New Delhi, YNN: Eminent folklorist, linguist, and multilingual education pioneer Dr. Mahendra Kumar Mishra from Odisha was conferred the Padma Shri award here this evening. The award was presented by President Droupadi Murmu at the first Civil Investiture Ceremony of 2026 held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The Padma awards – Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri – were instituted in 1954 and are among the highest civilian honours of the country. Recipients are announced every year on Republic Day. In the first ceremony of 2026, a total of 66 Padma awards (2 Padma Vibhushan, 6 Padma Bhushan, and 58 Padma Shri) were presented. The remaining awards will be given in a second round of investiture later.
Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and several other dignitaries attended the ceremony.
This year, the government has announced a total of 131 Padma awards, which include five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri. Among the awardees, 19 are women and 16 have been honoured posthumously. The awards recognise distinguished and exceptional achievements in various fields such as art, literature, education, sports, medicine, social work, science and engineering, public affairs, trade and industry.
Dr. Mishra has been honoured for his lifelong contribution to the field of literature and education, particularly for his dedicated work in preserving oral tribal literature and promoting mother tongue-based education for tribal children.
A native of undivided Kalahandi (present-day Nuapada district), Dr. Mishra holds a doctorate in tribal culture and has spent over four decades in primary education and cultural documentation. He previously served as the State Tribal Education Coordinator at the Odisha Primary Education Programme Authority (OPEPA). In 2006, he launched the Multilingual Education (MLE) programme in Odisha, under which curricula were developed in more than ten tribal languages. His work extensively used local folk tales, stories, art and social knowledge to make education more relevant and effective for tribal children, and it went on to influence national policy.
Among his major initiatives is the ‘Rupantar’ teacher training programme based on Paulo Freire’s educational philosophy, which sensitises non-tribal teachers to tribal language and culture. He also led the ‘Srujan’ programme that, under the National Curriculum Framework 2005, engaged over 1.5 million children in activities rooted in tribal heritage.
Dr. Mishra has authored several books in both Odia and English. He has addressed various international conferences, served as a visiting professor at Mahidol University in Thailand, and acted as an advisor on tribal language and education to UNESCO, UNICEF, and the governments of Nepal and India.
He is the founder of the Folklore Foundation and editor of the e-journal ‘Lokaratna’.
His previous honours include the Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award (for ‘Kalahandira Lokasanskruti’), Khetrabasi Sahitya Vidya Award, Kalahandi Yuva Pratibha Award, Bhubaneswar Book Fair Literature Award, the Veer Shankar Shah Raghunath Shah National Award from the Madhya Pradesh government, the Kalevala Award from the Kalevala Institute of Finland, and the UNESCO International Mother Language Award in 2023.
