PANAJI
Former Defence Minister of India and late ex-CM Manohar Parrikar was awarded the Padma Bhushan posthumously while noted Goan folklorist and writer Vinayak Vishnu Khedekar was awarded Padma Shri on Monday.
Parrikar’s son, Utpal, received the prestigious award from the hands of President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
Reacting to the award, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said, “it is truly an honour of the simple but visionary and dedicated life of Parrikar in service of the people and the nation”.
“His visionary decisions took the State to new heights. He took landmark decisions as the Defence Minister that put India on the path of becoming a great power in the world,” he said.
A total of 119 Padma awards were presented by President of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. The list comprises 7 Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan and 102 Padma Shri awards.
Out of the awardees, 29 are women, 16 posthumous awardees and one transgender awardee.
Earlier in the day, Utpal had announced through his twitter handle that he would be accepting the award on behalf of his late father.
Noted Goan folklorist and writer Vinayak Vishnu Khedekar was also awarded Padma Shri in the field of Art.
Kedekar who hails from Savoi-Verem and lives at Ribandar has chronicled Goa’s cultural forms, folklore, folk dances, tribal craft through his research articles and books.
He was among the 102 persons chosen for Padma Shri awards this year. Reacting to his award, Khedekar said, “I am happy that the Goa government has recognised my contribution of five decades to the field of art and culture”.
Earlier, President Kovind also awarded the Padma Vibhushan to former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who passed away in 2019 due to a cardiac arrest. The award was received by her daughter Bansuri Swaraj at the ceremony in Delhi.
Padma Bhushan award was also presented to Olympian badminton player PV Sindhu and Captain of the women’s hockey team Rani Rampal, who led the team in the recent Tokyo Olympics was conferred the Padma Shri award 2020.
Instituted in 1954, these awards are announced on the eve of Republic Day every year. The Narendra Modi-led government has been honouring many “unsung heroes", who are contributing to the society in different ways, with Padma awards since 2014.
Through the Padma awards, the government seeks to recognise ‘work of distinction’ and is given for distinguished and exceptional achievements or service in all fields or disciplines, such as, art, literature and education, sports, medicine, social work, science and engineering, public affairs, civil service, trade and industry etc.
