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Brij Lal Bhat
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Social work · Jammu & Kashmir

A second career in service

Brij Lal Bhat spent his working life helping Kashmir's apples and walnuts reach markets. When he retired, he put the same skills to work for a community trying to find its way home.

Brij Lal Bhatबृज लाल भट
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Brij Lal Bhat. Photo: via The Indian Express

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Born
16 March 1945, Anantnag, Kashmir
Training
Horticulture postgraduate; Marketing & Refrigeration course, Washington State University
Later work
Chairman, Administrative Committee, Ramakrishna Mahasammelan Ashram–Vivekananda Kendra, Nagdandi
Honour
Padma Shri 2026 (Social Work)
1945born in Anantnag
2026Padma Shri

Building Kashmir’s fruit systems

Brij Lal Bhat’s profile is an unusual mix: building institutions in horticulture, and community service after retirement. According to his official 2026 Padma citation, he was born on 16 March 1945 in Anantnag, Kashmir, and stood first in the first class in his horticulture postgraduate degree. He also took a specialised course in Marketing and Refrigeration at Washington State University, USA.

In Jammu and Kashmir’s agriculture and horticulture sector, he served as Project Director for Agri Export Zones, Chief Executive Officer of World Bank-aided Indo-Australian and Italian projects, and Director of Horticulture Planning and Marketing. The citation links him to cardboard packaging, cold-chain systems, main and satellite fruit and vegetable markets, the apple and walnut Agri Export Zone, and standards for propagating nut-fruit plants. He also led a J&K delegation to SAARC countries to promote fruit exports.

After retirement

After retiring, he turned to social service and to helping communities affected by displacement rebuild. The citation records him as Chairman of the Administrative Committee of the Shri Ramakrishna Mahasammelan Ashram–Vivekananda Kendra in Nagdandi, Anantnag. There he worked to help displaced Kashmiri Hindus reconnect with their roots, encouraged interaction between faiths and civil society, ran youth activities and supported infrastructure for settlement.

Orchards and community

His later work also includes demonstration high-density apple and walnut orchards, and developing community housing and logistics.

A senior technical administrator did not treat retirement as the end of public life. He turned his horticulture knowledge and organising experience to rebuilding community. Technical skill and social service are not separate worlds.

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