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HomeIndiaSM Krishna, Chinna Jeeyar Swamy & Narendra Chandra Debbarma — poll flavour...

SM Krishna, Chinna Jeeyar Swamy & Narendra Chandra Debbarma — poll flavour in Padma awards 2023

Highest number of awardees this time are from Maharashtra (12), followed by Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Gujarat (8 each). This time, total 13 awardees are from the Northeast.

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New Delhi: Padma awards 2023 have a distinct poll flavour to it. Out of 15 Padma Vibushans and Bhushans, the second and third highest civilian awards, five are from poll-bound Telangana and Karnataka.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna, who quit the Congress after 50 years to join the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2017, was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for 2023. The BJP has huge stakes in Karnataka, which will go to polls in May.

Krishna is a Vokkaliga, an influential community that is said to be largely aligned with Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular). The BJP has been seeking to woo Vokkaligas.

There are two Padma Bhushan awardees from Karnataka – Sudha Murthy, Infosys Foundation chairperson and wife of Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy, for social work, and S.L. Bhyrappa, a Kannada novelist and screenwriter, in the field of literature and education. Overall, there were eight people from Karnataka on the list of Padma awardees announced Wednesday evening.

There are two Padma Bhushan awardees from Telangana that will go to polls in November and December – Chinna Jeeyar Swamy, a Vedic scholar and spiritual leader, and Kamlesh D. Patel, a spiritual leader popularly known as Daaji. Chinna Jeeyar designed the 216-ft-tall Statue of Equality of 11th century vaishnavite Ramanuja that was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. There were also three Padma Shri awardees from Telangana.

From the three northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya, and Nagaland, which will go to polls in February, there were five awardees, including Narendra Chandra Debbarma, founder president of the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), the BJP’s coalition partner in Tripura government. Tripura and Nagaland received two each, and Meghalaya received one.

Of the four other states, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Mizoram, which will go to polls in November this year, the first three received three Padma awardees each and Mizoram got one.

Political analyst Rasheed Kidwai says: “The criteria has been problematic not just today but from previous governments as well. During the period of Indira Gandhi government, the politicisation of the awards started happening, though one can argue over the quantum of it. During the 70s and 80s, the Padma Awards were symbolic but during the later governments of Narasimha Rao, Vajpayee and UPA, it became more about extending patronage, and now from patronage, it has become more about eying a consolidated vote bank.” 

He added that although it is debatable that it is a contributing factor for driving voters, the political message cannot be denied. “For example, this time, it is more glaring in the example of S.M. Krishna, in the context of Karnataka elections, who joined BJP in 2017 leaving Congress.” 

Political analyst Professor Badri Narayan said that giving the Padma Vibhushan to Mulayam Singh Yadav, a tall opposition leader, is an important gesture from the government’s side.

“I personally do not see much political messaging through it, there are several other considerations while choosing the Padma awardees. For example, from Uttar Pradesh,  Viswanath Prasad Tiwari has been awarded Padma Shri. He is a neutral writer, not subscribing to one particular ideology or political thought. It is a mixed bag and one can see different kinds of personalities in the list,” he told ThePrint. 


Also reach: “This recognition was long overdue” Rajamouli on Padma Shri to Keeravani


The outreach 

Releasing an official statement late Wednesday evening, the Ministry of Home Affairs said, “For the year 2023, the President has approved conferment of 106 Padma Awards including three duo cases (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one) as per list below. The list comprises six Padma Vibhushan, nine Padma Bhushan and 91 Padma Shri Awards. Nineteen of the awardees are women and the list also includes two persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and seven persons posthumously.”

The highest number of awardees this time are from the state of Maharashtra (12), followed by Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Gujarat (8 each). This time, total 13 awardees are from the Northeast, including three from Assam, two each from Tripura, Nagaland, and Manipur, and one each from Sikkim, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. These significant awardees are from the tribal areas, especially at a time when we also have a tribal president for the first time.

Among the Padma Shri awardees are former Manipur BJP president Thounaojam Chaoba Singh, retired government doctor Ratan Chandra Kar, who works with the Jarawa tribe in the Nicobar Islands, Gujarat’s Siddi tribal social worker Hirabai Lobi, and war veteran Munishwar Chander Dawar, who treats poor people in Madhya Pradesh.

Naga social worker Ramkuiwangbe Newme, who protected and promoted Heraka indigenous culture through awareness camps and programmes, Gandhian VP Appukuttan Poduval, and Sikkim’s organic farmer Tula Ram Upreti are also present in the list. As many as 19 awardees out of the 106 belong to tribal communities.

Gujarat’s Balkrishna Doshi, known for modernist architecture in India, tabla artist Zakir Hussain, pediatrician Dilip Mahalanabis from West Bengal, who pioneered the wide use of ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution), and mathematician Srinivas Varadhan have been awarded the Padma Vibhushan award.

Stockbroker Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who passed away earlier this year, Rasna founder Areez Khambatta, RRR music composer M.M. Keeravani, ghazal singers Ahmed and Mohd Hussain, and Bollywood actor Raveena Tandon are among the prominent Padma Shri awardees.


Also read: MP: Jabalpur doctor who treats people for just Rs 20 conferred with Padma Shri


What politicians say 

While the BJP denies that political optics played a role in award selection, sources tell ThePrint that party leadership is also involved in giving feedback on the list of those selected for Padma Awards.

“The process is done through an independent government agency, and individuals can also recommend. But local party members are also consulted for feedback,” the source tells ThePrint. Another source said that even though individuals can recommend an awardee doing exceptional work, the application carries more weight if the local member of Parliament also refers to the nomination.

Congress spokesperson Anshul Avijit said that the BJP has been indulging in tokenism rather than giving real power to the people from marginalised communities.

“With all due respect to people who have been given the awards, the larger point is that the outreach is the kind of tokenism that we see in the BJP. How many actual government secretaries, member of the cabinet are from the SC or ST communities who have actual power? This has been a structural problem in our polity for some time, and the BJP has perfected that – give ceremonial position as an eyewash but deny real power,” he added.

Tripura BJP president Rajib Bhattacharjee denied any political undertones in the selection of Padma awardees but added that it is a matter of pride that people have been selected for the prestigious award from Tripura and the Northeast region.

“Awards and elections are different, the government recognises those who have struggled and done exceptional work for the masses. This is a big achievement for Tripura also that earlier no one knew much about our state, and now there are Padma awards being given. We thank the prime minister for recognising the efforts of people who have struggled and worked hard for the society,” he added.

BJP leader and former Telangana BJP general secretary Manthri Srinivasulu said that the awards should be seen as non-political.

“Every year, non-political and common people are being given awards. Last year also, an old woman from Kerala who performed the most number of deliveries was given the Padma award. How is that politically benefitting for the party? This is a way to recognise those who have been working tirelessly for the people,” he said.

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