SRINAGAR: The government of India has announced Padma Shri Awards for Romalo Ram of Jammu and Ghulam Nabi Dar of Kashmir while Togdan Rinpoche of Ladakh has been selected for conferment of Padma Bhushan Award posthumously.
“Padma Awards – one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc,” reads a notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
According to the handout Romalo Ram and Ghulam Nabi Dar have been selected for the Padma Shri Award for their contribution in the field of Art while Togdan Rinpoche has been awarded Padma Bhushan in the field of Spiritualism.
Romalo Ram is renowned Dogri folk singer and dancer of Ramnagar in Udhampur district while Ghulam Nabi Dar is a craft person renowned for wood carving. Togdan Rinpoche was leader of Drikung Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in Ladakh.
In a post on X, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has congratulated both Romalo Ram and Ghulam Nabi Dar for getting the well deserved Padma Shri.
These Awards, the notification reads, are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March / April every year. For the year 2024, the President has approved conferment of 132 Padma Awards including 2 duo cases (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one) as per list below. The list comprises 5 Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 110 Padma Shri Awards. 30 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 8 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 9 Posthumous awardees.
