The `National Bravery Awards for Indian Children` are some of the prestigious civil awards in India, which are presented to the Indian children for meritorious acts of bravery against all obstacles. The Government of India and the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) is the authorities for presenting the awards.
There are a number of awards given under the National Bravery Awards category and these awards include:
The Bharat Award, (incepted in 1987),
The Sanjay Chopra Award (incepted in since 1978)
The Geeta Chopra Award (incepted in 1978)
The Bapu Gayadhani Award (incepted in 1988) and
The National Bravery Award (incepted in 1957).
24 children below the age of 16 years receive the awards every year and the awards are given on the occasion of Children`s Day, November 14th. The Government of India incepted the award in the year 1957 and total 756 children have been awarded, so far. Out of these children, 541 are boys and the rest 215 are girls.
The Sanjay Chopra Award and Geeta Chopra Award are two of the most coveted awards among the National Bravery Awards. The awards were instituted in the year 1978 in the memory of the two brave Chopra children, who laid their lives while confronting their kidnappers. These two awards are presented to a boy and girl, respectively for their acts of bravery. The Bharat Award is considered the highest award among all the National Bravery Awards. This award was incepted in the year 1987 and the other prestigious award in this category, named the Bapu Gayadhani Award was started to be presented from 1988. The names of the award winning children are announced on 14th November, every year and the children receive the award from the Prime Minister of India, on a later date. A reception is also organised in their honour by the President of India and they take part in the Republic Day Parade at Rajpath, New Delhi, on 26th January, as well.
The National Bravery Award was a brainchild of India`s first Prime Minister, Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, who thought about it on 2nd October, 1957, while watching a performance at Delhi`s Ramlila grounds, at the Red Fort. An accident occurred in that programme, when a fire broke out in a Shamiana, due to a short circuit. A 14 year-old scout, named Harish Chandra reacted bravely at that time and he instantly ripped open the burning Shamiana, using his knife. He saved hundreds of people who were trapped inside, with this act. Pundit Nehru was stunned and inspired with the brave act of that child and he instructed the authorities to constitute an award to honour brave children from all over the country. Action was taken immediately and Harish Chandra became the first one to receive this award. The tradition has continued since then and the last award was given in the year 2009. The Government of India has also released a commemorative book titled "Brave Hearts" in 2001 that features the winners of the 1999 National Bravery Awards.
The selection of the National Bravery Awards winners is made from the applications received from different sources like the Central/State Government departments, Panchayats, Zilla Parishads (District Councils), School Authorities and also from the State and Union Territory Councils for child welfare. The ICCW constitutes a special committee for the selection of the awardees. The committee comprises representatives from the secretariats of the President and the Vice- President, various Government Ministries and Departments and also representatives from the Central Social Welfare Board, the Indian Police, All India Radio, Doordarshan, etc. Some of the leading NGOs in India like the National Bal Bhavan, SOS Children`s Villages of India, Ramakrishna Mission, also have their representatives in the committee and the senior ICCW members also share their opinions about the selection.
The recipients of the National Bravery Awards get a medal, a certificate and also cash award. The Bharat Awardees receive a Gold Medal, while the other awardees receive silver medals. The Government of India also gives financial assistance to the awardees to complete their schooling, without any obstacles. This financial assistance is given as a part of ICCW`s sponsorship programme and the Government of India also help the children to pursue professional courses like medical and engineering, under the Indira Gandhi Scholarship Scheme. The Government of India has also announced reservation of some seats in Medical and Engineering Colleges and Polytechnics for the winners of the award, in the year 2009. Some of the recipients of the awards continue to get assistance from the Government, till they complete their graduation.
