N. Purushothaman Mallaya, a long-time promoter of the Konkani language and culture based in Kochi, and K.P. Haridas, renowned minimally invasive surgeon in the State capital, are two winners of the Padma Shri from the State this year.
For 84-year-old Mr. Mallya, it is a recognition for his stellar contributions to the Konkani language, particularly his long-drawn-out campaign to secure national language status for Konkani.
Thanks to his tireless efforts, Konkani was included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. In 1966, he met Indira Gandhi and gave her a memorandum signed by 1,816 persons seeking national status for Konkani. It took several decades for his efforts to find fruition and that happened only in 1992.
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Mr. Mallaya was born on May 7, 1929. He is the founder-secretary of the Konkani Bhasha Prachar Sabha.
He has written extensively on the history of the Gowda Saraswats and on the Konkani language.
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He has also done translations, one of the important among these being his translation of the Thirukkural into Konkani.
He had won the Sahitya Akademi award for translation in 2009.
Dr. Haridas, former professor and head, general surgery, Medical College, Kozhikode, is known for his minimally invasive surgical skills.
He is a product of the Thiruvananthapuram medical college and had done his higher studies in London from 1974 to 1980. He currently heads the Lords Hospital here, which he set up in January 2000.