For their unmatched valour, 25 children have received the National Bravery Awards on the eve of the 67th Republic day.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented the award – a medal, a certificate and cash prize – to 22 boys and three girls on Sunday. Earlier, on January 22, they were felicitated by the President Pranab Mukherjee.
Exemplary Valour
These 25 children have been rewarded for their efforts to save others, some even at the cost of their own lives.
From saving friends from drowning, braving fires to save lives and fighting snatchers, the children have demonstrated extraordinary courage and presence of mind to help people in difficult situations.
Of the 25, two awardees — Gaurav Kawduji Sahastrabuddhe and Shivansh Singh — were honoured posthumously.
Fifteen-year-old Gaurav from Maharashtra was awarded the ‘Bharat Award’, the highest of the National Bravery awards, for his heroic efforts to save four friends from drowning in a lake. His mother received the award from Modi.
Thirteen-year-old Shivansh was also awarded posthumously for sacrificing his life to save his friend from drowning in the 50-60 feet deep waters of Saryu river. Unfortunately, he could not save his friend. Shivansh was a medal-winning swimmer from Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh.
The youngest to receive the bravery award is eight-year-old Shivampet Ruchitha of Telangana. Ruchitha was awarded the prestigious ‘Geeta Chopra Award’ for displaying exemplary courage in saving two lives when a train hit her school bus. She pushed the two out of the window of the bus just as the collision took place. Unfortunately, she could not save her younger sister who was on the same bus.
The Bravehearts
Sixteen-year-old Arjun Singh from Uttarakhand was conferred with the ‘Sanjay Chopra Award’. Arjun bravely rescued his mother when a tiger attacked her.
Ten–year-old Joena Chakrabortty from Chhattisgarh confronted a thief who snatched her father’s phone in the national capital. She ran after the snatchers and took the phone back with her resolute courage.
With his exceptional courage, Haryana’s Dishant Mehndiratta foiled a robbery attempt at his home. The 12-year-old saved his entire family when he snatched a knife from an armed robber by throwing him off balance.
Awardees will be granted financial assistance until they complete their schooling and also when undertaking professional courses such as engineering and medicine.
The bravehearts will now participate in the Republic Day parade on Rajpath on January 26.
Started in 1957, the National Bravery Awards reward children between the ages of six and eighteen for their brave deeds. For a complete list of all the children who have recieved the award this year, click here.
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