NEW DELHI: In the absence of clearly defined norms politicization” of the nation’s highest civilian honors-the Padma awards -has reached its nadir this year with as many as 31 of an incredibly long list of 130 awards going to the Home Minister S.B. Chavans home state Maharashtra.
Maharashtra and New Delhi (38) being close to the stat of power account for nearly half of the total number of awardees in a vast country of diverse achievements though it can be argued that the cream of talent lives in the nation’s Capital.
The number of awards is the highest since 1972 when 140 persons had been chosen for the Padma awards. Among the 10 Padma Vibhushan awardees which is the highest ever there are three from Maharashtra and two from Andhra Pradesh the Prime Ministers home-state.
Apart from Padma Vibhushan the Narasimha Rao government has conferred Padma Bhushan on three persons and Padma Shri on 86 individuals. In comparison the Rajiv Gandhi government, “in the last year of its dispensation (1989) had given only 44 Padma awards.”
The V.P Singh government of 1990 had given Padma awards 10 99 persons. The Chandra Shekhar government took his figure to 115. “The statutes and rules governing the awards merely state that “the decoration shall be awarded for exceptional and distinguished service in any filed including service rendered by government servants” and “any person without distinction of race occupation position or sex shall be eligible for the award.” The award may be given posthumously.
The selection process is shrouded in mystery but the broad procedure is the lists complied by the Union Home Ministry based on recommendations from various quarters including the state governments organizations and individuals. A committee of eminent persons is set up by the President to advise him and the final decision is made by the ashtrapati Bhavan in consultation with the Prime Minister.
Though Maharashtra particularly Bombay being a cultural and industrial capital invariably accounts for a large number of awardees this year its share has been unusually high. In comparison there was not a single Padma awardee from Jammu Kashmir when Mufti Mohammed Sayeed was the home minister in the V.P Singh government and only five awardees from Bihar when Subodh Kant Sahay was in charge of them in the Chandra Shekhar ministry.
The Narasimha Rao government has also achieved a coup of sorts by awarding the nation’s second highest civilian award. Padma Vibhushan on an active politician from the opposition.
The proximity to politicians seem to bring the awards to many as a dozen who have got it in the field of public life and as many as 18 medical doctors including three dentists in the list. A London-based doctor in whose hospital 1wo prominent politicians had been treated recently figures among the awardees.
The Bharat Ratna 100 has acquired political overtones since late 1970s with a proliferation of post human’s awards.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 7, 1992
