Doing the ‘Padma’asan in the corridors of power

If you thought that a place in the coveted list of Padma awardees each year is decided after rigorous discussion on the merits of potential candidates, think again. People who have been part of the selection committee for the Padma awards admit, on condition of anonymity, that the procedure of nominating and then selecting the winners is “loose”.

“Each year, by October, people aspiring for these awards become active on their own and start approaching state governments and central ministries to recommend their names. The recommendations are made to the Home Ministry and a selection committee presided over by a cabinet secretary and comprising the home secretary, secretary to the President and four or five non-official members (people who have rendered distinguished services in various fields) is set up to scrutinise the recommendations and prepare a tentative list of winners,” said an official who has been privy to the awards selection process.

The list is vetted by the Intelligence Bureau to ensure that none of the nominees has a questionable background and sent to the Home Ministry. From there it goes to the Prime Minister’s Office. At both places, changes can be made to the list before it goes to the president.

Now for the holes in that process. As the official explained, “From the time the recommendation procedure starts, members of the awards selection committee, especially the home secretary, become permanent invitees to any party thrown by those interested in bagging the award. The allurements are many. If parties don’t work, political pressures do. Interested people flock around the powers that be and recommendation letters from every person who matters are sought.”

So what are the criteria to decide on who is placed where in the three-tier Padma Award system? “While one can’t deny that winners do have some credible work to support their claim for an award, how strongly one’s case is pursued is what determines the actual award. Usually those who make the recommendation are also supposed to state the award category under which the recommendation is being made. Among the Padma awards, the maximum strings are pulled for the Padma Shri and that is why the list of winners is increasing every passing year,” said another official who has been part of the selection committee in the past.

And how are the citations prepared? This one’s the best. While the “genuine winners” have some long-standing contribution to boast of, those who come by “knocking on doors” usually prepare their own citations which are later, if need be, mellowed down by officials in the home ministry.