Bharat Ratna | Impressions

On January 2, 1954, a press release from the office of the secretary to the President of India announced the creation of two civilian awards: Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award, followed by the three-tier Padma Vibhushan, classified into “Pahela Warg” (Class I), “Dusra Warg” (Class II), and “Tisra Warg” (Class III).

On January 15, 1955, the three-tier Padma Vibhushan award was reclassified into three different awards: the Padma Vibhushan, the highest of the three, followed by the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri.

From 1954 onwards the Government of India honours its distinguished citizens on India’s Republic Day (26th January) by conferring the civilian awards for their services to the Republic of India. All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these awards.

The Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award is conferred on distinguished citizens of India in recognition of their distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the arts, education, industry, literature, science, sports, medicine, social service and public affairs. It has also been awarded to some distinguished individuals who were/are not citizens of India for their various services rendered to the Republic of India.

The recipients of the Padma Shri award receive only the award. It is just an honour without any monetary compensation. No cash allowance or any facility/benefit in terms of concession etc. in rail/air travel is attached to these awards. The awardees are not allowed to publicize their achievements.

The award does not amount to a title and cannot be used as a suffix or prefix to the awardee’s name on letterheads, invitation cards, posters, books etc. In the case of any misuse, the awardee will forfeit the award. Though there are no specific criteria for withdrawing a Padma award, according to the awards’ statutes, the President of India may cancel and annul any award in the case of any misconduct committed by the recipient.

The Padma Shri medal, obverse, reverse and the Ribbon.

The Padma Shri decoration comprises a Certificate issued under the hand and seal of the President and a Medallion. The recipients are also given a replica of the medallion, which if they desire can be worn by them during any ceremonial/State functions.

A higher category of Padma award can be conferred on a person only where a period of at least five years has elapsed since conferment of the earlier Padma award. However, in highly deserving cases, relaxation can be made by the Awards Committee.

This year (2019), the Padma Shri was awarded to 94 persons. Of these 21 of the awardees are women, 11 persons from the category of foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI, three posthumous awardees and one transgender person.

What caught my attention most was the following 14 humble, compassionate, unassuming, unselfish and humane Padma Shri recipients ignored by the media caught my attention.

The Chaiwala Guru of Cuttack: Devarapalli Prakash Rao

Environmentalist from Karnataka: Saalumarada Thimmakka

Empowering Women: ‘Kalanjiam Shakti‘: Madurai Chinna Pillai

The ‘Lady Tarzan‘ of Jharkhand: Jamuna Tudu

Caretaker of cows in Maratawada : Shaikh Shabbir Mamu

‘Kissan Chachi‘: Rajkumari Devi

India’s ‘Saviour of Cows’ from Germany: Friederike Irina Bruning

Carver of Canals with bare hands: Daitari Naik

The Wonder Surgeon of Ladakh: Dr Tsering Norbu

The ‘Grassroot Inventor’ from Assam: Dr Uddhab Kumar Bharali

The Pioneer of Sickle Cell Research in India: Dr Sudam Kate

The developer of an improved variety of Cauliflower:
Jagdish Prasad Parikh

Reviver of the dying Kutchi art of Rogan painting:
Abdul Gafoor Khatri

The tribal woman from Koraput promoting organic farming:
Kamala Pujhari

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. By T.V. Antony Raj
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Sachin Tendulkar - Farewell (Source: sports.ndtv.com) — Sachin Tendulkar – Farewell (Source: sports.ndtv.com)

An undeniable elegance coupled with once in a while revelation of enchanting playfulness, and an exceptional inclination toward timing, have always been the brand of Sachin Tendulkar, the cricketer.

The hurriedly arranged Test series India vs West Indies was mostly for Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar to bid farewell from cricket.

Yesterday, November 16, 2013, was a memorable Saturday for Sachin.

India won the second Test match against the West Indies by an innings and 126 runs for the second straight time, and the series 2-0. But that win was reduced to a mere footnote by an emotionally charged farewell speech by Sachin Tendulkar that stirred a rapt live audience in the fully packed Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, and TV viewers around the world.

The speech revealed to the world a Sachin Tendulkar, the speaker.

At 11:47, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, the ‘God’ of cricket, was finally saying goodbye to cricket and his fans with glistening tears on his face, after entertaining the world with his 24 years of phenomenal cricket.

This speech uncovered the remarkable person that Sachin was, underneath the universally recognized cricketer. He moved his audience and his adoring, ardent, die-hard fans to tears, and made them fall in love with him once again.

Sachin Factoid (Source: sports.ndtv.com)

Sachin Tendulkar, the “Master Blaster” made his Test debut against Pakistan on November 15, 1989. Yesterday, he ended his cricket career with a total of 34,357 runs in international cricket and 15,921 runs in Tests. Ricky Ponting, the now retired former Australia captain scored 13378, and Jacques Kallis, the highest placed active player is now on 13,140 runs. In all likelihood, these figures of Sachin will never be beaten.

He was the greatest ambassador of the sport of cricket and has touched the lives of all cricket lovers around the globe.

Sachin Tendulkar has been the single colossal to inspire Indian cricket over three generations. He was the perfect ambassador of the sport of cricket, and has touched the lives of all cricket lovers around the globe.

This Saturday is doubly memorable because an official announcement was made by a release from the Prime Minister’s Office that Sachin Tendulkar will be conferred with Bharat Ratna.

According to a report, Sachin said: “I dedicate this to my mother.”

Sachin Tendulkar is the seventh person from Maharashtra to be conferred the Bharat Ratna after Dhondo Karve, Pandurang Kane, Vinoba Bhave, BR Ambedkar, Lata Mangeshkar and Bhimsen Joshi.