Bravery Award -Inspiring Stories

The National Bravery Award scheme, initiated by the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW), was started with the aim of awarding children in the age group of 6-18 years, who display outstanding bravery and inspire other children with their actions. The awards consist of five categories including the Bharat Award, Sanjay Chopra Award, Geeta Chopra Award, Bapu Gaidhani Award and the General National Bravery Awards. The awardees receive a medal, a certificate, and a cash prize. Bharat Award winners get a gold medal, while the others receive silver. As a part of ICCW’s sponsorship program under the Indira Gandhi scholarship scheme, each child is also receives the financial assistance to complete his or her schooling.

The astounding stories of two winners for 2016 .

1. Shivampet Ruchitha, Telangana

8-year-old Shivampet Ruchitha became the youngest person to receive the award this year. On July 24, 2014, Ruchita saved two of her school mates when a train hit their school bus. She noticed that their bus had stopped on a railway track and a train was coming towards them. Showing extraordinary presence of mind, she pushed two students out of the window and jumped off the bus herself too. Unfortunately, she could not save her younger sister who was sitting in the front row. Her younger brother sustained severe injuries, but he has recovered now. 16 students, the driver, and the conductor lost their lives in that accident. She was honoured with the Geeta Chopra award.

2. Arjun Singh, Uttarakhand

In July 2014, a tiger entered 16-year-old Arjun Singh’s house in Uttarakhand. He showed extreme courage and fought it off, saving his mother’s life who had fainted as soon as the tiger entered. Arjun went into a room and picked up a sickle to fight the tiger. As it was too small to hit from a distance, Arjun grabbed a stick and waved it towards the tiger. He did not stop until the villagers reached there and the animal ran away on seeing the crowd. Arjun received the Sanjay Chopra award.