Udaipur, Eight young bravehearts from across India, including three who sacrificed their lives before reaching their teens, earned the prestigious 15th Ghanshyam Binani Children’s Bravery Award for 2016. The recipients were honoured for their heroism by the Braj Binani Group at an awards ceremony at the Police Gymkhana, Mumbai.
The award has been instituted in memory of Late Ghanshyam Binani, founder-chairman of Binani Industries Ltd., and acknowledges an act of bravery and selflessness of boys and girls across India up to the age of 16 who risked their lives to save others who were in danger of losing their own.
From among the nominations received from all over India, the recipients in the ‘bravery’ category are: KamleshPradhan, 7, from Chhattisgarh, the youngest awardee; Lalduhawma, 10, from Mizoram; Amruka Kumar, 16, from Chhattisgarh; and NeelamKaluBote, 12 of Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra. Nine-year-old IlmaBano of Faizabad district, Uttar Pradesh was given the Special Category award.
Ten-year-old Sheelu, alias Golu, GulnaazBano, 9 and 12-year-old Muskaan, all from Uttar Pradesh, were awarded posthumously.
The members of the jury were Ms. MeeranBorwankar, Director Police, Maharashtra State, Ms. Uma Prabhu, Group Editor (education, careers and women), Zee Media Corporation Ltd., Ms. Kalpana Binani,Chairperson, Ghanshyam Binani Foundation, Joey Ghose, MD, Binani Cement and Ms. Bina Verma, CEO, Braj Binani Group.
“The determination and courage shown by the children is truly inspiring. I am very happy and proud to see all the brave children here said MrsKalpanaBinani, I would like to congratulate the winners and my best wishes to them for the future. May they continue to be brave and may all their dreams come true.”
“The Braj Binani Group needs to commended for acknowledging the efforts of these brave children,” said Ms. Borwankar. “I believe such awards instill confidence in young children who have learnt things the tough way. It was a challenging task to select the award winners. Neelam and Kamlesh want to join the police force, while Amruka wishes to become a nurse. They need to follow their dreams.”
“It was yet another difficult task to choose the winners,” added Mr. Joey Ghose, MD, Binani Cement. “Truly, all the nominations that we received were equally significant.”
Ms. Uma Prabhu, Group Editor (education, careers and women), Zee Media Corporation Ltd., said: “I would also like to congratulate the parents for instilling good values in their children. It is with good character that these children have demonstrated humanity with brave hearts.”
The awards include the ‘bravery’ category, and the ‘posthumous’ category that was introduced in 2014. The awards are presented to both male and female candidates both categories.
The deserving children from the ‘bravery’ category were awarded with a cash prize of Rs. 51,000, a Medal of Courage, a Certificate of Recognition and a Citation each. The posthumous awardees received Medal of Courage, Certificate of Recognition and a Citation each.
Bravery Category:
KamleshPradhan, 7, Chhattisgarh: It was a surprisingly hot day on January 25, 2015 when 7-year-old KamleshPradhan and his friend Shubham felt their throats were parched. “Let’s cool ourselves with some sweet, refreshing drink,” they decided. So off they went to a fruit juice stall near a field outside their village Kanchpur in Chhattisgarh. After gulping a glassful, they felt fresh. It was around 12 noon and the sun was burning right above their head. While on their way back home, Shubham was jumping around in the open field covered with a thick layer of dry grass. In the process, he unknowingly stepped on a mound of hot ash, singeing his feet. As he began to scream with pain, Kamlesh also shouted for help. But no one was around because of the noon heat. So Kamlesh himself put his one foot in the burning ash and pulled Shubham out. However, Shubham had burnt his leg up to his knees and could not walk. Without wasting time, Kamlesh rushed off to his father and other villagers who admitted Shubham to hospital. The whole village was jubilant and acclaimed the courage and presence of mind of Kamlesh.
Lalduhawma, 10, Mizoram: It was summer and holiday time for school children. This incident took place on May 4, 2015. With no homework, 10-year-old schoolboy Lalduhawma went out hunting birds with his friends, armed with their home-made catapults. They chose a nearby power station just outside their picturesque village in hilly Mizoram covered with many trees. However, one of his friends accidentally touched the power line and was gripped by the live electric wire. The impact was frightening as the friend howled in pain. On seeing his friend’s pitiful condition, Lalduhawma quickly fastened his chappal and repeatedly kicked his friend to set him free, risking his own life. After kicking him several times, the young friend was finally freed from the dangerous wire and fell off on the ground. Lalduhawma sent his younger brother to call for help while he himself carried his friend to safety to a national highway nearby. Soon a group of villagers and relatives arrived and took the wounded boy to hospital. The staff at the hospital immediately admitted him and began to treat him for burns. The wounds were so bad that a portion of his skin on the hand was burnt and he was still writhing in pain. The doctors gave him anesthesia and operated on him. After a few hours of rest in the hospital, the boy was discharged. Lalduhawma, the villagers and relatives all expressed gratitude to the doctors and other medical staff for timely treatment of the boy who left the hospital with a smile on his face.
