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How are the recipients of the award chosen?
Applications are received from various sources such as Central/State Government Departments, Panchayats, Zila Parishads, Police Departments, School authorities as well as State and Union Territory Councils for Child Welfare.
The selection is made by a high-powered committee constituted by ICCW comprising representatives from the President’s and Vice-President’s Secretariats, Ministries of Women and Child Development, Human Resource Development (Department of Education), Youth Affairs & Sports, Social Justice & Empowerment, Health & Family Welfare, Railways, Defence, Home Affairs, Information & Broadcasting, Rural Development, Labour as well as the Police Department, All India Radio, Doordarshan, organisations such as National Bal Bhavan, SOS Children’s Villages of India, R.K. Mission and Office Bearers of ICCW.
The Awardees:
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Nazia, 16:
Nazia challenged the illegal business of gambling and betting, rampant for decades in the neighbouring house. The residents and shopkeepers were harassed and terrified. Nazia showed no fear in this difficult and dangerous situation. Nazia courageously collected related evidence and informed the Police on 13 July 2016. As a result, four people were arrested and the illegal gambling business was stopped.
Nazia courageously faced and endured threats to her life. It had become impossible for her to leave the house and even go to school. The miscreants followed her and tried to kidnap her. Nazia and her family members were also beaten up. Her health was badly affected. Brave Nazia did not give up her fight and informed the administrative officers. Despite this her ordeal continued. Finally, she tweeted the Chief Minister for help. Only then was action initiated against the miscreants and her safety & security ensured. Nazia’s bravery stands out in the crowd as the voice for others and a young girl who fearlessly risked the possibility of a terrifying ending.
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Netravati M. Chavan, 14 (posth.):
Netravati Chavan was washing clothes at a pond near a stone quarry on 13 May 2017. The pond was full due to the heavy rains. Two young boys, Ganesh and Muthu started swimming in the pond. Netravati suddenly saw the boys drowning. Not showing any fear in this dangerous situation, Netravati swiftly dived into the water to save them. The pond was 30 ft. deep, and
Netravati braved the waters and pulled 16-year-old Muthu to safety.
Netravati’s bravery was further exemplified by endurance, persistence and perseverance for she returned to the pond to rescue 10-year-old Ganesh. Unfortunately, Ganesh in fear gripped Netravati’s neck and she suffocated. Both of them lost their lives. Netravati faced danger without fear. She rushed and fought to save the boys with utmost bravery and met with death.
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Karanbeer Singh, 16:
On 20 September 2016, young children were returning from school in their school bus. The driver was overspeeding. While crossing a bridge near Attari Village, the vehicle hit a wall along the bridge and plunged into a drain. Water filled the bus in no time and the children had difficulty in breathing and were terrified. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Karanbeer Singh with a predominance of courage, immediately broke open the door and came out of the bus. He was neck deep in the water yet he entered the bus again with determination and helped other children come out of the bus. Karanbeer saved 15 children, though seven lives were lost in the incident. Karanbeer was himself wounded sustaining a deep cut on his forehead above the eye.
The injured children were rushed to the hospital.
Karanbeer Singh rescued from death several precious lives with his tireless efforts & indomitable courage
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Betshwajohn Peinlang, 12:
The incident occurred on 23 October 2016 when Betshwajohn and his 3-year-old brother Arbius were alone at home. The young child was inside when suddenly their hut caught fire. Betshwajohn, who was outside, noticed his entire hut engulfed in flames. He was petrified to think that his younger brother was trapped inside. There was no one around. Betshwajohn, without fear or hesitation, risking his life, entered the burning hut to save the child. Enduring danger and pain, he courageously brought out the child through the flames to safety. Betshwajohn was severely wounded suffering major burn injuries on his right hand and face. His fingers were disfigured in the incident.
Betshwajohn Peinlang with his fearless act of bravery saved his brother from being burned alive.
