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Erroneously listed as an awardee from Andhra Pradesh on Padma Awards Dashboard
The first Naga Padma Award recipient was Late Thepfürüya Haralu (T Haralu), who was conferred the Padma Shri in 1964 in the field of ‘Civil Service.’
In a clarification to a news item published by the Morung Learning on January 29, 2020 (see. All you need to know about Padma Awards?/14 Padma awardees from Nagaland so far), the family members of Late Haralu informed that he received the award in 1964 while serving as the Assistant Political Officer (APO), in Bomdila, Kameng District of the then North-East Frontier Agency (Arunachal Pradesh).
He was the first Deputy Commissioner of the then undivided Kameng District constituted in 1965 as per the ‘Gazetteer of India - Arunachal Pradesh - East Kameng West Kameng and Tawang Districts’ (1996).
On closer examination, it was found that Late Haralu name was listed as a recipient from the state of Andhra Pradesh (see photo) on the dedicated the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Padma Awards’s Dashboard.
His name is listed as 'Thepfoorya Haralu' and erroneously entered as an awardee from the state of Andhra Pradesh.
An official report of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on March 22, 1971 informed that Late Haralu later served as Secretary, Agriculture and Forests, Nagaland Government and finally as the Deputy Commissioner, Kohima (May 1967-Aug.68). He resigned from the Administrative Service in November, 1968 and was elected to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly in 1969 where he became the Leader of the Opposition. He died in early 1970s at the age of 50.
With this, a total of 15 personalities from the state of Nagaland have been honoured with Padma Awards so far. Out of this, two were awarded Padma Bhushan, considered the third highest civilian honours of the country, and the rest Padma Shri (13), the fourth highest civilian award.
