Actor Dharmendra Singh Deol and former Kerala Chief Minister and CPM veteran V S Achuthanandan have been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan posthumously. The nation’s second-highest civilian honour has also been conferred on former Supreme Court judge K T Thomas, Hindustani classical violinist N Rajam, and Malayalam journalist P Narayanan.
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren, the face of the Jharkhand movement that led to the birth of the state, has been awarded the Padma Bhushan posthumously. The awards for VS and Soren signal the government’s acknowledgement of the roles the two Opposition leaders played.
Earlier too, the government had conferred the Padma awards on veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and CPM veteran and former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya in 2022. Bhattacharya, however, turned down the award. In 2023, former UP Chief Minister and SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav was conferred the Padma award posthumously.
In all, the President has approved 131 Padma awards this year – five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awards. The list includes 19 women, six foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI, and 16 posthumous conferments. The awards, announced annually on Republic Day, are presented by the President at ceremonial functions in Rashtrapati Bhavan, usually in March or April.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Congratulations to all the Padma Awardees for their outstanding contributions to our nation. Their excellence, dedication and service across diverse fields enrich the fabric of our society. The honour reflects the spirit of commitment and excellence that continues to inspire generations.”
Of the five Padma Vibhushan, three have gone to personalities from Kerala. In all, eight from the state have received Padma awards. Tamil Nadu and West Bengal account for 13 and 11 awards, respectively. Incidentally, all three states are going to Assembly polls this year.
Among the Padma Vibhushan awardees is Justice K T Thomas who served in the Supreme Court between 1995 and 2002 and is remembered for a series of consequential judgments touching upon free speech, sentencing principles and judicial accountability. Post-retirement, he chaired and served on several committees on legal and judicial reforms, contributing to policy thinking on criminal justice and constitutional interpretation.
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P Narayanan, also honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, served as chief editor of Janmabhoomi, a daily newspaper with close ties to the RSS. He had worked as a pracharak in North Kerala and been the state convenor for the Swadeshi Jagran Manch.
Among the Padma Bhushan awardees are veteran actor Mammootty, whose four-decade-long career has shaped contemporary Malayalam cinema, and Vellappally Natesan, senior Ezhava leader and general secretary of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, credited with establishing more than 130 educational institutions and wielding considerable influence among OBC communities.
Also in the Padma Bhushan list is former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and ex-Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari who has been honoured for public affairs.
Others in the Padma Bhushan list include advertising veteran Piyush Pandey (posthumous), banker Uday Kotak, senior BJP leader V K Malhotra (posthumous), playback singer Alka Yagnik, and tennis legend Vijay Amritraj.
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Tamil Nadu’s 13 awardees span science, medicine, arts and social work. The Padma Bhushan has been conferred on Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy for his contribution to medicine, and S K M Maeilanandhan, known for his work in social service. In the Padma Shri category, space scientist A E Muthunayagam, one of the pioneers of India’s missile and space programmes, has been honoured, reinforcing the state’s strong showing in science and engineering.
West Bengal’s 11 awardees underline the state’s continuing prominence in arts and literature. Among the Padma Shri recipients is veteran actor Prosenjit Chatterjee, a central figure in Bengali cinema whose career bridges mainstream and parallel cinema. Other awardees from the state include artistes and scholars associated with literature, music and cultural preservation, areas that remain core to Bengal’s political and cultural identity.
The Padma Shri recipients include cricketers Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar who have both led India to World Cup wins; women’s hockey goalkeeper Savita Punia; actors R Madhavan and Satish Shah (posthumous); former UGC Chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar; retired IPS officer K Vijay Kumar who led the team against bandit-smuggler Veerappan; neonatologist Armida Fernandez who established Asia’s first human milk bank in Mumbai; Ayodhya excavation archaeologist Buddha Rashmi Mani; former Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati; and RVS Mani, former Under Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
