Harekala Hajabba, a 68-year-old fruit seller from Mangalore, Karnataka, built a primary school in Harekala village with his daily earnings of Rs 150. For his remarkable efforts, he was honored with India’s fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, by President Ram Nath Kovind. He is the first Padma Shri awardee from the Beary community.

Born into a Muslim family with very modest financial means, Hajabba dropped out of school at an early age to help support his family. Many years ago, a foreign tourist asked him the price of an orange in English, but he could not understand the question and felt embarrassed. Having never received any formal education, he resolved that day to build a school in his village, which lacked educational facilities.

Hajabba saved part of his earnings from selling oranges to start a school in his village, Newpadapu. With his dedication and the support of the government and private donors, the small school grew and is now known as Hajabba School. Affectionately called ‘Akshara Santa’, Hajabba is celebrated for his extraordinary contribution to education in his village, despite his own limited resources. His next dream is to build a Pre-University college in his village.