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From a nine year old lass who drowned while saving her friends to a fourteen year old who risked her own life to save her little brother from a certain death due to electrocution, these bravery award stories of valor will surely give you goose bumps!
The National Bravery Awards are given by the Government of India and Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) every year to about 25 Indian children for meritorious acts of bravery against all odds.
Let us have a look at these inspirational stories of undaunted courage:
15 Inspiring Stories Of National Bravery Award Winners
1. Payal Devi
Age : 14 , State : Jammu and Kashmir
While returning from school on the afternoon of 12th May, 2016, Payal saw her 6 year old niece Shefali and a 14 year old boy, Rakesh Kumar being washed away in the turbulent Ladhwal nullah near her house in Ramban district of J&K. She promptly jumped into 18-20 feet deep water to save them but unfortunately all of them lost their lives.
2. Sumit Mamgain
Age : 15 , State : Uttarakhand
Sumit decided to fight back when his older cousin Ritesh was being dragged away by a leopard at Manoharpur. He hit the leopard with a sickle, holding its tail. He kept pelting stones at it until he ran away. He was awarded Sanjay Chopra Award for his act of extraordinary audacity.
3. Late Tarh Peeju
Age : 9 , State : Arunachal Pradesh
Tarh sacrificed her life while saving her friends Marry and Charu on 19th May, 2016 in Naharlagun. She was posthumously conferred the Bharat Award ( The top honour at the National Bravery Awards). “She was a brave and fearless girl who liked helping those in need.” Her father fondly recalls.
4. Siya Khode
Age : 14 , State : Karnataka
In April 2015, Siya was playing hide and seek with her cousins when she decided to go to the rooftop in Dharwad district. Her two year old brother followed her but after playing for a while, she found him in contact with a live wire, she held him by his shirt and pulled him away to safety.
5. Lalhriatpuii
Age : 13 , State : Mizoram
On the morning of March 18, 2016 , Lalhriatpuii and her elder brother were unloading goods from the car when accidentally, the car slid downward on the steep road with her younger cousin inside. This brave girl managed to safely pull her cousin out of the car, but was run over by it and succumbed to her injuries. She won Bapu Gaidhani Award posthumously for sacrificing her life.
6. Praful Sharma
Age : 6 , State : Himachal Pradesh
While returning from Dharamshala, a school bus stopped for a short break. However, a child fiddled with the brakes and the bus started moving down the hill. Praful quickly jumped into the driver’s seat, applied the brakes and stopped the bus. This act saved every one from a major accident.
7. Anshika Pandey
Age : 16 , State : Uttar Pradesh
A class 11 student, Anshika was on her way to school when she was attacked by kidnappers on 14th September, 2015. One of them tried to throw acid into her eyes. But, she somehow managed to shield her face and fought back forcing the goons to flee the scene. Anshika was rescued by her friend Garima, when she was found in a pool of blood by her. She took her home and saved her.
8. Nisha Patil
Age : 17 , State : Maharashtra
Class 12 student, Nisha was on her way back from college when she saw smoke coming out from her neighbourhood in Bhadgaon village of Jalgaon district. She was conferred the bravery award for saving the life of a 6 month old infant named Purvi, who was trapped inside a room that was on fire. She fearlessly entered the house and brought her back in 2015.
9. Akshita & Akshit Sharma
Age : 16 & 13 , State : Delhi
The brother and sister duo were returning from school on December 8th last year to their home in Malviya Nagar, they found the door of their ground floor home open. When they entered, they saw two thieves, who tried to escape but the duo managed to catch one of them. They raised an alarm after snatching the bag from him, hearing which some neighbours came and called the police.
10. Tejasweeta Pradhan & Shivani Gond
Age : 18 & 17 , State : West Bengal
For uncovering an international sex racket with the help of NGO Marg, and fearlessly helping the police, the duo were awarded the prestigious Geeta Chopra Award. They befriended the traffickers on Facebook in May 2016 and then started communicating with them by telephone, making the traffickers believe that they were willing to run away from home before leading them to the trap laid by the police.
11. Shivampet Ruchitha
Age : 8 , State : Telengana
On July 24th , 2014, Ruchitha noticed that their bus had stopped on a railway track and a train was coming towards them. Showing extraordinary presence of mind, she pushed two students out of the window and thus saved them, while jumping off the bus herself too. Unfortunately, she could not save her younger sister who was sitting in front row.
12. Sonu Mali
Age : 10 , State : Rajasthan
During a class in school, a huge black cobra entered a rolled up mat that was kept nearby for sitting together on the ground. After school, students tried to keep the same mat somewhere else but this enraged the snake and it took position to attack a schoolmate of Sonu. When he saw this, he jumped and pulled the boy away.
13. Ramdinthara
Age : 15 , State : Mizoram
Son of a tea-seller, Ramdinthara received the Bapu Gaidhani Award for saving the lives of two boys who were struggling to free themselves after falling on fence. He grabbed their hair with his bare hands to pull them up and then took them to the hospital.
14. Dishant Mehndiraata
Age : 13 , State : Haryana
On 4th April, 2015 , a stranger knocked at Mehndiraata’s home and asked if he could use the toilet. And while Archana, mother of Dishant , was leading the way to show him the bathroom, he suddenly took out a knife and put it on her neck. He started threatening them for cash and valuables. Dishant instantly fell down on man’s feet pretending to plead and suddenly stood up, grabbed the knife from his hand and threw it. His family got him arrested eventually.
15. Roluahpuii
Age : 13 , State : Mizoram
On the morning of 3rd March, 2016, when students of a government school had gone to Tuivawl river for a picnic. Roluahpuii was playing with her friends when she heard the screams of her batch mates who were caught in a whirlpool of 18 feet deep river. She was given Bapu Gaidhani Award posthumously for rescuing two of her friends but sadly she entrapped herself and was dragged inside the whirlpool.
“For the award winners, this act of bravery should not become an end in itself. Life must continue to evolve and the children should continue to develop their careers and continue to serve society to the best of their abilities.” Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi advised the indomitable awardees.
You can also check out the inspiring stories of rural entrepreneurs of India.
