New Delhi: Yesteryear actor Vyjayanthimala Bali, Telugu star Konidela Chiranjeevi, the first woman judge of the Supreme Court late M Fathima Beevi and ‘Bombay Samachar’ owner Hormusji N Cama were among the eminent persons conferred Padma awards by President Droupadi Murmu Thursday. BJP leader O Rajagopal, Ladakh’s spiritual leader Togdan Rinpochey, Tamil actor late ‘Captain’ Vijayakant (both posthumous) and Kundan Vyas, group editor and CEO of Gujarati newspaper ‘Janmabhoomi’, were also conferred Padma awards at a civil investiture ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
While 90-year-old Bali and 68- year-old Chiranjeevi were given Padma Vibhushan, Beevi, Cama, Rajagopal, Vijayakant, Rinpochey and Vyas were conferred Padma Bhushan. Family members of Beevi, Vijayakant and Rinpochey received the awards. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.
Among those who were given Padma Bhushan included eminent cardiologist Ashwin Balachand Mehta and former Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader late Satyabrata Mookherjee. The Padma Shri awardees included unsung heroes like India’s first woman elephant mahout Parbati Baruah, who is known as ‘Hasti Kanya’, sculptor from Telangana Velu Anandachari, eminent weaver from Tripura Smriti Rekha Chakma, K Chellammal from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, who pioneered in organic coconut plantation, and squash player Joshna Chinappa. The award ceremony witnessed some heartwarming moments too. There was a huge round of applause when KS Rajanna, a ‘divyang’ from Karnataka, who lost both his hands and feet in his childhood, came to receive Padma Shri. He is known for his welfare work for differently-abled persons.