Padma Awards 2026: 3 "Unsung Heroes" From Assam Feature in Provisional List

Ahead of the 77th Republic Day celebrations on Monday (January 26), a provisional list of Padma Awards recipients has surfaced, featuring three distinguished personalities from Assam. The annual civilian honours recognise individuals for exceptional and sustained contributions across diverse fields.

The proposed awardees represent a wide cross-section of regions, including remote and underserved areas, with many having worked at the grassroots level for decades. Their contributions span healthcare, education, livelihood generation, sanitation, environmental conservation, and the preservation of traditional arts and cultural heritage. Several of those shortlisted are also reported to belong to marginalised communities.

The honours are expected to continue the focus on recognising “unsung heroes”—individuals whose sustained, often behind-the-scenes efforts have had a meaningful social impact. The official list of Padma Awards recipients is likely to be announced as part of the customary Republic Day honours.

Nuruddin Ahmed

Noted sculptor Nuruddin Ahmed figures prominently on the provisional list. A distinguished artist from Assam, Ahmed’s creative work spans sculpture, puppetry, theatre, and ambience design. Born on January 17, 1958, in Sathikuchi village of Nalbari district, he received initial training in sculpture at Sir J.J. College of Arts before further honing his skills at the Garhi studio of the Lalit Kala Akademi, where he studied the application of modern technology in sculpture. He also holds a diploma in puppetry from the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training. Beginning his artistic journey as a puppeteer, Ahmed’s creative inquisitiveness eventually led him to Assam’s mobile theatre circuit, where he carved out a distinct identity as an ambience and set designer. Over the past four decades, he has been closely associated with the state’s mobile theatre movement, designing sets and visual environments for more than 300 plays performed in thousands of shows, making him one of its most influential creative contributors.

Pokhila Lekthepi

The second name on the list is Pokhila Lekthepi, a renowned Karbi folk singer and one of the most influential voices in Karbi music, with a career spanning over four decades. Born in Dupar Timung village near the Dakmoka main market in Karbi Anglong district, she comes from a musically inclined family—her parents, Mukhim Lekthe and Basday Timupi, were both passionate about singing. Lekthepi, who has stated that she was born around 1952, began performing at a young age and rose to prominence after participating in the first Karbi Youth Festival in 1964 at the Diphu Karbi Club. She won several competitions and later began composing her own songs. Her exceptional talent earned her the prestigious Karbi Kungripi Award in 1976 and again in 1978, which led to her debut on All India Radio after she was noticed by the Karbi branch director of Akashvani Guwahati. Over the years, she has recorded more than 300 songs and received numerous honours, including the *Queen of Melody* title from Hills Idol in 2011, the Swabha Shilpi Amulya Kakati Memorial Award in 2009, the Luit Gaurav Award in 2018, and the Shilpi Award along with the Shilpi Pension from the Government of Assam in 2023. In 2024, her lifelong contribution to Karbi music was further recognised with the Assam Gaurav Award, the state’s third-highest civilian honour.

Jogesh Deuri

Also featured on the provisional list is Dr Jogesh Deuri, a visionary sericulture expert and one of Assam’s foremost authorities on heritage silks. He is widely respected for his lifelong commitment to the preservation, scientific advancement, and global promotion of Eri and Muga silk. An alumnus of Gauhati University, Guwahati, Dr Deuri completed his early education at Kokolabari High School and later earned a PhD from the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM), with doctoral research focusing on sericultural practices and potential within the Bodo community of Kokrajhar district. He has held senior leadership positions in the Government of Assam and the Bodoland Territorial Council, including serving as Director of Sericulture for the BTC, where he played a key role in expanding ericulture and strengthening vanya silk-based livelihoods. His career spans administration, research and development, project formulation, and public outreach, and he has been a regular speaker at major forums such as the Muga Resham Vigyan Krishi Mela, offering sustainability-driven solutions to farmers. In recognition of his outstanding contribution to agriculture and allied sectors, particularly sericulture, he was conferred the Assam Gaurav Award in 2023.