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| Sarvsandesh India salutes the following persons for their achievements : | ||
| Women Achievers | ||
| Government of India, at the instance of Shrimati Sumitra Mahajan, Minister of State of Women and Child Development, has decided to recognize and honour the services of such women who have made outstanding contributions in the life of the nation. This will encourage them further to carry on their work, and to motivate and inspire hundreds of such voluntary women workers throughout the country. Five National Awards, to be known as Stree Shakti Puraskars, were instituted in 1999, in the name of five illustrious daughters of India - Kannagi, Mata Jijabai, Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar, Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi and Rani Gaindiliu. Each award shall be presented annually and shall carry a cash prize of rupees one lakh and a citation in scroll. The awards shall be given every year for outstanding contributions made by five women. The Committee selected the following five distinguished women, who will be awarded the first Stree Shakti Puraskar, 1999: | ||
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1.SHRIMATI K.V. RABIYA 2.SHRIMATI CHANNAPILLAI 3.BRAHMACHARINI KAMALA BAI 4.SHRIMATI KINKIRI DEVI 5.KUMARI LILATAI PRADKAR |
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| K. V. Rabiya | ||
| Mrs. K.V. Rabiya was born in 1966 in a poor Muslim family in a remote village, Vellilakkadu in the backward district of Malappuram in Kerala. She lost the use of her legs when she was a first year student at the College, but despite the handicap she has built up a movement of community service and has spearheaded a strong adult literacy campaign in Kerala. She started her own voluntary organisation called CHALANAM that was at the forefront of universal literacy campaign in Kerala. CHALANAM is also running five schools for physically handicapped and mentally retarded children in Malappuram District. Apart from the literacy camps, Mrs. Rabiya has conducted a number of awareness classes for women and also organised health camps and blood and eye donation camps. Mrs. Rabiya has inspired awareness against alcoholism, dowry, family feuds, superstition and communalism. A documentary film 'Rabiya Moves' and more than hundred articles published in newspapers and journals have highlighted her contribution in changing the social life of Kerala. Her continuing successful and unparalleled literacy mission along with the various services for welfare and development of women has earned Mrs. K.V. Rabiya the Kannagi Stree Shakti Puraskar, 1999. |
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| Chinnapillai | ||
| Mrs. Chinnapillai was born in Pullisery village, Madurai District. She has been deeply involved in organising and working with co-agricultural labourers for undertaking various agricultural operations on a collective basis to maximise the benefits.
She was the founder of a number of Kalanjiams (savings and credit groups) of poor women and was instrumental in forming Vaigai Vattara Kalanjiam, Appantirupathy, which is the First Federation of Rural Women Savings and Credit Group in India. This has a membership of over 40,000 women. The linkages that she has established between the Kalanjiams and the banks and other financial institutions like NABARD, HUDCO etc. has resulted in promotion of income generation for hundreds of poor women to get them rid of the clutches of money-lenders. She led many struggles to establish the rights and entitlements of poor women against landlords, moneylenders, politicians and officials. The most notable was the right for fishing over the village tank, which was controlled by the landlords. Her selfless and untiring service for the poor women in the South has earned her Mata Jijabai Stree Shakti Puraskar for the year 1999. |
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| Brahmacharini Kamala Bai | ||
| Brahmacharini Kamala Bai was born in 1923 at Kuchaman town of District Nagaur of Rajasthan. She was married at a tender age of 12 and was widowed barely two years thereafter. Being totally illiterate, she found herself in wilderness, without any help or support. She joined Sri Mahavir Mumuksha Mahila Ashram, an orphanage for ladies, where she learnt to read and write. She went through the scriptures and became well versed with the history and culture. Very soon she developed an inner urge and motivation to spread the message of literacy among the women and the girls in the backward areas. At the age of thirty, she started her own Adarsh Mahila Vidyalaya with barely six girls. The school today has strength of 2000 girl students mostly from the backward and tribal segments of the society. She has also set up a girl's hostel at her own initiative, which accommodates 650 girls. Brahmacharini Kamala Bai has been successfully mobilising financial resources by motivating philanthropists. Nearly rupees two crores have been spent on the construction of school and hostel buildings, which were mobilised through small donations. At present, her organisation has an annual budget of about rupees 65 lakhs. She has also started B.Ed. course for teachers to prepare them for spreading literacy and vocational training course for girls to make them economically empowered. For her extraordinary and outstanding contribution towards the removal of illiteracy, more especially in rural and tribal areas, the Rotary International Award was given to her in 1998. She donated the award money of Rs. 2 lakhs for the betterment of literacy programme for women and a Trust was created to help the needy and poor students. Brahmacharini Kamala Bai's dedication to her life's mission for spreading literacy and empowerment of women and girls, especially in the backward and tribal areas, has earned her the Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Stree Shakti Puraskar, 1999. . |
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| Kinkri Devi | ||
