Honouring the Unsung on 68th Republic Day: Padma Awards 2017

As the day dawned on the 26th of January 2017, there was already a hint of patriotism in the air. The 68th Republic Day somehow made a promise of a better future, a better time. As always, the Republic Day parade was sensational and impeccable ending with the announcement of the Padma awardess. Around 50,000 people including Indian patriots, children and foreign dignitaries felicitated the occasion at Rajpath.

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan attended the event as guest of honour. A major highlight of the parade was 149-member marching contingent from UAE comprising personnel from Presidential Guards, the Air Force, the Navy and Army, led by a band comprising 35 musicians from the Gulf country. Dubai in turn returned the favour as the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa, put on the shades of tricolor to mark the event.

Another show stopper of the event was the display of the 'black cat' commandos of the elite counter-terror force National Security Guard (NSG) who also participated in the parade and drew loud cheers from the spectators. Showcasing India’s military prowess were also a number of weapons and aircraft systems, including the Tejas (India’s own supersonic Light Combat Aircraft), on display.

The 90 minute showcase that had Delhi’s tableaux winning everyone’s hearts. Finally President Mukherjee also gave away the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award, to Hangpan Dada of Rashtrita Rifles posthumously. Apart from this, 89 people from different walks of life were also awarded with the three of the most prestigious civilian awards – Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. Sportsperson like Virat Kohli, Deepa Karmakar and Sakshi Mallik won the honour. "It's a huge honour for me to win the Padma Shri award, the fourth highest civilian award in this country. It's not just related to sports but it's an appreciation shown by the whole country. It gives me huge pleasure to receive this award," said Kohli. Blind cricket team captain Shekhar Naik, who led India to victory in the first T20 World Cup in 2012 and the ODI World Cup in 2014, also received the Padma Shri.

Other celebrities who were seen in the list were the revered musician K.J.Yesudas, Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, Politician Sharad Pawar, etc. With only 89 people in it, it was one of the shortest lists but definitely one of the meritorious ones. There were some unsung heroes in the pool like the first female Martial Artist adept at the art of Kalaripayatu, Meenakshi Amma. Six people were given the award posthumously while 19 women in total received the awards. Unlike the usual practice of the referral coming from the state and union governments, this time the nominations were picked by the general citizens too. From 5,000 of these, 500 were selected and shortlisted into the now elite list. The felicitation ceremony, in which the awardees will receive a medal and a citation, will be held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in March or April.

Here is the full list of awardees.

PADMA VIBHUSHAN

S.No. | Name | Field | State

1. | K J Yesudas | Art-Music | Kerala

2. | Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev | Others-Spiritualism | Tamil Nadu

3. | Sharad Pawar | Public Affairs | Maharashtra

4. | Murli Manohar Joshi | Public Affairs | Uttar Pradesh

5. | Prof. Udipi Ramachandra Rao | Science & Engineering | Karnataka

6. | Late Sunder Lal Patwa (Posthumous) | Public Affairs | Madhya Pradesh

7. | Late PA Sangma | Public Affairs | Meghalaya

(Posthumous)

PADMA BHUSHAN

S.No. | Name | Field | State

8. | Vishwa Mohan Bhatt | Art-Music | Rajasthan

9. | Prof. (Dr.) Devi Prasad Dwivedi | Literature & Education | Uttar Pradesh

10. | Tehemton Udwadia | Medicine | Maharashtra

11. | Ratna Sundar Maharaj | Others-Spiritualism | Gujarat

12. | Swami Niranjana Nanda Saraswati | Others-Yoga | Bihar

13. | H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (Foreigner) | Literature & Education | Thailand

14. | Late Cho Ramaswamy (Posthumous) | Literature & Education –Journalism | Tamil Nadu

