Shah conferred the award to Dharmadhikari and presented him a shawl, a citation and memento and a cheque of Rs 25 lakh, besides a 10-feet garland of roses.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday conferred the Maharashtra Bhushan Award to spiritual leader and social activist Dattatreya Narayan alias Appasaheb Dharmadhikari and said it was very rare to see the tradition of social service being passed from one generation to another.
Lakhs of followers of Dharmadhikari attended the grand function held on a sprawling 306-acre ground in Kharghar area of Raigad district. Flower petals were showered from a helicopter on the activist, dignitaries present on the dais and others who were part of the gathering.
Dharmadhikari has a massive following in the state due to his tree plantation drives, blood donation and medical camps as well as de-addiction work in tribal areas. The ground was packed with people and equipped with audio/video facilities for followers of Shree Sadasya (Dharmadhikari's organisation) to witness the function. The Maharashtra Bhushan award was instituted when the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance came to power in 1995.
It was initially given to personalities in the fields of literature, sports and science, before being expanded to include those from social work, journalism, public administration and health services. Shah conferred the award to Dharmadhikari and presented him a shawl, a citation and memento and a cheque of Rs 25 lakh, besides a 10-feet garland of roses.
Dharmadhikari said the Rs 25 lakh given to him will be donated to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Kapil Patil were present on the occasion.
"I have been a student of history. I have seen certain families doing good in academics, while others are good in business acumen from one generation to the next. But in Appasaheb Dharmadhikari and his father late Nanasaheb, I saw a very rare flow of tradition of social service being passed on from one generation to the next," Shah said.
He said bestowing the Maharashtra Bhushan Award on Appasaheb Dharmadhikari was an apt choice of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Fadnavis. By honouring the right person, the Maharashtra government has taken the award to great heights, he said.
“Maharashtra has shown three major streams. One that started with Shivaji Maharaj and was taken further by V D Savarkar, Vasudev Balwant Phadke, Chapekar brothers and Lokmanya Tilak who believed in sacrificing life for the service of the nation,” he said.
“The (second) Bhakti movement started with seer Ramdas, was followed by Tukaram Maharaj and continued by Namdev. The third movement is found in a few states which focus on social services. It started with Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and the mantle was carried forward by Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari and his son Appasaheb,” the BJP leader said.
Shah also said he has never seen such a big presence of lakhs of people to honour a person for his social service, and this kind of honour comes only from sacrifice without any publicity. "Do not follow the crowd, but do something so that the crowd follows you and you have done the right things," he said.
Dharmadhikari did good work at the time when the nation required his services through his team and hence, he was given the Padma award. This is the only family where two members have received the honour (Maharashtra Bhushan Award), he added.
According to an official statement issued by the Maharashtra government, 250 water tankers and 2,100 taps were installed at the venue, along with 69 ambulances, 350 doctors, 100 nurses, 32 mobile toilets, 4,200 portable toilets and 9,000 temporary toilets. Shah was welcomed by CM Shinde and his deputy Fadnavis and presented a garland, a shawl and an idol of Lord Ram.
Speaking on the occasion, Fadnavis said the state government feels honoured in giving Dharmadhikari the award and expresses gratitude towards him and his works. The work of Dharmadhikari's organisation has found a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records, Fadnavis noted.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is also a member of Dharmadhikari's organisation, said more than political power, spiritual strength is important and gives one the energy to work better. The chief minister said whenever he meets Shah, he gets the energy. Today, he has once again got such energy and the strength to fight and do “sangarsha” (struggle).
The political establishment needs the support and inspiration of a spiritual establishment and this is seen in the presence of people at the function, he said. "Just like Prime Minister Narendra Modi presents the country before the world, members of Shree Parivar also present the country abroad through their works," Shinde said.
Dharmadhikari in his address said an award is always big, showing the work has been appreciated. "Irrespective of whether people are around or not, the work (which his organisation is doing) will continue. The work is supreme and will continue for ever. Our efforts are to inculcate the importance of humanity in the hearts of everyone," the activist said.
"When the work (of the organisation) was started way back in 1943, many wanted the work to be started from urban areas, but we felt otherwise and launched it from villagers and we see the results now," he said. Even those into politics should get involved in social work, the activist said.
He also appealed to people to plant five trees, take care of them and get energy from them. A number of blood donation camps should be organised for children to deal with disorders such as thalassemia, he said. He also touched upon the issue of water scarcity. The activist said water sheds have been created in the state and there is a dire need for increasing such facilities.