Noted litterateur and former president of Asom Sahitya Sabha, Imran Shah was on December 18,2021, formally handed over the prestigious Padma Shri Award in his home town Sivasagar in Assam.
Sivasagar deputy commissioner Megha Nidhi Dahal handed over the award to octogenarian Shah at his Dhai Ali residence of Sivasagar on behalf of the Assam government.
The very private and solemn function was witnessed by Shah’s close relatives, well-wishers and a gallery of media personnel.
Shah, while generously accepting the award, thanked the government for recognising his contribution to the society.
He was of the view that this is not just an award but an honour for his lifelong crusade in favour of the ‘have-nots’.
Notably, Imran Shah could not attend the ceremonial function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan where the Padma Awards were formally conferred to the recipients by President Ram Nath Kovind on November 8, 2021.
The Padma Shri Award for Shah was then officially sent from Rashtrapati Bhawan to the state government. The state government presented the award the award to Shah through the deputy commissioner.
The deputy commissioner expressed immense pride to have had this privilege of handing over the award to Shah.
The deputy commissioner also wished him good health and expressed his desire to witness more humanitarian output from him.
Notably, President Kovind presented the awards for both 2020 and 2021 on November 8, 2021, as the award ceremony could not be held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As many as 14 personalities from Assam were presented the coveted award for their distinguished contribution in the respective fields for the last two years.
Padma Shri, also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. It is awarded by the Government of India.
Notably, along with Shah, the other recipients of Padma Shri this year from the State included Dulal Malki, Raman Sarma, Birubala Rabha, Mangal Singh Hajowari, Gopiram Borgayan, Bijoya Chakraborty, Lakhimi Baruah and Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi.
Former chief minister Tarun Gogoi was conferred the third highest civilian award the Padma Bhushan posthumously for this year.
For the year 2020, the recipients of the Padma Shri Awards were Jogendra Nath Phukan, Indira PP Bora, Lal Bahadur Chettri, Dr Rabi Kannan and Dr Kushal Konwar Sarma.
