AIR spotlight summary on Nominations for Padma Awards.
Introduction
- Padma Awards – one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities are going online. The government is opening nomination for ordinary citizens to nominate anyone. This is happening for the first time and it will open the flood gates for nomination.
- Earlier it was wrapped in misery where ordinary people think that these awards are given to those who are influential, political functionaries, and government officials. Public never associated themselves with the entire process of these awards.
Benefits of Nominations for Padma Awards
- This decision by the government is revolutionary in itself. There are lots of people in the country side and elsewhere who have worked diligently in improving the status of people in the villages, protecting the environment, creating water bodies, developing agriculture in a new manner. These have not come to light.
- This effect to involve the public in decision making of Padma awards will be very significant. This can unravel the real talent existing in our country.
- The nominators would be required to furnish their Aadhar details for authenticity and accountability. Lot of frauds will be eliminated through this.
- The aspirations of the people who have silently been working towards achieving targets in purpose will be recognised.
- This will give the citizens a chance to have their view in the Padma awards.
- We may see the faces and names of people who we may not have heard in the past.
- We may expect the 2017 Padma awards will have eye openers and they will make a difference to the overall development scenario in the country.
- Earlier the ordinary citizens did not know the nominees and the selection process was opaque. Through the new initiative the people will get to know the total number of nominations received.
- Up to this time unfortunately we have found that the powerful and influential people have been able to get their way by making recommendation and lobby very hard for a particular individual to get the award. This will not be the case anymore because of the nomination by the ordinary citizens.
- Baba Amte got the Magsaysay Award only after certain magazines and news paper published the work done by him. The work done by Baba Amte towards Leprosy was not known to people at large. There are 1000’s of Indians working throughout without asking for any recognition and rewards.
The limitations of the award
- Padma wards were instituted in 1954. We saw a brief period in 1977. In 1977, 1980 and from 1993 to 1997 there were no Padma awards.
- We have seen celebrities and eminent personalities refusing these awards feeling that they should have got Padma Bhushan or Padma Vibhushan and not Padma Shri and many refusing it for getting it very late in their carrier.
Conclusion
- Simple online nomination encourages and facilitates all Indian citizens to particiThis is technology at work and this is going to make a real difference to the awards per se when they are presented and approved by the government.
- With this process we can hope that these awards will reflect the ethos of the country and will become the people’s award.The nominations can be made online but the nominators would be required to furnish their Aadhaar details for authenticity and accountabilityThe nominations can be made online but the nominators would be required to furnish their Aadhaar details for authenticity and accountabilityThe nominations can be made online but the nominators would be required to furnish their Aadhaar details for authenticity an
