Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation Announced Winners for the 24th Mahaveer Awards 2021

Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation, established in 1994 by Shri Sugalchand Jain to promote, honour people doing selfless services, has announced winners for the 24^th Mahaveer Awards 2021. 

Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation Announced Winners for the 24th Mahaveer Awards 2021

The award winner for the 24^th Mahaveer Awards instituted by Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation have been selected by the Selection Jury in its meeting on 25^th August 2021.

The names of the awardees are as follows:

Each award carries a cash component of Rs. 10 lakhs (Rupees Ten Lakhs), a memento and a citation. The awards will be presented in a formal function shortly.

For the Twenty-fourth Mahaveer Awards, 250 nominations were considered by the Shortlisting Committee. The awardees were decided by an eminent Selection Jury headed by Justice Shri M. N. Venkatachaliah, Former Chief Justice of India. The other members of the Selection Jury are as follows:

• Poojya Acharya Shri Chandanaji Maharaj, Social Reformer

• Shri S Gurumurthy, Part-time Director of RBI

• Prof. B M Hegde, Chairman, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mangalore Kendra

• Shri T S Krishnamurthy, Former Chief Election Commissioner of India

• Shri D R Mehta, I.A.S.(retd.), Former Chairman, SEBI

• Shri Prabhat Kumar, I.A.S.(retd.), Former Cabinet Secretary, Government of India

• Justice Shri G S Singhvi, Former Judge of Supreme Court of India

• Prof. M S Swaminathan, Chairman Emeritus, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai

The awards are given for excellence in human endeavour in the fields of Non-violence & Vegetarianism, Education, Medicine and Community & Social Service.

So far 76 awardees from 21 States and 1 Union Territory have been recognized for their very high standard of selfless service for the welfare of the underprivileged. Eminent personalities of our country like the President of India, the Vice President of India, Governors, Chief Minister and other Ministers have presented the awards. This year 4 more awardees are selected taking the total to 80 awards.

There are individuals and institutions who are doing selfless service for the welfare of the underprivileged and the weak in our society. With a view to focus public attention on the activities of these altruistic persons and encourage others to emulate them, the Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation has instituted the Mahaveer Awards which are given every year. The activities of the Foundation are ably guided and supervised by its Managing Trustee Shri Prasanchand Jain.

Nominations in the prescribed format are invited from around the country, enlisting the help of district administrators, legislators, bureaucrats, educationists, media, social workers, parliamentarians and other eminent people. Nominations are received every year from almost all the States in the country.

The Foundation invites nominations for 25th Mahaveer Awards from individuals and institutions doing selfless service in the 4 categories, namely, Non-Violence & Vegetarianism, Education, Medicine and Community & Social Service. The nomination forms can be downloaded from our website www.bmfawards.org

Activities of the Awardees

1. Shri Jasraj Shrishrimal, aged 70 years, organises rallies, press conferences, seminars, public meetings and lectures for animal rights and welfare. He rescued about 5500 cattle from being slaughtered and provided them safe homes in Goshalas. He has rescued and provided shelter to about 300 snakes, buffaloes, dogs and birds, 480 camels. He contributed time and money in establishing 40 Goshalas in Andhra Pradesh.​

2. Mahila Abhivruddhi Mattu Samrakshana Samsthe (MASS) works with dalit women, ex-Devadasi women and their children. 3779 ex-devadasi women are its members. MASS is providing livelihood promotion for ex-devadasis and dalits, services for ensuring quality education to dalit children, campaign against child marriage and legal support for women victims of injustice. 70 Learning Centres are established in backward areas providing education to children belonging to underprivileged sections of society. It keeps strict vigil in the district to ensure that there are no incidences of Devadasi dedications. It empowers marginalized and downtrodden women to participate in the mainstream of society and emancipates them socially.

3. Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya, started in 1972, is one of the world’s largest eye care service providers with the State-of-the-art Eye Hospital, latest equipment, Speciality departments, largest modern Ophthalmic OT Complex providing quality and low cost Sustainable Comprehensive Eye Care Services. The Chikitsalaya is performing 1.40 lakh eye surgeries every year. 80% of the patients are provided quality eye care free of cost, 15% at subsidized rates and 5% are charged for the services. Outreach programs like screening camps and providing primary eye care services are conducted in districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

4. Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health (SEARCH) was established by Dr. Abhay Bang and Dr. Rani Bang in 1986 in Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra, one of the most impoverished districts in India with tribals constituting 40% of its population. SEARCH is running a Hospital called Maa Danteshwari Tribal Hospital providing comprehensive health services to the rural and tribal patients of 2500 villages in Gadchiroli and adjoining districts. Community health programs are conducted serving 150 tribal and rural villages covering a population of 1,20,000. It is training women community health workers to provide Home-based Mother, New-born and Child Care in 39 villages thus reducing the infant mortality by 42% in the region. Research is done to find ways to further improve the quality of life of the tribals.