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Mamata Dalai, 6:
The incident occurred on 6 April 2017 in Kendrapara district of Odisha. Mamata Dalai and Asanti Dalai (7 years) had gone to a nearby pond to take a bath. A crocodile that had strayed into the village pond from a nearby river suddenly emerged out of the water and attacked Asanti. The 5 feet crocodile clamped its vice-like jaws on her right hand. The crocodile was trying to drag Asanti into the pond. Seeing the turbulent situation, Mamata fearlessly reached out and held Asanti’s left hand and tried to pull her hand away from the crocodile’s jaws. Mamata fought hard to save Asanti. As a result of her strong defence, physical exertion and loud screams, the crocodile lost its grip on Asanti and slipped into the water. Mamata then managed to drag Asanti to safety. As the crocodile pounced on Asanti, she had sustained injuries. The forest officials of the Bhitarkanika National Park managed to catch the crocodile that had strayed and released it into the river. Mamata Dalai saved Asanti’s life with her valourous and bold action.
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Sebastian Vincent, 12:
The incident occurred on the morning of 19 July 2016 when Sebastian Vincent and his friends were going to their school on their bicycles. As they were crossing a railway track, one of his friends, Abhijith’s shoe got entangled in the railway track. As a result, Abhijit fell with his bicycle and school bag upon him on the track. Just then, the children noticed a train approaching fast. While all the other children panicked and tried to escape, facing the oncoming danger, Sebastian acted fast to save his friend. First of all, he asked Abhijith to move away from the track. But he found that Abhijith was not able to move at all due to the weight of the bicycle. Without losing a moment, Sebastian jumped onto the track and kicked off the bicycle. He then tried to make Abhijith stand but the victim collapsed and fell down. Acting promptly, with physical strength, Sebastian kicked Abhijit off the track of death and somersaulted in the nick of time before the train passed by. Sebastian’s right hand was fractured in the incident. Sebastian Vincent showed immense courage, skill and bravery in fearlessly saving his friend’s life from the inevitable mishap.
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Laxmi Yadav, 16:
On 2 August 2016 at 8.00 p.m., Laxmi Yadav and her friend had parked their motorcycle at Ganesh Nagar Marg and both with talking with each other. Just then a history-sheeter and two of his accomplices reached. They abused and attacked them and snatched the key on their motorcycle. After that one of them forcefully dragged Laxmi onto the bike. The three miscreants abducted Laxmi and took her to an empty plot of land in a desolate area with the intention of sexually assaulting her. Enduring mental trauma in a nerve-racking situation, Laxmi triumphed over her fear with composure. She exemplified a brave quality of spirit that enabled her to face danger. She somehow managed to take out the bike’s key and hid it. When the miscreants tried to get hold of Laxmi, she bravely pushed them away and escaped and ran to the Police Station informing them about the incident. Laxmi Yadav’s dauntless courage to stand up to evil helped to arrest three hardcore criminals.
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Mansha N., 13:
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Shangpon Konyak, 17:
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Yoaknei, 17:
Meribeni (3 years) and Chumben (6 years) were looked after by Mansha after their mother passed away. On 7 August 2016, around 1.30 a.m., Mansha heard the faint struggling cry of Meribeni. She went to check on the girl. To her utter surprise, she saw Meribeni’s father Vanthungo Lota trying to strangulate her to death. With little time to think, brave Mansha immediately acted on the spur of the moment. She snatched the baby, pushed the father away and took the girl with her. A few minutes later, again she heard a faint cry. She immediately rushed to find the father now trying to strangulate his son Chumben with a waist belt. Mansha pushed him away from the child and called for help. Hearing the commotion, children’s maternal uncles staying in the adjacent room rushed to help. As Shangpon & Yoaknei were talking to Mansha to find out what had happened, Vanthungo ran towards the kitchen and brought an axe-like weapon to hack his two kids. He attacked his son with it. Although Yoaknei snatched the baby from the jaws of death. The child was grievously injured in his neck. Brave Yoaknei and Shangpon instinctively acted, confronted and fought together to overpower the kids’ father. Fortunately, the child missed being hacked into two pieces, by few inches. Police were informed. They arrested the culprit and rushed the injured boy to the hospital. Mansha, Shangpon & Yoaknei foiled the attempt of a cold-blooded murder of two children by their father with their dauntless courage and sense of duty.
