Ordinary people, uncommon courage

Most bravery awards go to soldiers, police and rescue teams. The Jeevan Raksha Padak is different. It is given to people, often ordinary citizens, who save someone’s life at real risk to their own.

Our archive already includes awardees from Gujarat, Kerala, Manipur and Meghalaya, as well as people honoured in connection with the Uttarkashi rescue operation.

These stories rarely make national news for long. We are writing each of them in full, in English and Hindi, so the people they saved are not the only ones who remember.