'We dedicated it to Tukdoji Maharaj': Padma Shri winner Janardan Bothe

Amravati (Maharashtra) [India], January 27(ANI): General Secretary of the All India Gurudev Seva Mandal, Janardan Bothe, has said that the Padma Shri conferred on him for distinguished contributions to the field of Social work is dedicated to Tukdoji Maharaj, who is revered in the organisation.
Speaking to ANI, Bothe said, "The Padma Shri award I have received belongs to the followers of the All India Gurudev Seva Mandal... We have dedicated it at the feet of Tukdoji Maharaj. This award is a recognition of his ideals and his work in uniting Indian culture, and Tukdoji Maharaj was also a freedom fighter."
Padma Shri is the fourth-highest civilian award of the country.
Meanwhile, Dr Armida Fernandes was conferred with the Padma Shri award in 2026 for her distinguished contributions to the field of Medicine.
Speaking to ANI, Fernandes expressed her happiness and praised her team at the NGO Sneha (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action) for their contribution, noting that the achievement was a result of collective efforts.
"I am very honoured to get this award. I worked for 50 years at BMC with Sion Hospital, in the slums of Mumbai, and now in Palliative Care. I'm blessed with very good teams from Sion, from my NGO SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action), and from Palliative. Everybody worked together," said Fernandez.
President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday approved the conferment of 131 Padma awards, including two duo cases counted as single awards, and Bollywood actor Dharmendra Singh Deol and former Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan as recipients of the Padma Vibhushan posthumously.
The list comprises five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awards, recognising distinguished service across a wide range of fields. 90 awardees are women and the list includes 6 persons from the categories of foreigners, NRI, PIO, and OCI, and 16 posthumous awardees, according to a government statement.
The Padma Vibhushan awardees include actor Dharmendra Singh Deol (posthumous) for Art from Maharashtra; former Supreme Court judge KT Thomas for Public Affairs from Kerala; violin maestro N Rajam for Art from Uttar Pradesh; eminent Malyalam journalist P Narayanan for Literature and Education from Kerala; as well as veteran left leader and former Kerala CM Achuthanandan (posthumous) for Public Affairs. (ANI)