PADMA SHRI

S.No. | Name | Field | State

15. | Basanti Bisht | Art-Music | Uttarakhand

16. | Chemanchery Kunhiraman Nair | Art-Dance | Kerala

17. | Aruna Mohanty | Art-Dance | Odisha

18. | Bharathi Vishnuvardhan | Art-Cinema | Karnataka

19. | Sadhu Meher | Art-Cinema | Odisha

20. | T K Murthy | Art-Music | Tamil Nadu

21. | Laishram Birendrakumar Singh | Art-Music | Manipur

22. | Krishna Ram Chaudhary | Art-Music | Uttar Pradesh

23. | Baoa Devi | Art-Painting | Bihar

24. | Tilak Gitai | Art-Painting | Rajasthan

25. | Dr. Prof. Aekka Yadagiri Rao | Art-Sculpture | Telangana

26. | Jitendra Haripal | Art-Music | Odisha

27. | Kailash Kher | Art-Music | Maharashtra

28. | Parassala B Ponnammal | Art-Music | Kerala

29. | Sukri Bommagowda | Art-Music | Karnataka

30. | Mukund Nayak | Art-Music | Jharkhand

31. | Purushottam Upadhyay | Art-Music | Gujarat

32. | Anuradha Paudwal | Art-Music | Maharashtra

33. | Wareppa Naba Nil | Art-Theatre | Manipur

34. | Tripuraneni Hanuman Chowdary | Civil Service | Telangana

35. | T.K. Viswanathan | Civil Service | Haryana

36. | Kanwal Sibal | Civil Service | Delhi

37. | Birkha Bahadur Limboo Muringla | Literature & Education | Sikkim

38. | Eli Ahmed | Literature & Education | Assam

39. | Dr. Narendra Kohli | Literature & Education | Delhi

40. | Prof. G. Venkatasubbiah | Literature & Education | Karnataka

41. | Akkitham Achyuthan Namboothiri | Literature & Education | Kerala

42. | Kashi Nath Pandita | Literature & Education | Jammu & Kashmir

43. | Chamu Krishna Shastry | Literature & Education | Delhi

44. | Harihar Kripalu Tripathi | Literature & Education | Uttar Pradesh

45. | Michel Danino | Literature & Education | Tamil Nadu

46. | Punam Suri | Literature & Education | Delhi

47. | VG Patel | Literature & Education | Gujarat

48. | V Koteswaramma | Literature & Education | Andhra Pradesh

49. | Balbir Dutt | Literature & Education-Journalism | Jharkhand

50. | Bhawana Somaaya | Literature & Education-Journalism | Maharashtra

51. | Vishnu Pandya | Literature & Education-Journalism | Gujarat

52. | Dr. Subroto Das | Medicine | Gujarat

53. | Dr. (Smt.) Bhakti Yadav | Medicine | Madhya Pradesh

54. | Dr. Mohammed Abdul Waheed | Medicine | Telangana

55. | Dr. Madan Madhav Godbole | Medicine | Uttar Pradesh

56. | Dr. Devendra Dayabhai Patel | Medicine | Gujarat

57. | Prof. Harkishan Singh | Medicine | Chandigarh

58. | Dr. Mukut Minz | Medicine | Chandigarh

59. | Arun Kumar Sharma | Others-Archaeology | Chhattisgarh

60. | Sanjeev Kapoor | Others-Culinary | Maharashtra

61. | Meenakshi Amma | Others-Martial Art | Kerala

62. | Genabhai Dargabhai Patel | Others-Agriculture | Gujarat

63. | Chandrakant Pithawa | Science & Engineering | Telangana

64. | Prof. Ajoy Kumar Ray | Science & Engineering | West Bengal

65. | Chintakindi Mallesham | Science & Engineering | Andhra Pradesh

66. | Jitendra Nath Goswami | Science & Engineering | Assam

67. | Daripalli Ramaiah | Social Work | Telangana

68. | Girish Bhardwaj | Social Work | Karnataka

69. | Karimul Hak | Social Work | West Bengal

70. | Bipin Ganatra | Social Work | West Bengal

71. | Nivedita Raghunath Bhide | Social work | Tamil Nadu

72. | Appasaheb Dharmadhikari | Social Work | Maharashtra

73. | Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal | Social Work | Punjab

74. | Virat Kohli | Sports-Cricket | Delhi

75. | Shekar Naik | Sports-Cricket | Karnataka

76. | Vikasa Gowda | Sports-Discus Throw | Karnataka

77. | Deepa Malik | Sports-Athletics | Haryana

78. | Mariyappan Thangavelu | Sports-Athletics | Tamil Nadu

79. | Dipa Karmakar | Sports-Gymnastics | Tripura

80. | P R Shreejesh | Sports-Hockey | Kerala

81. | Sakshi Malik | Sports-Wrestling | Haryana

82. | Mohan Reddy Venkatrama Bodanapu | Trade & Industry | Telangana

83. | Imrat Khan (NRI/PIO) | Art-Music | USA

84. | Anant Agarwal (NRI/PIO) | Literature & Education | USA

85. | H.R. Shah (NRI/PIO) | Literature & Education-Journalism | USA

86. | Late (Smt.) Suniti Solomon (Posthumous) | Medicine | Tamil Nadu

87. | Asoke Kumar Bhattacharyya (Posthumous) | Others-Archaeology | West Bengal

88. | Dr. Mapuskar (Posthumous) | Social Work | Maharashtra

89. | Anuradha Koirala (Foreigner) | Social Work | Nepal

Check out last year's awardees here.

Check the parade highlights here: