The
announcement of the list of persons selected for the Padma Honours raises
resentments and ruckus every year. This year was no exception. S. Janaki, the
nightingale of the south, (the fact remains, she sang in all the Indian languages)
was the first to ruffle the hornet’s nest with a strong refusal of Padma Bhushan offered to her. ”They have been
giving undue importance to people from North India, Artists from South Indian
music and film industries face discrimination every time, I refuse the award. I
have been singing for the last fifty years. Government should have given me the
award earlier”. .Janaki’s reaction never reached the National Media or the
powers that be in New Delhi
as what is happening in the cow belt alone attracts their attention.
The irony is
that she was in Kerala, the state which received a raw deal this year when she got the news of her selection. From the list of 42 submitted by the state
govt. only one was selected, that even with a snub. Madhu recommended for Padma
Bhushan got Padmashree . Mr Sukumaran Nair, the general secretory of the Nair Service
Society who is trying hard to place representative of his community in key
positions (thakkol sthanangal) need not worry about the religious imbalance in
this year’s selection as the official name of the lone recipient is Madhavan Nair.
Mr. K.C.
Joseph, the Minister in charge of the Dept that recommends the names from the
State has earlier commented about the mean and obnoxious methods, some people
resort to for getting the Padma Honours. But he and his party cant be absolved
of being partners in this filthy game.
Poor Pranchiyettan who bundled up one crore rupees and dispatched to a broker
in an ambulance failed to get Padmashree.
However the fact of the matter is that money, political patronage and
parochial considerations play more pivotal role in the selection of Padma awards
than veritable merits. The Central and the State Govts use it as a tool to win
people over to their fold or to gratify their cronies and stooges.
When there was lot of hue and cry for
conferring Bharat Rtana to a cricketer
the most sane and audacious remarks came
from honorable Justice Markandey Katju “By conferring Bharat Ratna on Sachin
Tendulkar you are belittling that
honour”
Despite the shortcomings in the selection
process and consideration that weigh in favor of the recipients, the mandate and authority of the elected
Governments, academies and universities in giving awards are beyond challenge.
Of late
filthily rich individuals, cash rich corporates, small time cultural leaders,
clubs with questionable integrity started giving awards to artistes, professionals, politicians or
achievers who command marketable fame and glamour. It is a quid pro quo deal.,
where the giver of the award stands to gain more. Their eyes are on publicity.
They waddle in the murky puddle of narcissistic pleasure when they see them
beside the glitzy recipient in the print and moving media the next morning.
A club of
officers in Kochi ,
floated, managed and manipulated by two pensioners gives Business Man of The Year Award every year. First they identify a
neo-rich., strike a deal with him, the award is
fixed.. The awardee ropes in a minister or an old politician idling on
the gubernatorial chair to present the award. The function will be arranged in
a five star hotel with dinner, tipple, music , fun and frolic. The services of
the club members will be used to entice maximum crowd promising “unlimited food
and drinks”. The recipient of the award will gleefully shell out money seeing
the lotus eaters that throng the meeting eyeing the food and bottles and
expecting his picture in the media the following day, The amount that changes
hands is everybody’s guess. All are happy, the giver, the receiver, the
presenter, the eater and the tippler. “What an idea Sirji….”
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