On Tuesday, government officials contacted Sandhya Mukherjee, also known as Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, in order to offer her Padma Shri award.
On Tuesday, government officials contacted Sandhya Mukherjee, also known as Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, in order to offer her Padma Shri award. However, she refused to accept the award and said that she is not willing to be named as ‘Padma Shri recipient’ in the awards list.
Here's a list of people who refused to accept the Padma Awards earlier as well:
Padma Bhushan:
A total of 12 people have refused to accept the Padma Bhushan award.
Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee:
January 2022: Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee refused to accept the Padma Bhushan award. The veteran CPI(M) leader was the chief minister of West Bengal from 2000to 2011.
Reason: “I know nothing about this award. No one has told me anything about it. If they have decided to offer Padma Bhushan to me, I refuse to accept it," Bhattacharjee said in a statement. While explaining the reasons behind his refusal, the CPI(M) said the party's policy was not to accept such state awards. "Comrade Buddhadeb Bhattacharya who was nominated for the Padma Bhushan award has declined to accept it. The CPI(M) policy has been consistent in declining such awards from the State. Our work is for the people not for awards. Comrade EMS (Namboodiripad) who was earlier offered an award had declined it." the CPI(M) tweeted.
Journalist Nikhil Chakravarty:
1990: Journalist Nikhil Chakravarty rejected the award in 1990.
Reason: He rejected the award stating that the "journalists should not be identified with the establishment”
Playback singer S. Janaki:
2013: Playback singer S. Janaki refused to accept her award.
Reason: She stated that "the award has come late in her five-and-half-decade long career." The singer also mentioned that she is not against the Government and expressed happiness for the recognition but requested the Government to "show some more consideration to the artists from the southern parts of the country.
Author Krishna Sobti:
2010: Author Krishna Sobti declined to accept in 2010.
Reason: She was already a 1996 recipient of a Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, "the biggest recognition for a writer," and that as a writer she "had to keep a distance from the establishment.
Historian Romila Thapar:
1992 & 2005: Historian Romila Thapar refused to accept the award twice, for the first time in 1992, and later again in 2005.
Reason: Rejected stating that she would accept awards only "from academic institutions or those associated with my professional work." For her 2005 bestowal, Thapar sent a clarification letter to the then President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam mentioned that she had declined to accept the award when the Ministry of Human Resource Development had contacted her three month prior to the award announcement and had explained her reasons for not accepting the award.
Civil servant S. R. Sankaran:
2005: Civil servant S. R. Sankaran declined to accept the award in 2005.
Reason: He said he could not accept any award for merely doing his duty
Former Minister of Commerce and Industry of Rajasthan and Sarvodaya activist Siddharaj Dhadda:
2003: Former Minister of Commerce and Industry of Rajasthan and Sarvodaya activist Siddharaj Dhadda.
Reason: Not Known
RSS volunteer Dattopant Thengadi:
2003: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) volunteer Dattopant Thengadi rejected the award until K. B. Hedgewar (RSS founder) and M. S. Golwalkar (RSS ideologue) were offered the Bharat Ratna.
Reason: Rejected until K. B. Hedgewar (RSS founder) and M. S. Golwalkar (RSS ideologue) were offered the Bharat Ratna.
Industrialist Keshub Mahindra:
2002: Keshub Mahindra decided not to accept the padma bhushan award conferred on him by the government.
Reason: The reason for declining the award was the pending Bhopal case against him. “As per report of the CBI,he figured in the case (Bhopal Gas leak case) and a charge sheet had been filed in the court,” the reply said.
Journalist and civil servant K. Subrahmanyam:
1999: Journalist and civil servant K. Subrahmanyam also refused his 1999 bestowal.
Reason: He said that "bureaucrats and journalists should not accept any award from the government because they are more liable to be favoured."
Bengali theatre activist Sisir Kumar Bhaduri:
1959: Bengali theatre activist Sisir Kumar Bhaduri was the first awardee who refused his conferment.
Reason: He felt state awards merely help create a sycophantic brigade" and "did not want to encourage the impression that the government was serious about the importance of theatre in national life.
Sociologist G. S. Ghurye:
Sociologist G. S. Ghurye declined the award.
Reason: He felt he deserved the higher Padma Vibhushan, given the calibre of others who had received the more prestigious decoration
Padma Shri:
A total of 18 people had refused Padma Shir awards till now.
Author Gita Mehta:
2019: Author Gita Mehta declined the honour in 2019.
