Like every prestigious State honour anywhere in the world, the Padma awards have always had a political angle and a national facet — as they did this year. Three of the five laureates in the Padma Vibhushan category, India’s second-highest civilian honour, hailed from Kerala, a state that goes to the polls this summer and where the BJP has never gained more than a toehold. Tamil Nadu, another state that votes this summer, netted 13 awards in all; and West
Like every prestigious State honour anywhere in the world, the Padma awards have always had a political angle and a national facet — as they did this year. Three of the five laureates in the Padma Vibhushan category, India’s second-highest civilian honour, hailed from Kerala, a state that goes to the polls this summer and where the BJP has never gained more than a toehold. Tamil Nadu, another state that votes this summer, netted 13 awards in all; and West Bengal, which is expected to see a fierce contest, got 11. Maharashtra, which delivered a blockbuster victory to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), received 15. Many of the people who featured on the list hailed from communities and regions that might play a crucial role in the upcoming polls. The awards list attempted to cross the political spectrum with laurels for a founding leader of the CPM and former Kerala CM VS Achuthanandan and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha patriarch Shibu Soren. The families of both leaders have welcomed the awards, marking an interesting turn in Opposition politics, and possibly allowing a senior Communist leader to be felicitated for the first time in decades. To be sure, the list also included a number of people who were ideologically aligned to the ruling dispensation — as they have over the decades.
But beyond the political messaging, the awards are also important for they honour ordinary Indians who have made extraordinary, if somewhat little-known, contributions to public life. This year, this cohort of people included a neonatologist who established Asia’s first human milk bank, a former railway guard who became a distinguished Dalit author, a guardian of Bundelkhand martial folk traditions, a Karbi folk singer, a renowned painter who revitalised a 3,000-year-old art form, and a former bus conductor who set up India’s largest free personal library, among others.
The prestige of these awards is uplifted by the toil and zeal of these everyday Indians, many of whom have worked tirelessly for decades, struggling against the vicissitudes of both life and systemic discrimination. They epitomise the dedication of the ordinary Indian whose commitment to democratic values has not just built the Republic but ensured that it has endured every challenge thrown its way over the past seven decades. Away from politics, the Padma’s true legacy resides in their lives.
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