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Have the Padma awards lost their sheen?

January 29, 2009

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India's civilian honours -- the Padma Shris, the Padma Bhushans... -- have courted controversy once again.

From missing deserving candidates to fake awardees, the national honours list appear to have lost their sheen.

A glance at how names for the awards are short-listed:

  • Thousands of recommendation from state governments, Union Territory administrations, central ministries, individuals, organisations, even self-recommendations, are placed before the Awards Committee for consideration.
  • The recommendations of the Awards Committee, which comprises eminent personalities from different fields, are submitted to the home minister and then to the President's office for approval.
  • After the President's office approves the lists, it travels to the prime minister's office for final scrutiny before they are announced on the eve of Republic Day.

    • Does the fact that Olympic [Images] medallists Sushil Kumar [Images] and Vijender [Images] Kumar were overlooked raise questions about the fairness of the selection process?

    Do Bollywood stars like Akshay Kumar [Images] and Aishwarya Rai [Images] deserve Padma Shris, considering the foremost criterion for the award is public service?

    Have the awards become irrelevant?

    Tell us!



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