New Delhi

 

In continuation of the trend seen in the selection of Padma Awards during the Narendra Modi government, a fair number of Muslims have been recognized for their services in the fields of politics, education, sports and performing arts.

While the Padma Bhushan award for India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat seems to have been cheered up the most by the people given the tragic circumstances of his death, the award for veterans leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, former union minister and chief minister of J&K, have once again proved that service to the nation is honoured no matter what part of the political spectrum one comes from.

 

Prof Najma Akhtar, Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, has been one of the most promising academicians of the country who gets the Padma Shri. Likewise, Faisal Ali Darka from Ganderbal, Kashmir, has been consistently promoting martial arts among the youth and keeping them away from falling into the hands of extremists. He too gets Padma Shri.

 

Rashid Khan, the Hindustani classical exponent is among the four to be honoured with Padma Vibhushan.

 

Gosaveedu Shaik Hassan, a folk artist from Andhra Pradesh gets Padma Bhushan posthumously. He is credited with keeping the folk traditions of Gujarat alive.

 

Akhun Asghar Ali Basharat of Kargil, Ladakh, is a poet who writes in Balti, the language spoken in parts of Kargil and Gilgit Baltistan (POK) has been awarded Padma Shri. He is credited with composing short poems to make people aware of the threat of Covid-19.

KV Rabiya, 55, who also has physical disabilities, is a well-known social worker from Malappuram, Kerala, has been awarded Padma Shri. She played a major role in literacy campaigns in Malappuram, a Muslim dominant district. 

 

Gujarat's Khalil Dhantejvi is a renowned poet and writer from Vadodara who will be conferred Padma Shri posthumously. He was not educated and yet his writings and poems were popular.

 

Madhur Jafri, renowned food show presenter and cookbook writer, who hails from India and is since settled in the UK, has also been conferred Padma Shri.

 

The awards are announced annually on the occasion of Republic Day. These awards are given by the President of India in the ceremonial ceremonies which are usually held at Rashtrapati Bhavan around March-April every year. This year, the President has approved 128 Padma Awards, including 2 do cases (in the case of a pair, the award is counted as one) as per the list below. The list includes 4 Padma Bhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan, and 107 Padma Shri Awards. Among the recipients of the award are 34 women.

 

Ghulam Nabi Azad, a Congress leader, who has been awarded Padma Vibhushan for public service, enjoys good relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been an outstanding parliamentarian, and enjoys the image of a politician who can bring rivals together even amidst the most trying circumstances. He is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

 

Azad has held various positions in Congress Party, been the Chief Minister of J&K, and also a Minister in the Union cabinet in many Congress and Congress-led governments.

 

Rashid Khan is an Indian classical musician and belongs to the Rampur-Sahswan family.

 

Rashid Khan gave his first concert at the age of eleven. The following year, in 1978, he performed at an ITC concert in Delhi. When Nisar Hussain Khan moved to ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Calcutta in April 1980, Rashid Khan also joined the academy at the age of 14. Until 1994, he was recognized as a musician (a formal act) at the Academy

 

Rashid Khan has also experimented with combining pure Indian music with light musical genres, such as recording a Sufi fusion with Nina Piya (Amir Khosrow's songs), or experimental concerts with Western instrument Louis Banks. He has also juggled with sitar player Shahid Pervez and others.

 

Najma Akhtar is an academic and academic Administrator. She is the first ever woman Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia.  Najma Akhtar studied at Aligarh Muslim University, where she was a Gold Medalist and received the National Science Talent Scholarship. She holds a Ph.D. in Education from Crocodile University, the USA. He received a Commonwealth Fellowship to study university administration at the University of Warwick in the UK and also trained at the International Institute of Educational Planning in Paris.

 

Rashid Khan gave his first concert at the age of eleven. The following year, in 1978, he performed at an ITC concert in Delhi. When Nisar Hussain Khan moved to ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Calcutta in April 1980, Rashid Khan also joined the academy at the age of 14. Until 1994, he was recognized as a musician (a formal act) at the Academy.

 

KV Raiya was awarded the National Youth Award by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India for his services to the society. In January 2001, she was awarded the first King Isti Sakti Praskar Award in 1999 for her contribution to the advancement and empowerment of women.

 

The daughter of a small grocery store owner in a poor Maple family in Velilakadu, a remote village in Kerala's Malappuram district. Rabia received her early education at Trarangadi High School before graduating from PSMO College. At the young age of 17, during his first year in college, his legs became paralyzed due to polio. She was forced to quit her studies because she could only move in a wheelchair.

 

She launched an adult literacy campaign for illiterate people of all ages near his area in June 1990. Within six months, almost the entire illiterate population of Travarangadi joined his class. Although her work deteriorated her physical condition, she continued to move forward with the support of both the public and the authorities. ۔ It runs six schools for physically challenged and mentally handicapped children.

 

Abdul Qadir Nadaktin (Padma Shri) Nadaktin is known as a pioneer in reducing farm labour to introduce technology in agriculture and increase productivity. They themselves have designed many farm tools to help farmers become more productive and economical.

He set up his own institute - Vishwashanti Agricultural Research Center - for the same purpose, which has been running successfully for the last four decades. Its solutions are widely used not only in Karnataka but also in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.