AND THE PADMA SHREE GOES TO…… : PART 1

On the eve of our 60^th Republic Day , the media was going ga-ga over the prestigious PADMA Awards. These awards are the symbol of excellence & pride forthe achievers. Every year eminent personalities from the field of sports, entertainment, medicine, education, arts are awarded the titles of Padma Shree, Padma Bhushan, & Padma Vibhushan. Some times our govt. also award the ‘BHARAT RATNA’ which is the highest civilian award in our country.

Since my childhood I have been seeing the photographs of filmstars & sportsmen in newspapers and channels as winners of the Padma awards.This year AmirKhan, Rekha, Virendra Sehwag were among the winners. There were other people also who won the award along with these people. But the media portrayed only the filmstars as the sole winners. The winners from the field of medicine, arts, education were completely ignored. Their achievement was shared with us only by printing their names in some corner of a news report. None of the newspapers and channels took the pain to publish a photograph of winners like Y.V.Reddy, Dr.R.Panda , Dr.P.K.Veriyar , Dr.Philip Augustine , Pt.Channoomal Mishra etc who are selflessly serving the nation and society.

The procedure for awarding the civilian awards is unfair. It is partially biased. It not always confers the right award to the right person. This year A.R.RAHMAN has been awarded the Padma Bhushan. But he deserves much more than a Padma Bhushan. He is the man who has given new heights & dimensions to Indian music. He has become the brand ambassador of India. Everybody is chanting the mantra of JAY-HO for India. The magic of JAY-HO was also spread at the lavish dinner hosted by Mr.&Mrs. Obama for Dr. Manmohan Singh at WHITE HOUSE .Rahman has brought laurels for India from every corner of the globe. The melody of JAY-HO was so sweet that for the first time an Indian bagged so many OSCARS.

Rahman don’t deserve Padma Bhushan. He deserves the BHARAT RATNA. He has created a respect for Indian music at the global platform. After Pt.Ravishankar & Lata Mangeshkar he is the only musician whose music has been globally acclaimed and applauded. A man like Rahman is the real Ratna of India. He is not only the Ratna, he is our NAVRATNA. So whenever the govt. announces the next Bharat Ratna , it should be unanimously given to A.R.RAHMAN .

In 2004 , the then president Dr.A.P.J.Kalam raised questions on the selection of the final candidates for the Padma awards. A January 2004 “secret” note from President Abdul Kalam to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee advised extra caution in the selection of Padma awardees “to ensure that no adverse reaction takes place in regard to conferring of these prestigious awards.”

This year the Padma awards committee made a blunder by awarding the Padma Bhushan title to hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal who is facing many criminal charges under the IPC. Then also the prestigious Padma title has been conferred to him. His selection should have been properly scrutinized before selecting him as the final awardee.

The note, accessed recently by Right to Information activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal, assumes relevance in the context of the controversial award of Padma Bhushan to American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal. In his note, Mr. Kalam referred to “some criticism” at the time of the 2003 Padma awards, and emphasised the need to be “extra careful” in deciding “these prestigious awards.”

Mr. Kalam laid down important criteria for the selection. Among them: There should be “no adverse reports” against the selected candidates “from any of the investigation agencies/ organisations ,” and no person should be selected “except on the recommendation of the Awards Committee.”

The committee, which met between July and October 1996, noted that Padma Bhushan was to be awarded only for “exceptional and distinguished service.” It was emphatic that “no Padma award should be conferred except on the recommendation of the Awards Committee.” It sought strict adherence to guidelines and advised that October 1 be observed as the deadline for receiving recommendations.

*** The response of media over the Padma awards will be discussed in PART 2, till then keep reading BHARATVARCHASVA *****