Transforming Padma Awards from 'Government Awards' to 'Peoples Awards’......by Satnam Singh Sandhu 

Chandigarh: Instituted in 1954, Padma Awards were meant to recognize ‘significant contribution’ in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of ‘public service’ is involved. But for over 60 years, the purpose of these awards remained far from fulfilled as the Padma Awards were mostly conferred on members of the elite class or a select band of well-connected people with links to the corridors of power in Lutyen’s Delhi which helped them in getting nominated and get awarded for this these prestigious award.

No surprise, many deserving Indians were ignored in giving these highest civilian awards after the Bharat Ratna. An analysis of Padma Awards conferred till 2016 reveals a disproportionate skew in favour of a few states like Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh which accounted for more than 50% of all 4329 Padma Awards (till 2016). 

Even more, while on average 3.58 awards per million Indians received Padma Awards, Delhi got over 47 awardees per million people till 2016, a clear indication of the fact that Padma Awards were given only for a fistful of people who lived close to the system (government).

The process of giving Padma Awards has, however, changed drastically for the better during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose humble background is apparently a big factor behind the 'paradigm shift' in Modi government’s approach towards Padma Awards. 

Record Padma Awards for minority communities

The consistency with which unsung heroes, of Indian hinterland have found place in Padma Awards since 2015 under the leadership of PM Modi, these Awards have now been transformed into ‘People’s Padma’ or 'Peoples Awards' with a transparent and inclusive selection process free of any influence in the ruling dispensation which was earlier must for these awards.

A cursory look at the list of the 132 recipients of the 2024 Padma Awards, which are conferred in three categories (Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri), is enough to understand that unlike before 2014 where the vast majority of awardees were illustrious personalities from the relatively privileged sections of society, most awardees come from an extremely humble background.

While earlier nobody or negligible number of people from minority communities, the list of Padma awardees in 2024 includes a record number of individuals from minority communities which is proof that for the PM Modi’s government, merit is the key parameter and a person’s religion doesn’t play any significant role. 

In this year’s list, the awardees included nine Christians, eight Muslims, five Buddhists, three Sikhs, two Jains, two Parsis, and two from Indigenous Faiths.

 Of the 1127 Padma Awards given between 2015 and 2024, as many as 169 awards have been given to deserving members of the minorities communities belonging to lower castes, backward regions, and non-elite backgrounds.  

Out of these 169 awardees of all the minority communities, highest number of 63 Padma awards belong to Muslim community, 26 to Sikh community, 22 to Buddhist community, 29 to Christian community, 17 to Jain community and 10 to Parsi community. 

As the Modi government has given recognition to communities and people living at the margins, 10 districts have been recognised with the Padma Award for the first time since Independence. It has also covered 89 districts across 32 states.

Padma Awards have grown to be more inclusive under PM Modi’s government which can gauged from the fact that among this year’s awardees, 40 individuals are from the Other Backward Classes category, 11 from Scheduled Castes and 15 from, Scheduled Tribes were given these honours.

The Padma Awards have also become discernibly gender inclusive now as 30 of the Awardees for the year 2024 were women. The awardees included 49 octogenarians who were recognized for lifetime contributions.

Diversity of award winners from all corners & segments of society 

In fact, the sheer diversity of the winners, representing all sections of society and all regions of the vast country that is India, has warmed hearts and struck a chord with millions. Each awardee serves as an inspiration to all with unique work in their respective fields. The stories of their struggles, perseverance, selflessness, service and excellence reflect the story of Bharat. 

Among those named for the Padma awards for 2024 include Parbati Barua (70), an animal conservationist from Assam, who is India’s first female elephant mahout, Jageshwar Yadav has dedicated his life to the upliftment of the marginalised Birhor and Pahadi Korwa people in tribal-dominated Chhattisgarh despite financial hardships, Jharkhand's Chami Murmu has spearheaded afforestation efforts by planting over 30 lakh plants and specially abled social worker from Haryana Gurvinder Singh is working for the betterment of the homeless, destitute, women, and orphans.

Other 2024 Padma awardees include Sathyanarayana Beleri, a rice farmer from Kerala's Kasaragod, has preserved over 650 traditional rice varieties, Dukhu Majhi from West Bengal who has planted over 5,000 banyan, mango and blackberry trees on barren land while traveling on his bicycle every day, an organic farmer from Andaman, K Chellammal, who studied till Class 6 but provided her innovative and economical solutions to prevent damage to coconut and palm trees.

The other unsung heroes chosen for the 2024 Padma awards include Sangthankima, who runs Mizoram's largest orphanage, Hemchand Manjhi who is a traditional medicine practitioner, Yanung Jamoh Lego who has provided medical care to over 10,000 patients, Somanna, a Karnataka tribal worker, Sarbeswar Basumatary who has developed a mixed integrated farming approach and Prema Dhanraj who provides free surgery to burn victims.

End of 'culture of lobbying’ with online nomination for Padma Awards But with PM Modi at the helm, one of the first steps in the historic transformation of Padma Awards by ending the 'culture of lobbying’ came in 2016 when the government threw open the nomination process for the Padma Awards to the general public by making it ‘online’. 

Now any Indian can nominate an achiever or even self for these prestigious awards through a simple online procedure. The idea is to promote transparency in order to end the culture of influence in the nomination and selection process and facilitate the identification of lesser-known heroes. 

Recognition of real heroes at grassroots levels 

The big change in the selection process of Padma Awardees under PM Modi is more than visible now as more emphasis is now given to the work done by the nominees, than to their identities. 

Further, departing from the traditional approach where selected persons recommended the nominations, the nomination process has become increasingly broad-based, with nominations being opened to the public at large. This has made it possible to recognize the real heroes at the grassroots levels, whose tireless efforts and remarkable feats have touched lives in their communities and beyond. 

Merit-based recognition to selfless unsung heroes

Under PM Modi’s government, the Padma Awards have thus become a people’s movement, marking a paradigm shift in Jan-Bhagidari (people’s participation) for building a New India. For the first time since Independence, PM Modi’s government have found way to give merit-based recognition through Padma Awards to the real and unsung heroes who have made an impact on the ground and are bringing change in their respective areas of work even in remote corners across the country.  

With drastic changes in the system of conferring the Padma awards under PM Modi’s leadership, now it has become the People's Padma. This is the reason over 62,000 nominations were received for the Padma Awards in 2024 which marked a 28-time increase from 2014. This shows the prestige of the Padma Award, its credibility and respect for it is rising every year. 

Extraordinary feats of ordinary citizens

The recipients were decided on the recommendations made by the Padma Awards Committee which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year, after multiple rounds of scrutiny and consultation with over 250 experts, thereby continuing the journey of transforming the Padma Awards from 'Government Awards' to 'Peoples Awards.

Padma Awards have now become a recognition of the extraordinary feats of ordinary citizens, a celebration of the astounding diversity of cultures, skills, thoughts and actions that weave the very fabric of our nation. PM Modi has thus ensured India’ “selfless unsung heroes" will continue to inspire the country with their exceptional contributions in various fields.

April 24, 2024