1. Bindeshwar Pathak was an Indian sociologist and social entrepreneur.
22 Facts About Bindeshwar Pathak
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Bindeshwar Pathak was the founder of Sulabh International, an India-based social service organisation promoting human rights, environmental sanitation, non-conventional sources of energy, waste management and social reforms through education.
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Bindeshwar Pathak was the Brand Ambassador for Swachh Rail Mission of Indian Railways, a complement to the broader Swachh Bharat Mission.
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Bindeshwar Pathak's work is considered pioneering in social reform, especially in the field of sanitation and hygiene.
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Bindeshwar Pathak received various national and international awards for his work with this organisation.
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Bindeshwar Pathak was presented with the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management for the year 2017.
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Bindeshwar Pathak was conferred the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award, posthumously in 2024 and the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award, in 1991.
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Bindeshwar Pathak was born in Hajipur, Bihar, on 2 April 1943.
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Bindeshwar Pathak graduated in Sociology in 1964 from the Banaras Hindu University.
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Bindeshwar Pathak earned his master's degree in 1980 and his PhD in 1985, from the University of Patna.
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Bindeshwar Pathak first came to understand the plight of manual scavengers in 1968 when he joined the Bhangi-Mukti Cell of the Bihar Gandhi Centenary Celebrations Committee.
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Bindeshwar Pathak established the Sulabh International Social Service Organization in 1970, combining technical innovation with humanitarian principles.
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Bindeshwar Pathak has made innovative use of biogas creation by linking Sulabh toilets to fermentation plants, he had designed over three decades ago and which are now becoming a byword for sanitation in developing countries all over the world.
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Bindeshwar Pathak was a Padma Bhushan recipient from the Government of India.
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Bindheshwar Bindeshwar Pathak received the Energy Globe Award, and the Dubai International Award for Best Practices.
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Bindeshwar Pathak was awarded the Stockholm Water Prize in 2009.
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In January 2011, Bindeshwar Pathak was invited to deliver a lecture at The Cambridge Union, a debating society of the University of Cambridge in England.
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The lecture was well received by the students where Dr Bindeshwar Pathak urged the students to join voluntary work in the field of sanitation.
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In 2023 Mr Bindeshwar Pathak received Bihar Vishwa Gaurav Samman in NYC from Bihar Foundation USA East Coast Chapter.
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Bindeshwar Pathak was named Indian Affairs Social Reformer of the Year, 2017, at the 8th Annual India Leadership Conclave.
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Bindeshwar Pathak died in New Delhi on 15 August 2023, at the age of 80.
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Bindeshwar Pathak's death was reported as due to a cardiac arrest.