Honours for a man with a spade
Tilak never asked for recognition — he asked for safer roads. Recognition came anyway, from Hyderabad to the BBC.
- TEDxVJTI, Mumbai•2018
TEDx speaker — 'Guardians of the Roads (The Road Doctor)'
Invited to the TEDx stage to share the Shramadaan idea with a global audience.
Source - Miracles World Records•Registration AW32020
'Doctor of Roads' — world records recognition
Recognised for voluntarily filling more than 2,000 potholes across Indian cities with his own pension money.
Source - National television, India•2015
Featured on 'Aaj Ki Raat Hai Zindagi' with Amitabh Bachchan
Honoured on air as a real-life hero; the appearance carried Shramadaan across the country.
Source - BBC News•2016
'Unsung Indians' — profiled as one of India's everyday heroes
The BBC spent a working day on the road with him for its series on people improving others' lives.
Source - NPR, United States•2015
International recognition as a social entrepreneur
Featured in NPR's series on social entrepreneurs taking on world problems.
Source - GHMC, Greater Hyderabad•Ongoing
Civic support from the city
The municipality that once ignored his complaints now supplies road-repair material for his work.
Know of an award or felicitation missing from this list? Write to us and we will add it with its source.