Template:Infobox Indian Awards
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award of the Republic of India.[1] Instituted on 2 January 1954, it is given for "distinguished service of a high order", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex.[2] The recipients receive a Sanad, a certificate signed by the President of India and a circular-shaped medallion with no monetary association. The recipients are announced every year on Republic Day and registered in The Gazette of India, a publication used for official government notices and released weekly by the Department of Publication, under of the Ministry of Urban Development.[3] The conferral of the award is not considered official without its publication in the journal. Recipients whose awards have been revoked or restored, both of which require the authority of the President, are archived and required to surrender their medals when their names are struck from the register;[4] none of the conferments of Padma Bhushan during 1980–89 have been revoked or restored. The recommendations are received from all the state and the union territory governments, with the Ministries of the Government of India, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan awardees, the Institutes of Excellence, the Ministers, the Chief Ministers and the Governors of States, and the Members of Parliament including private individuals.[3]
When instituted in 1954, the Padma Bhushan was classified as "Dusra Warg", a class-two award under the three-tier Padma Vibhushan awards, which were preceded by the Bharat Ratna in hierarchy. On 15 January 1955, the Padma Vibhushan was reclassified into three different awards as the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri. The criteria included "distinguished service of a high order in any field including service rendered by Government servants", but excluded those working with the public sector undertakings with the exception of doctors and scientists. The 1954 statutes did not allow posthumous awards; this was subsequently modified for the January 1955 statute. The design was also changed to the form that is currently in use; it portrays a circular-shaped toned bronze medallion 1+3⁄4 inches (44 mm) in diameter and 1⁄8 inch (3.2 mm) thick. The centrally placed pattern made of outer lines of a square of 1+3⁄16 inches (30 mm) side is embossed with a knob carved within each of the outer angles of the pattern. A raised circular space of diameter 1+1⁄16 inches (27 mm) is placed at the centre of the decoration. A centrally located lotus flower is embossed on the obverse side of the medal and the text "Padma" is placed above and the text "Bhushan" is placed below the lotus written in Devanagari script. The State Emblem of India is displayed in the centre of the reverse side, together with the national motto of India, "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari script, which is inscribed on the lower edge. The rim, the edges and all embossing on either side is of standard gold with the text "Padma Bhushan" of gold gilt. The medal is suspended by a pink riband 1+1⁄4 inches (32 mm) in width with a broad white stripe in the middle.[3][4] It is ranked fifth in the order of precedence of wearing of medals and decorations of the Indian civilian and military awards.[a]
After being inaugurated as Prime Minister of India in 1977, Morarji Desai withdrew all the civilian awards reckoning them as "worthless and politicized".[6] As a result, Padma Bhushan was not conferred on anyone between 1978 and 1979. In 1980, the central government changed to Indian National Congress and the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi re-established all the civilian awards revoking the decision of the previous government. On 25 January 1980, the awards were announced again and cricketer Sunil Gavaskar became the sole recipient of the award in 1980.[7]
A total of 133 awards were presented in the 1980s. Only one award was conferred in 1980 which was later followed by nine in 1981, fifteen in 1982, seventeen in both 1983 and 1984, twenty-one in 1985, fourteen in 1986, twelve in 1987, thirteen in 1988, and fourteen in 1989. A total of ten foreign recipients from Denmark, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States were honoured. Individuals from nine different fields were awarded, which includes twenty-three from art, twenty-five from civil services, twenty-eight from literature and education, thirteen from medicine, ten from public affairs, nineteen from science and engineering, eight from social work, three from sports, and four from trade and industry.[8]Pushpa Mittra Bhargava, scientist and founder-director of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) who had received the award in 1986 in the field of medicine, returned it in 2015 in protest of the Dadri mob lynching and out of concern at the "prevailing socio-politico situation" in the country.[9]
^Lal, Shavax A. (1954). "The Gazette of India—Extraordinary—Part I"(PDF). The Gazette of India. The President's Secretariat (published 2 January 1954): 2. Archived from the original(PDF) on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2016. The President is pleased to institute an award to be designated 'Padma Vibhushan' in three classes, namely: 'Pahela Varg', 'Dusra Varg' and 'Tisra Varg'{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ abAyyar, N. M. (1955). "The Gazette of India—Extraordinary—Part I"(PDF). The Gazette of India. The President's Secretariat (published 15 January 1955): 8. Archived from the original(PDF) on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2016. All persons upon whom the decoration of 'Padma Vibhushan' ('Dusra Varg') was conferred under the Regulations issued with Notification No. 2-Pres./54, dated the 2nd January, 1954, shall, for all purposes of these regulations, be deemed to be persons on whom the decoration of Padma Bhushan has been conferred by the President.{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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