is among the 21 contributors to the counseling modules on sickle cell disease by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which aims to eliminate Sickle Cell Anaemia by 2047
Harish Nayak, a known name in Gujarat as a children’s writer and a story teller, was awarded Padma Shri in the category of literature and education posthumously. He died last October
Jagdish Trivedi (55) Humorist,Wadhwan in Surendranagar, was awarded Padma Shri in the art category. He is known to celebrate Dairo art form for over 30 years and has performed over 3,000 shows in 30 countries.
Dayal Mavji Parmar (88), an Ayurveda practitioner from Morbi who has authored around 50 books and provides free services, also won a Padma Shri.
Raghuveer Chaudhary (86), Novelist, poet and critic, who was awarded Padma Shri, had won the Jnanpith award in 2015. A Gujarat University alumnus of 1962, he retired as professor and head of the department of Hindi, and School of Languages from his alma mater in 1998. Chaudhary was appointed consultant by the Gujarat State School Textbook Board in 2016.