‘Pioneer-Dilli Billi’-7th.February

The choosing of personalities for confrontment of Bharat Ratna and Padama awards is done by a high level committee. The citizens of India are sure that the committee goes through every person’s name carefully that it is not tainted and it is deservingly conferred because of their exception and distinguished services to the nation. These awardees are a pride to the nation. They are people who the ordinary man looks up to and these awardees sort of set examples for the ordinary citizens.
This year there is a lot of hue and cry from all quarters on whether Chatwal, the hotelier from New York was eligible for the award. There were many cases pending on Mr. Chatwal with the CBI for which he was given a clean chit, but does that make you eligible for the award? Was his lobbying for the nuclear deal in the U.S enough material that all his suspect cases in India are washed off? I must say that I have followed these awards for many years as every other citizen and seen the pattern followed by the every political party ruling at that moment. I do suggest that the awards be re-named as the political party award rather than a national award. The awardees are obviously close to the ruling party and have done their two bits to help some high profile ruling person like in the last UPA Government. The Samajwadi party pushed through a lot of names for the awards. These awards have now become services rendered to ‘A Political Party’ than to ‘The Nation’. Why do these awardees only have to be high flying? There are many citizens who have done much more than the people who end up getting these awards.
The only solution to end the controversies around these awards is just scrap them. As of now these awards are now associated with personal favour to ‘A’ person other than excellence, or service to the nation. Its not just fair to the public that that people with suspect credentials often figure in the roll of honour. What is equally bad is that with lobbying often deciding who makes it and who doesn’t, suspicion shrouds the choice of even the people who are otherwise deserving.
There is a mechanism all these for choosing the awardees but people who have been it’s part have disclosed how they are observed in the breach. If this is how it works now why persist with a system that reminds us of the colonial era when awards and titles were conferred merely as a form of patronage and favour.
Governments should now correct the system and not use the Padma awards as a system of patronage and repayment of favours. These awards should not be used for political purposes. It turns particularly shady when you are giving it to business people or spiritual leaders who should know better than take awards.
Criteria should not be merely excellence, but “excellence plus,” a lifetime achievement. No guidelines seems to have been followed in general as the awards committee is not given reports of tax or criminal records of the prospective awardees. The President’s office, the Vice President’s office, the PMO and the Home Minister can give their recommendations even up to the last minute. There are influences and we cannot avoid. Many good people who haven’t asked for the awards are left out.
If the Prime Minister is so bent on changing the systems then this should be high on his priority list. Because we really don’t want tax evaders and suspects being awarded and make us feel that once again honesty, hardwork and dedication can be by-passed by some wheeler dealer who has the right connections.