• Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • koo
  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • koo
  • Whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Linkedin
  • Print
  • koo

The government of India announced on Friday that India’s highest civilian honour will be conferred on former President Pranab Mukherjee, Bhartiya Jana Sangh leader Nanaji Deshmukh (posthumously) and legendary singer-composer Bhupen Hazarika (posthumously), reported The Indian Express.

The awards have been announced after a gap of four years. In 2015, the honour was conferred on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya (posthumously).


Awardees

Pranab Mukherjee, fondly known as ‘Pranab Da’ served as the 13th President of India between 2012 and 2017 and is regarded as one of the tallest leaders of the generation. A senior leader of Congress party, he held important portfolios such as Finance, Defence and Foreign Affairs during UPA’s rule at the centre.

Born in a Bengali Brahmin family in 1935, he entered politics in 1969 and came close to the top job many times but it eluded him. As humble as he has always been, Mukherjee tweeted.

Deshmukh was a Sangh Parivar veteran, founder member of the Janata Party and a prominent social activist in the field of education, health and rural self-reliance. He was one of the main architects of the Bhartiya Jana Sangh which later became the Bhartiya Janata Party and started the chain of RSS inspired schools (Saraswati Vidya Mandir) across India. He played a very important role in the Jai Prakash Movement against Emergency in 1974 and also in the formation of Janata Party government in 1977.

He founded the Deendayal Research Institute in 1968 to validate the philosophy of Integral Humanism propounded by Deendayal Upadhyaya. He retired from active politics and passed away on February 27 2010, at the age of 94.

Prime Minister Modi hailed Deshmukh’s contribution to rural development in a tweet.



Born in 1926 in Sadiya, Assam Bhupen Hazarika was a playback singer, lyricist, composer, poet and filmmaker. He did his PhD from Columbia University and won many accolades including Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Padma Shri, Dada Sahab Phalke Award, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan (2012-posthumously). He is largely credited with bringing Assam on the cultural map of India and was also briefly involved in politics. He unsuccessfully contested the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from Guwahati on a BJP ticket and was an independent MLA during 1967-72.

Although he wrote in Assamese, his songs have a universal appeal and promote cultural harmony. He passed away in 2011 at the age of 85. Including these three, 48 people have been conferred the prestigious honour so far.

The government also announced names of 112 persons, including a transgender person selected for Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri award, India’s second, third and fourth highest civilian honours respectively in the fields of art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, literature and education, sports, civil service etc.


Also Read: Meet Smt Lekshmikutty Who Was Awarded Padma Shri For Her Knowledge And Service In Traditional Medicine

Contributors Suggest Correction
Editor : The Logical Indian

Must Reads