FORMER Chief
Justice of India J S
Khehar, former chief of Suzuki Motor
late Osamu Suzuki, Ram temple architect Chandrakant Sompura, folk singer
late Sharda Sinha and hockey player P
R Sreejesh are among 139 Padma
awardees announced on the eve of the
76th Republic Day on Saturday.
The highest civilian honours of the
country announcedbytheGovernment
include seven Padma Vibhushan, 19
PadmaBhushanand113PadmaShridecorations.“Twenty-threeof the awardees
are women and the list also includes 10
persons from the category of foreigners, NRI (Non-resident Indians), PIO
(PersonofIndianOrigin),OCI (Overseas
Citizenshipof India) and and 13posthumous awardees,” the Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA) said in a statement.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister
and Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi
has been given the Padma Bhushan
posthumously.
Publisher of Tamil daily Dinamalar
LakshmipathyRamasubbaiyerhasbeen
awardedPadma Shrifor literature, education and journalism.
FormerCJIJustice (retd)Jagdish Singh
Khehar, Chairman of Asian Institute of
Gastroenterology and
AIG Hospitals D
Nageshwar Reddy, Kathak dancer from
GujaratKumudiniRajnikantLakhia,violinist Lakshminarayana Subramaniam
have been awarded PadmaVibhushan,
the statement said. Former chief of the
Suzuki Motor Corporation Osamu
Suzuki, folk singer Sharda Sinha and
author M T Vasudevan Nair have been
awarded Padma Vibhushan
posthumously.Theawards are
given in various disciplines
and fields such as art, social
work, public affairs, science
and engineering, trade and
industry, medicine, literature
and education, sports andcivil service among others.
PadmaVibhushanis awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; Padma
Bhushan for distinguished
service of high order and
Padma Shri for distinguished
service in any field. Former
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister
Sushil Modi, economist Bibek
Debroy, gazal singer Pankaj
Udhashavebeen givenPadma
Bhushan posthumously.
Telugu Superstar
Nandamuri Balakrishna also
known as Balayya, film-maker Shekhar Kapur and former
hockeygoalkeeperPRSreejesh
have been given the Padma
Bhushan. Former SBI chairperson Arundhati
Bhattacharya,recently-retired
cricketerR Ashwin, vice chancellor of Lucknow’s KGMU
Soniya Nityanand and industrialist Pawan Goenka have
been given Padma Shri.
The President has also
awarded 30 Padma Shri to
unsung heroes that includes
100-year old Libia Lobo
Sardesai, who played an
important role in Goa’s freedommovement.Shecofounded an underground radio station --‘VozdaLiberdabe(Voice
of Freedom)’ -- in a forested
area in 1955 to rally people
against the Portuguese rule.
Wildlife researcher and
Marathi author Maruti
Bhujangrao Chitampalli (92),
who gave unique dictionaries
on birds, animals and trees;
68-year-old bhajan singer
BatoolBegum fromJaipur;percussionist Velu Aasaan (58)
fromTamil Nadu, who is standardising and reviving traditional Parai Isai artform, are
also among the Padma Shri
awardees.