The list of people who have recommended several prominent names for the 2013 Padma awards comprises who's who of the country's political, cultural, judicial, bureaucratic and scientific communities, an RTI inquiry has found.
With the Central Information Commission (CIC)ordering the government to reveal the Padma nominees' list, the names of those who have recommended the individuals excelled in their respective fields and those who have been nominated now do not fall under the category of confidential or personal information.
The list of the people was given by the Union home ministry in pursuance to an order of the CIC on an application filed by RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal.
Ministers in list:
The prominent nominators include union ministers Sushilkumar Shinde, Salman Khurshid, Rajiv Shukla, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, music maestro Pandit Jasraj, Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, former chief justice of India Justice (retd.) M.N. Venkatachalam, Congress's Lok Sabha member Mahabal Mishra, Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh and even optometrist to the President of India Dr. Vipin Buckshey.
The list also belies the Union government's claims that it follows a meticulous selection process for the prestigious awards. It has been revealed that those who absolutely failed to find "right nominees" have recommended their "own people" for the awards.
The UP government has recommended two names for the awards - Chancellor of Galgotias University Suneel Galgotia and textile designer Sribhas Chandra Supakar.
Author and Padma Vibhushan awardee Khushwant Singh has recommended author and activist Sadia Dehlvi, while the National School of Drama (NSD) has recommended actor Sharmila Tagore.
Former Uttarakhand chief minister Narayan Dutt Tiwari has recommended Basanti Bist's name for his contribution to vocal folk music.
In the field of art and culture, prominent persons who have recommended names for the awards include Lata Mangeshkar, Sonal Mansingh, Hari Prasad Chaurasia, filmmaker Govind Nihalani, actress Hema Malini and Jaipur's Maharani Padmini Devi. Both Hema Malini and Maharani Padmini Devi have recommended singer Kailash Kher. Industrialist and politician T. Subbarami Reddy, who has produced Bollywood movies such as Vijay, Chandni and Lamhe has recommended Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in the category of Art and Cinema. Reddy is said to be very close the Kapoor family.
Former SP leader and Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh has recommended actor and Rajya Sabha member Jaya Prada for the Padma awards for her contributions to the field of acting and art-cinema.
Beauticians and businesswomen Shahnaz Husain and Vandana Luthra have also found their names on the list as potential awardees, with their names being recommended by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India and former I&B minister Ambika Soni respectively.
Wajahat Habibullah, chairperson of the national Commission of Minorities, has recommended Shahnaz Husain's name for her contributions to the trade and industry sector.
Even President Pranab Mukherjee has nominated filmmaker and journalist Pritish Nandy for the awards. In the field of sports, cricketers Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir have been recommended by the Ministry of Sports, while Saina Nehwal has been recommended by the Haryana government.
Former secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy Anil Kakodkar, eminent agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan and chairman of the National Centre for Human Settlement and Environment M.N.Buch also have recommended a few names.