Amruka Kumar, 16, Chhattisgarh: On a Sunday morning on July 5, 2015 around 10:30 a.m., as was her habit, Parvati had gone to take a bath at the village well in Khillari, Chhattisgarh. She took along her two-year-old daughter as there was no one else to take care of her at home. While Parvati was bathing, the small baby wandered around the well and suddenly fell into the water. As Parvati finished her bath and got dressed up, she looked around for her daughter when she heard a baby cry. She bent over the wall of the well and was shocked to see her own daughter in the well. Parvati started crying and yelling for help. Hearing her cries, Amruka Kumar, her 16-year-old neighbor who was nearby, came running and jumped into the well to save the baby. The well was 16 feet deep and the water seven feet deep. Amruka had to struggle a lot before she could grab the infant and bring it to safety out of the well. The mother and all those who had gathered around watched nervously. When Amruka handed over the baby to her smiling mother, there were tears of joy. All the villagers of Khillari joined in and shouted with joy and cheered Amruka for her daring, selfless deed. The mother and the crowd thanked Amruka once again before everyone returned to their homes happily.
NilamKaluBote, 12, Maharashtra: One afternoon on March 23, 2015 about 1 p.m., NilamKaluBote, a 12-year-old schoolgirl studying in the Std. VI at Manikozar village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, was playing at home with two younger sisters and a brother. There was no school that day and all three were enjoying together. Nilam prepared a special, tasty snack for them all. In spite of the heat outside, it was cool inside the house. The children were getting ready to have their lunch after a game when suddenly, to their utter shock, the house, built of dry leaves and grass, caught fire. They were so frightened they forgot to eat their meals. Staring at the flames for a moment, Nilam quickly picked up her two sisters and brother and ran far away to safety. But before she did, she was also kind enough to rescue the pet goat tied up in the house. By this time the fire had spread to neighbouring houses. All the neighbours were running helter-skelter with fright in all directions. Realizing the dangers of the deadly situation, Nilam quickly rushed ahead to a neighbour’s home and rescued her before her house was reduced to ashes. Nilam’spresence of mind not only saved herself, her sisters and brother, but also her neighbour. The people of Manikozar village still remember the courageous deed and resolute spirit of Nilam with thankfulness.
Posthumous Category:
Sheelu, alias Golu, 10: Shambhu, Chhotu and his elder brother, 10-year-old Sheelu, alias Golu, loved mangoes, their favourite fruit. One morning on July 18, the three were walking on a road on their way to a mango farm in Mohanlalganj village in Uttar Pradesh. It was a school holiday and they had decided to enjoy the time by relishing their favourite fruit. As they were looking for trees with ripe mangoes, somehow Chhotu slipped and fell into a lake alongside the road. Seeing his younger brother fall into the lake, Golu immediately jumped into the water. However, Shambhu was quick to notice that both Chhotu and Golu were about to drown in the lake. He began to shout for help. Fortunately, a group of villagers who were passing by heard his cry and immediately rushed to the spot and pulled both brothers out of the deep water. But by the time the villagers rushed the boys to hospital, both the young brothers were declared dead on arrival. The villagers were stunned by the double tragedy in which two young lives were lost. Shambhu is unable to get over the death of his two friends but fondly remembers the heroic deed of Golu. Since that tragic incident, wheveverShambhu sees mangoes, it brings tears to his eyes.
Joint winners: Late GulnaazBano, Late Muskaan. At a village called Mavai in district Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh a young boy named Mukhtar and four girls -- namely Gulnaaz, Muskaan, Ilma and Seema – had gone to nearby fields to graze their goats since the fields were covered with fresh, green grass. While the girls got busy playing games and talking with each other, Mukhtar, too, thought of having fun and went for a swim in a lake near the field. Although an experienced swimmer, Mukhtar suddenly began to drown. Three girls among the four, Gulnaaz, Muskaan and Ilma rushed to the spot and without giving it a second thought, jumped into the lake. But Seema, who stayed behind, saw that all the four were are drowning. She quickly raised an alarm and began to scream for help. Hearing her screams, people from Mavai village rushed to towards the lake, and made an all-out effort to pull them from the deep water. However, they could not save Mukhtar, Muskaan and GulnaazBano. Today, Ilma and Seema live with sad memories of their dear friends. But they have one consolation – each one tried to save the other.
