President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday presented Padma Awards at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The 2021 list comprises seven Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan, and 102 Padma Shri Awards, of which 29 awardees are women, 16 Posthumous awardees, and 1 transgender awardee.
The Awards are given in three categories and announced annually on the eve of Republic Day: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service). The award seeks to recognise achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved.
A look at the Padma Vibhushan awardees of 2021:
Shinzo Abe: Japan’s longest serving prime minister is being awarded the Padma Vibhushan in the field of public affairs. He was the PM of Japan from 2006-07, and then again from 2012-20. The 67-year-old tendered his resignation in September 2020 due to illness. Described as a Japanese right-wing nationalist by political experts, Abe’s tenure was known the world over for its economic policies, nicknamed Abenomics.
SP Balasubrahmanyam (posthumous): The singing legend from Tamil Nadu is being awarded posthumously for his massive contribution to the arts. A man of all seasons when it came to music, he was a playback singer, music director, actor and producer. He won six National Film awards for Best Male Playback Singer for his works in four different languages — Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Hindi.
Dr Belle Monappa Hegde: The cardiologist received the award in the field of medicine. He is a professor of medicine as well as an author of books on medical practice and ethics.
Narinder Singh Kapany (posthumous): The Indian-American physicist, best known for his work on fibre optics, was awarded posthumously. Considered the ‘Father of Fiber Optics’, he died in December 2020 at the age of 94. Some say he deserved the Nobel Prize for his contribution to the field of fibre optics.
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan: The Islamic scholar and peace activist, known for having written a commentary on the Quran and having translated it into contemporary English, died aged 96 in April due to Covid-19 complications. The award is not being counted as posthumous as he was still alive when the awards were announced in January.
BB Lal: The centenarian Indian archaeologist received the Padma Bhushan in 2000. His archaeological publications have been criticised for revisionism, with the Ayodhya dispute attracting major controversy.
Sudarshan Sahoo: The 82-year-old master sculpture artist from Puri in Odisha developed Sudarshan Crafts Museum, which was established in 1977. He revived the gurukul system of learning with the help of the state government. He was a recipient of Padma Shri in 1988.
List of 10 Padma Bhushan awardees:
Ms. Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra- Art, Kerala
Credited as K.S Chithra or Chithra, she is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Odia, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tulu, Rajasthani, Urdu, Sanskrit, and Badaga as well as foreign languages such as Malay, Latin, Arabic, Sinhalese, English and French.
Shri Tarun Gogoi (Posthumous) – Public Affairs, Assam
Tarun Gogoi was an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of Assam from 2001 to 2016. A member of the Indian National Congress and he led the party to a record three consecutive electoral victories and was the longest-serving chief minister of the state.
Shri Chandrashekhar Kambara – Literature and Education, Karnataka
A prominent Indian poet Chandrashekhar Kambara, playwright, folklorist, film director in Kannada language and the founder-vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi. Kambara is also president of the Sahitya Akademi, country’s premier literary institution, after Vinayak Krishna Gokak and U.R. Ananthamurthy.
Ms. Sumitra Mahajan – Public Affairs, Madhya Pradesh
Sumitra Mahajan is an Indian politician who was the Speaker of Lok Sabha from 2014 to 2019. She belongs to Bharatiya Janata Party and represented the Indore constituency of Madhya Pradesh from 1989 to 2019 as the longest-serving Woman Member of Parliament, and then she retired from electoral politics.
Shri Nripendra Misra – Civil Service, Uttar Pradesh
Nripendra Misra is an administrative Service officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre who served as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi from 2014 to 2019.
Shri Ram Vilas Paswan (Posthumous) – Public Affairs, Bihar
A politician from Bihar, Ram Vilas Paswan was the President of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and the Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the first and second Modi ministries. He started his political career as a member of the Samyukta Socialist Party and was elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1969.
Shri Keshubhai Patel (Posthumous) Public Affairs, Gujarat
Keshubhai Patel was an Indian politician who passed away in 2020 was the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 1995 and from 1998 to 2001. He was a six-time member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly and was a member of RSS since 1940s, of Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1960s, Janata Party in 1970s, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 1980.
Shri Kalbe Sadiq (Posthumous) Others-Spiritualism, Uttar Pradesh
Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, the flag-bearer of amity, progressive thought, education, and spirituality, was awarded the coveted Padma Bhushan. The 83-year-old cleric, who had been suffering from cancer for the last three years, passed away on November 24, 2020.
Shri Rajnikant Devidas Shroff Trade and Industry, Maharashtra
Rajnikant Devidasbhai Shroff, the founder of UPL Ltd. a global provider of sustainable agriculture products and solutions was conferred one of India’s highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, for his contribution to the field of trade and industry.
Shri Tarlochan Singh Public Affairs, Haryana
Former Member of Parliament Tarlochan Singh was awarded the Padma Bhushan. Representing Haryana, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 2004 to 2010 and also the Press Secretary to former President Giani Zail Singh. He was the former chairman of the National Commission of Minorities (NCM) and former MP who served as a member of the National Human Rights Commission.
List of personalities received Padma Awards in education sector:
Dr Meenakshi Jain, a historian, received the Padma Shri Award for Literature and Education. She has authored several books on Indian history.
Vidushi K.S. Jayalakshmi, who is a joint editor, got Padma Award in Literature and Education (Journalism) for her work in one of the oldest Sanskrit dailies, Sudharma, published in Mysuru, Karnataka.
Prof Jogendra Nath Phukan, founder and president of the P.K. Buragohain Institute of Tai & Southeast Asian Studies, Guwahati, has got a Padma Award for Literature and Education. He has been recognised for his study of the history and culture of Assam.
Kazi Masum Akhtar, an educator, commentator, columnist, and crusader, got Padma Award for Literature & Education for social causes. He is known for his contribution towards the eradication of superstitious customs and uplifting the underprivileged people.
Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi got the award for Literature and Education. He is the founder president of the Arunachal Pradesh Literary Society which is engaged in a movement to spread the importance of literature amongst the people of Arunachal Pradesh.