Reason: She stated that while she was "deeply honoured that the Government of India should think me worthy of a Padma Shri," she felt it necessary to decline "with great regret" due to the upcoming general elections, "as the timing of the award might be misconstrued, causing embarrassment both to the Government and myself, which I would much regret.
Spiritual teacher Siddeshwar Swami:
2018: Spiritual teacher Siddeshwar Swami of the Jnana Yogashrama in Vijayapura declined the honour in 2018
Reason: He stated: As a sanyasi did not need "any award or honour," and that he had "not accepted any awards" before.
Sitarist Imrat Khan:
2017: Sitarist Imrat Khan, the younger brother of Vilayat Khan, declined the honour in 2017.
Reason: “At the last moments of my life at the age of 82 the Government of India has chosen to recognise me with the Padma Shri award. While I acknowledge the good intentions behind this move; I have mixed feelings about it without holding any prejudice, to the purpose of this award which comes perhaps many decades late — while my juniors receive the Padma Bhushan,” His letter reads.
Journalist Virendra Kapoor:
2016: Journalist Virendra Kapoor declined the honour in 2016.
Reason: He stated, "I have nothing against the government, [but] I have not accepted anything from any government in the last 40 years, and I don’t believe in taking anything from the government."
Tamil writer B. Jeyamohan:
2016: Tamil writer B. Jeyamohan declined in 2016.
Reason: He stated that as a writer who was already being targeted for his politics, acceptance of the award could compromise his independence and the integrity of his ideas.
Writer Salim Khan:
2015: Writer Salim Khan refused to accept the Padma Shri.
Reason: He said that it’s too late and others had received it much earlier. “My contribution to cinema has been much more than what is being offered to me (as an acknowledgment). So, I have refused to accept it.”
Malayalam writer Sukumar Azhikode:
2007: Malayalam writer Sukumar Azhikode refused the honour in 2007
Reason: Deemed it "unconstitutional.
Kuntagodu Vibhuti Subbanna:
2005: Kuntagodu Vibhuti Subbanna declined the award.
Reason: Not known.
Assamese journalist Kanak Sen Deka:
2005: Assamese journalist Kanak Sen Deka declined the honour in 2005.
Reason: He stated that his acceptance of the lowest-ranking Padma award would have diminished the prestigious literary and journalism awards he had already received.
Author Chandra Prasad Saikia:
2002: Author Chandra Prasad Saikia refused to accept the award in 2002.
Reason: Not known
Academic and author Mamoni Raisom Goswami:
2002: Academic and author Mamoni Raisom Goswami declined the honour in 2002
Reason: Declined after admirers observed she had previously received the Jnanpith Award and therefore should not accept a less-prestigious Padma Shri. \
Philanthropist Dipchand Savraj Gardi:
2002: Philanthropist Dipchand Savraj Gardi refused the award.
Reason: Not known
Music director and composer Hemanta Mukherjee:
1988: Music director and composer Hemanta Mukherjee declined to accept the award.
Reason: Not Known
Vocalist Tarapada Chakraborty:
1974: Vocalist Tarapada Chakraborty refused to accept the award.
Reason: Personal
Odia poet and dramatist Kavichandra Kalicharan Patnaik:
1974: Odia poet and dramatist Kavichandra Kalicharan Patnaik declined the award.
Reason: Personal
Politician Kashi Prasad Pandey
1967: Politician Kashi Prasad Pandey refused the accept the award.
Reason: Personal.
Freedom fighter and educationist Asha Devi Aryanayakam:
1959: Freedom fighter and educationist Asha Devi Aryanayakam refused to accept the award
Reason: Personal.
Padma Vibhushan:
A total of 3 people had refused Padma Vibhushan awards till now
Swami Ranganathananda:
2000: Swami Ranganathananda declined the Padma Vibhushan award in 2000.
Reason: It was conferred to him as an individual and not to the Ramakrishna Mission.
CPM leader and the first Chief Minister of Kerala E M S Namboodiripad:
1992: CPM leader and the first Chief Minister of Kerala E M S Namboodiripad had turned down the then P V Narasimha Rao’s offer to award him Padma Vibhushan.
Reason: It went against his nature to accept a state honour.
Former diplomat PN Haksar:
1973: Former diplomat PN Haksar was offered the award in 1973 for, among other services, his crucial diplomatic role in brokering the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation and the Shimla Agreement but he declined to accept it.
Reason: Declined as "Accepting an award for work done somehow causes an inexplicable discomfort to me.
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