Birubala Rabha
An Assam activist who fought witch-hunting, founded Mission Birubala and pushed for the state's 2015 law against it, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Assam
Padma Awards 2021
Recipients announced for 2021 that we have profiled so far (5 Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan, 94 Padma Shri). The official list is published by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Showing 25–48 of 109 heroes
Bombay Jayashri Ramnath
A Carnatic vocalist who also sings Hindustani music and ghazals, and earned an Oscar nomination for a song in Life of Pi, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Tamil Nadu
Chaman Lal Sapru
A Jammu and Kashmir educationist who became the region's first Hindi lecturer and wrote 18 books, honoured posthumously with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021 (posthumous)
- Jammu and Kashmir
Chandra Shekhar Singh
A farmer who bred and registered new paddy and wheat varieties and founded the Vasundhara seed brand, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Uttar Pradesh
Chandrakant Mehta
A Gujarati and Hindi author of 173 books who rose from primary teacher to acting vice-chancellor of Gujarat University, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Gujarat
Chandrakant Sambhaji Pandav
A former AIIMS professor known as the 'Iodine Man of India' for his work to make iodised salt universal, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Delhi
Chutni Devi
A Seraikela woman thrown out of her home as a 'witch' who went on to rescue 125 women from witch-hunting, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Jharkhand
Dadudan Gadhavi
A Gujarati poet and folk singer known as Kavi Daad, whose songs were sung by two generations of folk artists, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Gujarat
Damodaran Kaithapram
A Malayalam lyricist, music director and Carnatic singer who has written more than 1,500 film songs over 30 years, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Kerala
Dhananjay Diwakar Sagdeo
A doctor who has spent four decades in Wayanad turning a small clinic into a hospital that treats tribal patients free, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Kerala
Dharma Narayan Barma
A retired Cooch Behar teacher who has spent his life reviving the Kamatapuri language and its history, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- West Bengal
Dilip Kumar Singh
A Bihar country doctor who rode to villages on horseback, treated leprosy patients and ran free cataract camps, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Bihar
Dulal Manki
A singer of Assam's tea tribes, known as the Jhumair Samrat, who began on All India Radio at the age of 12, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Assam
Dulari Devi
A Madhubani painter from the Mallah community who learned the art while working as a domestic help in an artist's home, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Bihar
Ghulam Rasool Khan
A Srinagar master craftsman who revived the patchwork jamawar shawl and runs workshops of 300 artisans, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Jammu and Kashmir
Girish Prabhune
A Pune writer and activist who has worked for decades with nomadic and denotified tribes and runs a gurukul, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Maharashtra
Gopiram Bargayn Burabhakat
A Sattriya monk and master who lived at the Uttar Kamalabari Sattra from the age of five and led its performers, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Assam
Gulfam Ahmed
A seventh-generation musician of the Senia gharana from Lucknow who adapted the rabab to play classical ragas, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Uttar Pradesh
Imran Shah
A Sivasagar writer of novels, stories and poems over 70 years, and a former president of the Asom Sahitya Sabha, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Assam
J N Pande
An AIIMS professor who brought bronchoscopy to India and set up its first medical ICU, honoured posthumously with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021 (posthumous)
- Delhi
Jagadish Chandra Halder
A retired West Bengal doctor who writes on the Matua faith and on refugees, and volunteers at workers' hospitals, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- West Bengal
Jagdish Chaudhary
The Dom Raja of Varanasi, head of the community that keeps the sacred fire at the city's cremation ghats, honoured posthumously with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021 (posthumous)
- Uttar Pradesh
Jai Bhagwan Goyal
A Kurukshetra scholar who revealed medieval Hindi literature written in Gurmukhi, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Haryana
Jaswantiben Jamnadas Popat
One of seven Mumbai women who started Lijjat Papad in 1959 with Rs 80, building a cooperative of some 45,000 women, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021.
- Padma Shri 2021
- Maharashtra