Yesteryear actor Vyjayanthimala Bali, Telugu star Konidela Chiranjeevi, the first woman judge of the Supreme Court late M. Fathima Beevi, and Mumbai Samachar owner Hormusji N. Cama were among the eminent persons conferred Padma awards by President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader O. Rajagopal, Ladakh’s spiritual leader Togdan Rinpoche, Tamil actor late ‘Captain’ Vijayakant (both posthumous), and Kundan Vyas, group editor and CEO of Gujarati newspaper Janmabhoomi, were also conferred Padma awards at a civil investiture ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
While 90-year-old Ms. Bali and 68-year-old Mr. Chiranjeevi were given Padma Vibhushan, Ms. Beevi, Mr. Cama, Mr. Rajagopal, Mr. Vijayakant, Mr. Rinpoche, and Mr. Vyas were conferred Padma Bhushan.
Family members of Ms. Beevi, Mr. Vijayakant, and Mr. Rinpoche received the awards.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.
The Padma awards, among the highest civilian honours of the country, are conferred in three categories - Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri.
The awards are given in various disciplines or fields of activities, such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service etc.
Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order, and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field.
Among those who were given Padma Bhushan included eminent cardiologist Ashwin Balachand Mehta and former Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader late Satyabrata Mookherjee.
The Padma Shri awardees included unsung heroes like India's first woman elephant mahout Parbati Baruah, who is known as "Hasti Kanya", sculptor from Telangana Velu Anandachari, eminent weaver from Tripura Smriti Rekha Chakma, K. Chellammal from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, who pioneered in organic coconut plantation, and squash player Joshna Chinappa.
The award ceremony witnessed some heartwarming moments too.
There was a huge round of applause when K.S. Rajanna, a divyang (differently-abled person) from Karnataka, who lost both his hands and feet in his childhood, came to receive Padma Shri.
He went to greet Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah, who were sitting next to each other in the audience, while going to receive the honour.
The dignitaries and guests attending the function continuously applauded while Mr. Rajanna received the award. He is known for his work for the welfare of differently-abled persons.
Padma Shri awardee Pran Sabharwal, an eminent theatre artist from Punjab, also walked up to Mr. Modi and tried to touch his feet. The Prime Minister reciprocated his gesture by touching his hands and with a namaste.
Sano Vamuzo, a social worker from Nagaland, and yoga guru Kiran Labhshanker Vyas shook hands with the prime minister while going to receive their Padma Shri awards from the president.
Charlotte Chopin, a 101-year-old French yoga teacher, was honoured with Padma Shri. Dressed in a green saree, she walked up to the dais on her own to receive the award.
Murmu stepped down from the dais to give away the awards to certain awardees who had difficulty in walking or who were wheelchair-bound.
Famous bamboo craftsman from Sikkim Joden Lepcha, who received Padma Shri from the president, had come wearing a traditional attire and a colourful hat.
The awards are announced on the eve of Republic Day every year.
For 2024, the President had approved the conferment of 132 Padma awards, including two duo cases (in a duo case, the award is counted as one).
The list comprises five Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan, and 110 Padma Shri awards.
Thirty of the awardees are women. The list also includes eight people from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and nine posthumous awardees.
While more than half of the awardees were conferred the awards on April 22, the remaining were given the awards on Thursday.