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Smt. Kinkri Devi was born in 1940 in village Ghaton, located in a most backward area of Tehsil Sangrah of District Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh. She is the daughter of a poor scheduled caste farmer. Confronted with the grim scenario of reduction of forest cover and resultant depletion of fire wood, degradation of agricultural land due to reckless limestone quarrying in the hills and contamination of drinking water, Smt. Kinkri Devi waged a relentless war against powerful vested interests and this has made her a living legend in the recent history of Himachal Pradesh. Through a local voluntary organisation named people's Action for People in Need (PAPN), Smt. Kinkri Devi took up the case against the powerful mining lobby and sat on hunger strike in front of High Court in 1987 till the Court agreed to take up the issue. Initially, the 48 mine owners of Sangrah area dismissed her efforts as an attempt to blackmail them but this contemptuous attitude was not to last long, as the court soon imposed a blanket ban on the blasting in the hills. The powerful mining lobby, faced with the prospect of closure of mines, even threatened to liquidate her but this frail woman with indomitable courage refused to be browbeaten. The mining lobby moved the Supreme Court against the orders of the High Court. Smt. Kinkri Devi defended her case in Supreme Court too and her rationale convinced the apex court as well. The feeble voice raised in remote hills of Himachal Pradesh by this woman of substance reverberated throughout the country when the Hon'ble Supreme Court, sharing her concern for environmental protection, upheld her version in July, 1995 and decided the case in her favour. Recognising the enormity of the task accomplished by her, various organisations felicitated her in a befitting manner. Today the nation felicitates her with the award of Jhansi Ki rani Lakshmi Bai Stree Shkati Puraskar, 1999. | ||
| Lilatai Pradkar | ||
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Kumari Lilatai Pradkar was born in February, 1925 at Indore, Madhya Pradesh. After obtaining M.A. and B.Ed. degrees, she joined the academic profession and remained a teacher for nearly three decades. She was an ideal teacher who became a role model for many students. She spent the greater part of her salary for helping the needy and meritorious students who could not pursue their studies due to financial constraints. She remained an intern in the Vivekanada Kendra, Kanyakumari and served in the Medical Center of the Kendra for two years. As the years passed, she got more and more involved with her voluntary works and felt an inner calling that she has to devote full time into it. She took retirement from her job to work full time for the advancement of the cause of education among the backward tribal people of Madhya Pradesh. The tribals of Madhya Pradesh, known as the aboriginals of India were steeped in abject poverty, ignorance and malnutrition and subjected to exploitations of moneylenders and intermediaries. Although Government had introduced many schemes for the welfare of the tribal people, the benefits of many of these schemes were not reaching them due largely to the illiteracy prevailing among them, particularly among the females. With her background in education, Lilatai decided to focus her work on training and literacy among the tribal girls. In 1975, she set up the Vanabasi Kalyan Ashram for Women in Raigarh to offer vocational training to women for upgrading their skills in traditional and non-traditional occupations. In the following year, she started the Nivedita Vanabasi Kanya Chhatravas in the same district to provide boarding and lodging facilities to the tribal girl students. In 1980, Lilatai shifted her work among the Bhils. She established the Vanabasi Bal Sanskar Kendra in Bagh, Madhya Pradesh. In 1990, she started the Maharani Durgabati Kanya Chhatravas which provides hostel facilities to the girl students for pursuing their studies in higher classes. In recognition of her services to the cause of education and empowerment of women in the backward and tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh, Kumari Lilatai Pradkar is being awarded Rani Gaidinliu Stree Puraskar, 1999. |
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| Some more Achievers: | ||
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1.Dr KANWAL VIKU 2.SONIA PURI 3.Dr. PRIYANKA MISHRA |
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| Dr Kanwal Viku Only Indian Women in Antarctica |
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Dr. Kanwal Viku ,the Chief Medical Officer in CGMS was the only Indian Women in the worlds coldest continent,Antarctica for 16 months The continent has daylight for months in the winters.The temparature reach minus 58 c.The skua bird heralds summer.The sun rise after winter is a time for celebration..The sun rise for just four minutes;it rises from the east and sets in the east. Dr. Viku was assigned the job of medical checkups of members.However she found time to walk 14--15KM everyday,climbing nunatics(hill peaks) and looking down deep crevices. SandeshIndia salutes 51 year old Dr.Viku for her courage and determination to venture into the Antarctica,rough it out and enjoy the beauty of nature. |
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| Sonia Puri | ||
| Sonia Puri a consultant has been given Special Millenium Award instituted by Bharat Nirman for her work with visually handicapped as a psycho-therapist. | ||
| Dr. Priyanka Mishra | ||
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Dr. Priyanka Mishra ,the 28 year old DSP of Bhind, and the first women police officer to be posted in the Chambal range has taken the dacoits as a challenge for herself.Gajjar one of the dreaded dacoit of the area has put up a price of Rs-5 lakhs for her head. Bhind is Priyanka's first field posting and after the relative firmness of her previous posting in Bhopal, she is enjoying the rough and tumble. |
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