Thanks, but no thanks: Why Gita Mehta rejecting a Padma Shri was the right thing to do
The announcement of civilian awards for exceptional achievements on Republic Day was annual news as usual. Not much later, it was reported that author Gita Mehta had declined the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour India bestows.
Thanking the government while explaining her decision, Mehta reportedly said, “I am deeply honoured that the government should think me worthy of a Padma Shri, but with great regret I decline it as there is a general election looming and timing might be misconstrued, causing embarrassment both to the government and to me, which I would much regret.”
Mehta is an accomplished author with books like Karma Cola and A River Sutra to her credit. She is also the sister of the Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik – a regional political powerhouse the BJP has been attempting to woo in recent times.
Had Mehta accepted the honour, the ‘timing,’ as she noted, would have been inevitably questioned.
Seen from her point of view, it was the right decision.
This is not the first time a distinguished person has turned down a civilian honour, which has, periodically, led to headline-worthy controversies.
Several of them have stemmed from the government of the day’s selection of certain individuals for either the Bharat Ratna or one of the three Padma awards.
Former President Pranab Mukherjee was honoured with the Bharat Ratna this year, leading to the question – why him?
Supporters of the choice said that the NDA government had looked beyond ideological differences to honour a deserving individual. That was in contrast with the UPA government, which had neglected the contribution of a lifelong servant of the Indian polity. Some bought the argument. Others looked the other way.
Perhaps the most talked-about controversy in recent years erupted after the UPA government conferred the Bharat Ratna on cricketing champion Sachin Tendulkar immediately after he announced his retirement.
Some critics saw it as a move to garner brownie points with Sachin’s fans. Others asked why Sachin got the honour ahead of the field hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, who hadn’t received a Bharat Ratna posthumously in spite of his extraordinary contribution to three Indian gold medal-winning triumphs at the Olympics in 1928, 1932 and 1936.
Who should be honoured and with which among the civilian awards are questions that don’t have easy answers. For every deserving individual who gets an award, there are nine who do not. Controversies emanating from selections are therefore natural – even if we believe, for a change, that these choices are made in an ideal world in which not a single decision is prejudicially motivated.
Civilian decisions also become talking points when honorees refuse to accept them. Gita Mehta’s name is the latest addition to the list of people who have turned them down. That list will only grow longer with time.
The famously principled freedom movement leader and former education minister Maulana Abul Kalam Azad had refused to accept a Bharat Ratna, saying those on the selection committees for national honours must not receive these awards. He was posthumously honoured in 1992.
It was former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, who had proposed the name of Subhash Chandra Bose for a Bharat Ratna in 1992. However, Bose’s surviving family refused to accept the award, reportedly because it might have been interpreted ‘as a slight to his memory.’
In 2014, speculations doing the rounds suggested that the award might be conferred on Bose. His family members reportedly did not approve of the idea, saying that the mystery surrounding his disappearance ought to be solved first.
Many distinguished individuals from different walks of life have declined the Padma awards. There are others who have refused a lower honour but accepted a higher one later. Some others have accepted the awards – only to return them a few years later.
Among them who have declined is the well-known diplomat PN Haksar, whose significant contributions in his distinctive professional career include his pivotal role in the Shimla Agreement and the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation. Haksar, who was offered the Padma Vibhushan in 1973, wrote to the Union Secretary Govind Narain, saying, ”Accepting an award for work done somehow causes an inexplicable discomfort to me. I hope I will not be misunderstood. I repeat I am grateful for the thought that my services should be recognised. For me, this is enough.”
Acclaimed musician Ustad Vilayat Khan and classical dancer Sitara Devi also refused to accept the honours, albeit for diverse reasons. Khan, who turned down a Padma Shri (1964) and a Padma Vibhushan (1968), said that those who selected the honorees weren’t competent enough to assess his music.
Sitara Devi, who was offered a Padma Bhushan (2012), said that she wouldn’t settle for anything less than Bharat Ratna because younger and lesser known people had been honoured with Padma Vibhushan.
Indeed, the list of those have refused – and, occasionally, returned – the Padma awards reads like a section of the who’s who of modern India.
The first chief minister of Kerala EMS Namboodiripad, historian Romila Thapar, journalist Nikhil Chakravarty, industrialist Keshub Mahindra, theatre activist Sisir Kumar Bhaduri, author Krishna Sobti, singer S Janaki and screenwriter Salim Khan are among those who refused the honours.
A few others have accepted the award but returned it later.
Writer Phanishwar Nath Renu, who had been awarded a Padma Shri in 1970, returned it in 1977 as a mark of protest against the Emergency.
Khushwant Singh, who had been honoured with a Padma Bhushan in 1974, returned it a decade later as a symbol of protest against Operation Bluestar. He was honoured with a Padma Vibhushan in 2007.
Some have refused a lower honour, only to accept a second honour that’s higher in the Padma hierarchy. Prominent names in this category include actor Soumitra Chatterjee, who refused to accept a Padma Shri but accepted a Padma Bhushan. Environmental activist Sunderlal Bahuguna turned down a Padma Shri but accepted a Padma Vibhushan. Billiards player Michael Ferreira, likewise, declined a Padma Shri but accepted a Padma Bhushan.
Experience shows that offering a civilian honour isn’t synonymous with acceptance.
An honoree can decline the award – or return it a few years later. Those who confer these awards have to keep these facts in mind when they set out to shortlist the names.