President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Padma Vibhushan awards for 2020 and 2021 at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhawan on Monday. The ceremony was combined for awardees of both years as it could not be held due to the Covid-19 situation last year. Hence, this time, the president presented 14 Padma Vibhushan awards. The Padma Vibhushan is India’s second highest civilian honour after the Bharat Ratna.
This year’s awardees include former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. Singing legend SP Balasubrahmnayam and Indian-American physicist Narinder Singh Kapany received the award posthumously. Former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj was awarded the 2020 Padma Vibhushan posthumously, along with George Fernandes and Arun Jaitley. Swaraj’s daughter Bansuri received the award at the live ceremony. Olympian boxer Mary Kom is also among the 2020 Padma Vibhushan awardees.
A look at the Padma Vibhushan awardees of 2021:
1. Shinzo Abe: Japan’s longest serving prime minister is being awarded the Padma Vibhushan in the field of public affairs. He was the PM of Japan from 2006-07, and then again from 2012-20. The 67-year-old tendered his resignation in September 2020 due to illness. Described as a Japanese right-wing nationalist by political experts, Abe’s tenure was known the world over for its economic policies, nicknamed Abenomics.
2. SP Balasubrahmanyam (posthumous): The singing legend from Tamil Nadu is being awarded posthumously for his massive contribution to the arts. A man of all seasons when it came to music, he was a playback singer, music director, actor and producer. He won six National Film awards for Best Male Playback Singer for his works in four different languages — Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Hindi.
3. Dr Belle Monappa Hegde: The cardiologist received the award in the field of medicine. He is a professor of medicine as well as an author of books on medical practice and ethics.
4. Narinder Singh Kapany (posthumous): The Indian-American physicist, best known for his work on fibre optics, was awarded posthumously. Considered the ‘Father of Fiber Optics’, he died in December 2020 at the age of 94. Some say he deserved the Nobel Prize for his contribution to the field of fibre optics.
5. Maulana Wahiduddin Khan: The Islamic scholar and peace activist, known for having written a commentary on the Quran and having translated it into contemporary English, died aged 96 in April due to Covid-19 complications. The award is not being counted as posthumous as he was still alive when the awards were announced in January.
6. BB Lal: The centenarian Indian archaeologist received the Padma Bhushan in 2000. His archaeological publications have been criticised for revisionism, with the Ayodhya dispute attracting major controversy.
7. Sudarshan Sahoo: The 82-year-old master sculpture artist from Puri in Odisha developed Sudarshan Crafts Museum, which was established in 1977. He revived the gurukul system of learning with the help of the state government. He was a recipient of Padma Shri in 1988.
A look at the Padma Vibhushan awardees of 2020:
1. Sushma Swaraj (posthumous): The former minister of external affairs and BJP leader, who died of a cardiac arrest in 2019, was only the second woman to hold this office after Indira Gandhi. Aged 25, in 1977, she became the youngest cabinet minister of Haryana. She was also the first woman chief minister of Delhi, serving for a short duration in 1998.
2. George Fernandes (posthumous): The controversial former defence minister during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s time as prime minister died at aged 88 in January 2019. The veteran socialist’s name came up in the Barak missile scandal and Tehelka affairs due to alleged corruption in the defence sector.
3. Arun Jaitley (posthumous): The finance minister in the PM Narendra Modi-led government from 2014 to 2019, he died in August 2019 due to various health issues. He is known for the highly publicised economic reforms such as the Goods and Services Tax and demonetisation.
4. Sir Anerood Jugnauth: A politician and barrister, who served as President and Prime Minister of Mauritius, he is the longest serving prime minister with more than 18 years of tenure. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1988.
5. Mary Kom: The Olympic bronze medallist from London 2012 is the only woman to have won a medal in each one of the first seven World Championships, and the only boxer (male or female) to win eight World Championship medals. Nicknamed Magnificent Mary, she has won numerous boxing laurels for India in Asian Games as well as Commonwealth Games.
6. Chhannulal Mishra: Hailing from Banaras, he is a noted exponent of the ‘Kirana’ gharana of Hindustani classical music and, especially, the ‘khayal’ and ‘Purab Ang’ thumri. He received the Padma Bhushan in 2010.
7. Vishwesha Teertha (posthumous): The proponent of Dvaita school of philosophy, he established Poornaprajna Vidyapeetha in Bangalore that has completed over 60 years. Many scholars are trained here on Vedanta.
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