Swami Brahamdev
A Sri Ganganagar monk who founded schools for blind and deaf children and a free eye hospital, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.
Swami Brahamdev is a monk in Sri Ganganagar who has spent more than four decades running schools, an eye hospital and rehabilitation services for people with disabilities. In 2026 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of social work, from Rajasthan [1].
A college next to a blind school
Born on 4 May 1944, he chose a spiritual life at sixteen, under Satguru Swami Karnail Dass Ji [2]. While studying for his degree at a college in Amritsar, he came to know the children at a school for the blind next door [2]. That experience made him decide to devote his life to children with disabilities [2].
Shri Jagdamba Sanstha
In 1980 the foundation stone was laid for Shri Jagdamba Andh Vidyalaya in Sri Ganganagar, which has since given visually impaired students free schooling and hostel places [2]. The trust behind it, Shri Jagdamba Sanstha, went on to open a school for deaf children, a rehabilitation centre that provides artificial limbs, and the Shri Jagdamba Charitable Eye Hospital, inaugurated by Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao [2]. The hospital offers free cataract surgery to poor patients from the Bikaner division and nearby states [2].
In 1996 the Sanstha received the Government of India’s national award for the best organisation working for people with disabilities, presented by President Shankar Dayal Sharma [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2026: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2026 investiture ceremony brochure: citation for Swami Brahamdev — Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Accessed 12 October 2026.
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