India gives 141 Padma awards on Republic Day

The Indian Government, on the eve of India’s 71st Republic Day, announced the names of 141 Padma awardees, who will be conferred Padma Shri (118), Padma Bhushan (16), and Padma Vibhushan (7) – the highest civilian awards in the country. Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order; and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field.

34 of the awardees are women. Where as the list also includes 18 persons from the category of foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 12 posthumous awardees.

Padma Vibhushan

Among the Padma Vibhushan awardees are prominent names like former union ministers Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and George Fernandes, and Vishveshateertha Swamiji Sri Pejavara Adhokhaja Matha Udupi, who were all awarded posthumously.

Other Padma Vibhushan awardees include Olympian boxer Mary Kom, former Mauritius prime minister Anerood Jugnauth, and famous classical bhajan singer from Varanasi Channulal Mishra.

Padma Bhushan

Meanwhile, former defence minister Manohar Parrikar, industrialists Anand Mahindra and Venu Shrinivasan, Olympian badminton player P V Sindhu, former Nagaland chief minister S C Jamir and Jammu and Kashmir politician Muzaffar Hussain Baig have been awarded the Padma Bhushan.

Padma Shri

From the entertainment world - filmmakers Karan Johar and Ekta Kapoor, actor Kangana Ranaut, singers Suresh Wadkar and Adnan Sami, as well as veteran TV actor Sarita Joshi.

From the sports world - cricketer Zaheer Khan, current Indian women's hockey captain Rani Rampal, former Indian men's hockey player M P Ganesh, shooter Jitu Rai, former Indian women's football team captain Oinam Bembem Devi and archer Tarundeep Rai. From the business world - Naukri.com founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani, industrialist Bharat Goenka, technocrat Nemnath Jain.

Other Padma Shri awardees include Tulasi Gowda from Karnataka for her vast knowledge of diverse plants; Sathyanarayan Mundayoor of Arunachal Pradesh for promoting education and reading culture; Abdul Jabbar (posthumously) for fighting for 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy victims; Usha Chaumar of Rajasthan for working in the field of sanitation; Assam-based historian Jogendra Nath Phukan; Mohammed Sharif from Faizabad for performing the last rites of over 25,000 unclaimed bodies; Assam’s veterinarian Kushal Konwar for treating elephants; Jagdish Lal Ahuja for serving free food to patients ouside PGI Hospital Chandigarh.

-TIN Bureau