DC Edit | On Padma List, Govt Rewards Its Own

Keralites would have felt very privileged this year as three of the five Padma Vibhushan awardees are from their state. They are familiar with the names of former chief minister and communist stalwart, the late V.S. Achuthanandan, and K.T.

Thomas, former Supreme Court judge and a late follower of the Parivar brand of politics. However, most of them are scrambling to find out more about P. Narayanan and his contributions in “literature and education”. The nonagenarian journalist devoted his whole life to Sangh Parivar causes — he edited its Malayalam daily and wrote and translated books that espoused Hindutva ideologies to go on and earn the second biggest civilian award of the republic.

Controversies about national honours are part of the package and this year was not an exception. While posthumous awards to Achuthanandan and JMM founder and former Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren can perhaps defend the government against allegations of partisan approach, what it has actually done is to celebrate the Parivar ideologues in stealth. Former Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari won a Padma Bhushan despite the disservice he did to the Constitution as Maharashtra governor by swearing in BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister in 2021, knowing full well that Mr Fadnavis did not command a majority in the newly elected Assembly. His mandate was to give the BJP an opportunity to muster the needed numbers. It may be remembered that he made some controversial remarks around Shivaji that did not go down well with a major section of the state’s population.

The Narendra Modi government has also been making efforts to bring to national limelight unsung heroes of rural India while picking people for national honours and that’s a welcome move. However, a few deserving persons being recognized solely on their merit cannot be the reason to smuggle in people with questionable credentials. Care must be accorded to the curation of honorees so that the nation must feel proud of every name on the list. A mixed bag cannot work when it comes to such an important national affair.