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Chingai Wangsa, 17:
The incident occurred on the morning of 4 September 2016. Most of the villagers were in church when a house caught fire. A 74-year-old man was sleeping inside the house, absolutely unaware of the kitchen going up in flames. Just then, Chingai Wangsa, his neighbour, noticed the flames erupting from the roof next door. Chingai Wangsa rushed towards the burning house but found the door locked from inside. He called out to the occupant but his voice went unheard as the man was hard of hearing. So he banged open the door. Though terrified, he bravely went through the kitchen engulfed in flames and reached the room to find the old man sleeping there. The flames had already reached the ceiling of the room. Chingai Wangsa woke up the old man and brought him out safely. He daringly went back again towards the burning house and rescued the livestock confined in the backyard. The house was completely charred as two LPG cylinders had exploded. Chingai Wangsa’s gallant and timely act saved an old man from burning to death.
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Samridhi Sushil Sharma, 16:
On the afternoon of 1 July 2016, Samridhi Sharma was alone at home when the doorbell of her house rang. As she opened the door, a person who has covered his face with a mask, enquired about the maid. Samridhi told him that the maid has gone after completing her work. He then asked her for some water to drink. When Samridhi refused to give him water, he took out a knife and put it on her neck. Facing danger without fear, she held the knife back with her left hand and forced him out of the gate. As a result, he slipped and fell near the entrance. The miscreant then snatched his knife and started running out of the compound. In the tussle, the girl’s hand was injured with the knife that cut her vein making her bleed profusely. Notwithstanding the pain of her bleeding hand, Samridhi with resolute courageousness ran after him. The miscreant escaped on his bike but in hustle and bustle, his knife slipped out of his hand. The knife was handed over to the Police. Samridhi had to undergo two surgeries for the injuries she sustained. Samridhi’s strength of mind enabled her to act with courage and valour.
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Zonuntluanga, 15:
The incident occurred on the morning of 20 August 2016 when Zonuntluanga and his father were going to a brook in Serchhip District of Mizoram. On the way, noticing some movement, his father stopped to check when suddenly a wild bear jumped and attacked him. The wild bear continued its attack and wounded him severely on his face giving the father no chance to defend himself. Zonuntluanga, who was some distance away, heard his cries and rushed to the spot. Screaming loudly, Zonuntluanga fearlessly approached the bear with a Dao, an axe-like weapon to save his father. Daringly he confronted the bear. With his brave attempt, he succeeded in scaring the bear away. Zonuntluanga took his injured father to the village. He was taken to the hospital for necessary treatment. Risking his own life, Zonuntluanga courageously saved his father from the wild bear.
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Pankaj Semwal, 15:
The incident occurred on 10th July 2016 at around 1.00 a.m. in Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand. Pankaj Semwal along with his mother and siblings were sleeping in verandah on the second floor of their house. A leopard entered the verandah climbing the staircase & attacked his mother with its claws. The leopard tried to drag his mother to the staircase. But she started crying in pain & shouted loudly. Hearing the cries of his mother, Pankaj woke up. Seeing the grave situation, brave Pankaj overcoming his fear picked up a stick kept nearby and began to scare the leopard away with it. His brother & sisters were shocked and speechless in fear. Pankaj’s continuous fearless confrontation with the leopard forced it to flee. Meanwhile, the villagers gathered. Vimla Devi was injured & bleeding profusely and was taken to the hospital. Pankaj Semwal’s courageous act and fortitude saved his mother from the fatal attack of the wild animal.
