Padma Bhushan’s of 2021

*Introduction:
The honour system of India awards every individual for the various services to the Republic of India. In 1954, the Padma awards were instituted. The Padma awards are announced every year on Republic day except for the years 1977 to 1980 and 1993 to 1997 because of brief interruptions.

The Padma awards are divided into three categories in decreasing order. Padma Vibhushan is the Indian honourable award which is the second-highest civilian award for exceptional and distinguished services. Padma Bhushan is the Indian third highest civilian award which is awarded for a higher-order distinguished service. Padma Shri is the Indian fourth highest civilian award which is awarded for distinguished service. The Padma awards do not include any cash prizes, medical benefits, discounts on travelling and allowances like national awards. The Supreme court of India passed a judgement in December 1995, that any honorifics or titles should not be associated with any of the Bharat Ratna and Padma awards. Posters, books, letterheads and invitation cards are also included in this judgement, the misuse of this award will caution the awardees.

*Details:
The Indian citizens are honoured with Padma awards every year for the recognition of their distinguished contribution in various activities such as medicine, literature, industry, science, arts, education, social services, public affairs, afforestation and a few other considerable special talents. The Padma awards are not only for Indians but also for people who are from outside India and have contributed to India in various ways. Either side of the medal is burnished with bronze in a geometrical pattern, embarrassed in white gold.

*The Honorables:
Shri Tulsi Gowda is from Honnali village, Ankola Taluk in Karnataka who is an environmentalist. The nurseries of the forest department are looked after by her and she planted over 30,000 saplings. She made her immense contributions toward the environment by planting as many saplings as she could without having any environmental education. Her work was honoured by the Indian government and various organisations. The Indian government honoured her with the Padma Shri award on 8 November 2021 which is the fourth highest civilian award in India.

Tarun Gogoi was chief minister of Assam from 2001 to 2016, who is known to be the longest-serving chief minister of the Assam Government. Before graduating from The Jagannath Barooah College he passed his Higher Secondary School Certificate and then he got his Bachelor of Law(LLB) from Gauhati University. For bringing many militant outfits operating in the state including the United Liberation Front of Asom and mitigating militant insurgency within the state. His credits are for improving the state’s fiscal position, engineering an economic turnaround in implementing relief schemes and getting the state from close bankruptcy which was particularly done in villages.

Krishnammal Jagannathan was awarded India’s third highest civilian award which is Padma Bhushan for being a social activist. She was a Gandhi activist and protested against social injustice along with her husband Sankaralingam Jagannathan. She as a social activist fought against the government and a few big industries and also uplifted the landless and poor through the Vinoba Bhave movement. She was the close associate to Vinoba Bhave and earlier along with her husband participated in the Indian freedom movement. In 2008 the government of Tamil Nadu honoured her with the Right Livelihood Award which she shared with her husband.

Sumitra Mahajan was the former Speaker of Lok Sabha from 2014 to 2019 and an Indian politician as well. She was the longest-serving woman member of parliament from 1998 to 2019 representing the Indore constituency of Madhya Pradesh. She belongs to Bharatiya Janata Party. She was born to Usha and Purushottam Sathe in Chiplun, Maharashtra, who belong to the Chitpavan Brahmin family. After marrying Jayant Mahajan of Indore she received her MA and LLB from Indore University. She was credited for bringing various projects such as Urban Development Ministry, Aviation and railways. She has a clean track record of her political career with no controversies and complaints.

*Conclusion:
The Cabinet secretary including the home secretary and secretary to the president and four to six eminent persons are the members of the Padma Awards Committee, under whose surveillance the awardees are selected for every year issuing the Padma awards which are constituted by the Prime Minister. All the recommendations of the awardees are selected by the committee and submitted for approval to the Prime Minister and President of India. Every worthy Indian and non-Indian civilian are selected irrespective of their colour, caste, religion and region.