Guwahati: President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday (May 9) bestowed the prestigious Padma Shri award upon Assam’s Parbati Barua during the civil investiture ceremony held in New Delhi.
She was honoured with the fourth-highest civilian award in India in recognition of her exceptional work in the field of social work, particularly for her pioneering efforts in elephant conservation and wildlife management.
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Barua, hailing from the royal family of Assam’s Gauripur, emerged as India’s first female elephant mahout and a staunch advocate for animal welfare.
Born on March 14, 1953, she exhibited an early passion for elephants and the wilderness, defying societal expectations by venturing into what was traditionally a male-dominated domain.
Barua’s journey began at the age of 14 when she successfully domesticated her first elephant in the forests of Kachugaon, located in the state’s Kokrajhar district.
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Over the years, Barua has tamed over five hundred elephants, employing unique traditional techniques like “Mela Shikar” to capture wild elephants without the use of tranquiliser guns.
Beyond her remarkable achievements in elephant taming, Barua has been instrumental in mitigating human-elephant conflicts across Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh.
She has collaborated closely with forest officers to provide herbal treatments and training to mahouts and field staff, significantly contributing to the resolution of wildlife challenges.
Barua’s impact extends globally, with her participation in international workshops and seminars focused on elephant conservation. Notably, she represented India at the international workshop on the domesticated Asian elephant in Thailand’s Bangkok, organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 2001.
Barua’s dedication has earned her numerous accolades, including the ‘Asom Gaurav Award 2023’ and the United Nations Environment Programme’s ‘Global 500 Roll of Honour’ in 1989.
The Assam government honoured her as the ‘Honorary Chief Elephant Warden of Asom’ in 2003, recognising her lifelong commitment to elephant welfare.
In addition to her substantive contributions, Barua has been recognised for her documentary ‘Aparajita 2023,’ receiving the ‘Nature’s Warrior’ jury award at the ‘Kolkata International Wildlife & Environment Film Festival.’
Barua’s unwavering dedication and pioneering spirit in the realm of wildlife conservation make her a deserving recipient of the Padma Shri award, acknowledging her as an inspiration and role model for future generations committed to the preservation of India’s rich biodiversity.