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Nadaf Ejaj Abdul Rauf, 16:
The incident occurred on 30 April 2017 at Pardi village of District Nanded in Maharashtra. Few women and girls had gone to the bank of a water reservoir built on a river. One of the girls accidentally slipped & fell into the water. Seeing this, Shaikh Afsar entered in the reservoir to save her friend. Since the water was too deep, she too started to drown. Then two other girls Shaikh Afrin & Shaikh Tabassum went to rescue them. Unfortunately, none of these girls knew swimming and had no idea how deep the water was. So they too met the same fate. Hearing their screams, few men who were passing by rushed to their help. Ejaj Abdul Rauf and two other men jumped into the water. Realizing that the girls had already gone into the deep waters, the other two men returned to the shore. However, Ejaj Abdul Rauf, ignoring fear, continued his brave efforts to search in the 20 feet deep waters. Defying the odds against him, his fortitude succeeded in saving Tabassum & Aafrin. Unfortunately, the lives of two other girls could not be saved. Master Ejaj Abdul Rauf did not show fear in the difficult and dangerous situation and saved two precious lives braving all odds.
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Loukrakpam Rajeshwori Chanu, 13 (posth.):
The incident occurred on the afternoon of 10 November 2016. Ongbi Kebisana was crossing a wooden suspension bridge along with her daughter Inunganbi (3 years) and another girl Rajeshwori Chanu. The wooden bridge built over the 167 feet wide Imphal river was in a dilapidated condition due to lack of repairs. The little girl stumbled & fell into the river through a hole. Her mother instantly jumped into the water to save her child. But as she did not know swimming, she too started to drown. Seeing this, Rajeshwori Chanu too plunged into the 30 feet deep water. With resolute spirit, she caught hold of the child & her mother and pushed them towards the shore. But as she reached near the shore, she was severely exhausted due to her prolonged struggle in the deep water & cried out for help. The screams were heard by some people from the nearby area who picked up both mother and child. However, Rajeshwori Chanu was carried away by the turbulent stream and could not be traced. After three days of search, her body was recovered from the river. Rajeshwori Chanu made the supreme sacrifice of her life in her bravest of brave efforts to rescue from death two precious lives.
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Lalchhandama, 17 (posth.):
On the afternoon of 7 May 2017, Lalchhandama and his classmates had gone to river Tlawng, -the longest river of Mizoram, that was 8 km away from the city. They enjoyed swimming for an hour. While they were getting ready to return, one of their friends C. Lalremkima slipped off the mossy rock, lost his balance and fell headlong into the river. Out of panic, he could not swim and started crying for help. Lalchhandama and Lalmuansanga instantly jumped into the water & swam towards the helpless friend. The drowning boy caught hold of Lalmuansanga’s neck making him unable to breathe or swim. As a result, both of them started drowning. Lalchhandama with a predominance of courage freed Lalmuansanga from Lalremkima’s grip & somehow managed to drag him to the shore. Without hesitation, brave Lalchhandama not thinking of the consequences again went into the deep water to rescue the other friend. Despite his repeated efforts, he failed in his attempt and both of them lost their lives. Lalchhandama was fearless in meeting danger and difficulty and sacrificed his life to save his friends.
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Pankaj Kumar Mahanta, 13:
The incident occurred on the morning of 22 May 2017 at Keonjhar district of Odisha. Three women namely Baijayanti (25 years), Pushpalata (22 years) and Suchita (34 years) had gone to Baitarani river to bathe. Although most of the villagers used to bathe in the river, they were unaware of the recent sand sedimentation due to the sudden influx of rainwater. While bathing, Baijayanti’s foot slipped on the loose sand and she fell into the 20 feet deep and turbulent water. The other two women tried to rescue her but they too started drowning. Noticing this, Pankaj immediately rushed to save them and dived into the deep gorge. The three women were much heavier in weight, compared to Pankaj’s body weight and strength. Putting himself in danger, he pulled all three of them out one by one. Pankaj Kumar Mahanta saved three lives with his bold and courageous act.
The Awardees are invited to Delhi to receive their Awards from the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India on the eve of Republic Day. The children will then take part in the Republic Day Parade.
How To Prepare for SSB Interview:
