Sajjan Bhajanka
The chairman of Century Plyboards and Star Cement, who helped expand one-teacher schools for tribal children, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.
Sajjan Bhajanka built one of India’s biggest plywood businesses from a small veneer unit in Assam. In 2025 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of trade and industry, from West Bengal [1].
From Tinsukia
Bhajanka was born on 3 June 1952 in Bawani Khera, Haryana, and graduated in commerce from Dibrugarh University in 1973 [2]. He began in the timber trade with a small veneer unit in Tinsukia, the start of what became Century Plyboards, India’s leading maker of plywood, laminates and boards, and Star Cement, a major cement maker in the North East [2]. He led the plywood industry’s federation for twenty years, from 2004 to 2024 [2].
Schools for tribal children
Since 1989 he has been involved with the Friends of Tribals Society, which runs one-teacher schools in tribal villages [2]. As its all-India president from 2009 to 2015, the number of schools grew from 23,000 to 47,000 [2]. He has also helped build the Heritage group of schools and colleges in Kolkata [2].
He leads the Marwari Relief Society hospital in Kolkata and has chaired the board of NIT Meghalaya [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2025: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2025: citation for Sajjan Bhajanka — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 12 October 2026.
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