Philanthropist and social worker Baba Iqbal Singh, who is on a ventilator, is among this year's Padma Shree award winners.
He retired as the director of agriculture in the Himachal Pradesh government in 1986 and the very year started Akal Academy, a school on the foothills of Baru Sahib in the state.
The school which had five students at the beginning, is today a chain of 129 CBSE affiliated English medium schools. He also set up two private universities which now have around around 70,000 rural students.
Furthering the cause of women empowerment in rural areas, the 96-year-old set up educational institutions dedicated to women, teachers training program and employment centres within the villages.
In an interview to Berkley Center in 2010, he said as a small boy one of his favorite pastimes was to listen to and later to read the stories of ancient saints like Dhruv and Prehlad (both boy-princes), and other sages, seers, saints, and the Sikh Gurus.
Who Is Shanti Devi? World-Renowed Godna Painter And Padma Awardee Raveena Tandon's Classic Black And Golden Saree, Worn When She Received The Padma Shri Award, Spells Elegance "Pained": PM Modi Tweets On Social Worker Baba Iqbal Singh's Death 'Entire NEET Paper Solved In 45 Minutes Before Exam?': Top Court To Centre "Had God On My Side": Donald Trump Recounts Being Shot At During Rally 32 Dead In Bangladesh Unrest, Protesters Set Fire To State TV Headquarters Google Brings AI To US Broadcast Of Paris Olympics Video: Children Jump On E-Rickshaw, Chase Foreigners For Money In Delhi "Every Time I Try To Eat Healthy" - Video Creator's Editing Skills Amaze Internet Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.