Savjibhai Dholakia, the Founder and Chairman of Dholakia Foundation and Hari Krishna Exports Pvt. Ltd., was conferred with a Padma Shri award by the Government of India for his distinguished service in the field of Social Work in Gujarat.
Dholakia commented, “Being honoured with ‘The Padma Shri’ is not a fluke of fate, but my and my team’s hard work (has) paid off. I believe in तेरा तुझको अर्पण (meaning ‘I offer what is yours to you’) and have chosen the path of serving Mother Earth, regardless of whether or not anyone notices. I have never wished for appreciation and praise; all I wanted was to help the villages. I thank the villagers, government, families, and all those who supported and allowed me to serve and accomplish things I wanted to do for society.
“The success I’ve been rewarded by nature is because of the sheer determination and hard work done in the last 4 years by me, and the team of ‘Dholakia Foundation’ (that) helped me a lot to make this magical thing happen. We worked more than I could do in the past 40 years. I had the belief that whatever I was doing would not go in vain, and that inspired me to accomplish more and more for my country. I admit that this is the happiest moment of my life!
“With the grace of God, the blessings of elders, and the unwavering support of my family, I earned this honour. I’m grateful to all of you who’ve embarked on my journey.”
The Padma Awards – conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri – are the country’s highest civilian awards. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year, and are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are usually held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/ April every year. The awards are given in various fields of activities, namely – art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.