NOTICE ON ARBITRARY SELECTION OF PADMA AWARDEES 2007 by Dr. Leo Rebello

[Guest guest]

- Dr. Leo Rebello

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam ; Prime Minister of India ; Home Minister ; Somnath Chatterjee ; Sonia Gandhi ; L. K. Advani, M.P. ; Chief Justice, Supreme Court ; Bombay High Court

Cc: Supreme Court Bar Association

Sunday, January 28, 2007 12:39 PM

NOTICE ON ARBITRARY SELECTION OF PADMA AWARDEES 2007

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION

By Email / Fax and Registered Post

Being Important Notice

Released on 27 January 2007

 

To

1.. The President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam <presidentofindia

2.. The Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh <pmosb

3.. The Union Minister of Home Affairs, Shri Shivraj Patil <svpatil

4.. The Speaker of Lok Sabha, Shri Somnath Chatterjee <lokmail

5.. The Chairperson of NAC, Smt. Sonia Gandhi <10janpath

6.. The Leader of the Opposition, Shri L.K.Advani <mail

7.. The Chief Justice Supreme Court of India, Shri KG Balakrishnan <supremecourt

8.. The Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court <hcbom.mah

 

 

Dear Sirs:

This is a NOTICE of our intention to challenge the list of Padma Awards released on 26th January, 2007 which was slightly delayed by the President of India from signing. On that slight delay there was much noise, but no one has analysed the list or who/how it was prepared. Here is my ANALYSIS that goes to prove that the selection made is shoddy, arbitrary and prima facie it shows corrupt practices violative of fundamental rights of the citizens and the basic tenets of civility, morality and probity in public life.

 

1. Republic Day Civilian Awards (popularly known as Padma Awards) List, contains names of 10 Padma Vibhushans, 32 Padma Bhushans and 79 Padma Shri award winners. These awards will be conferred in March at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

 

2. Before that, we are thinking of challenging that shoddy list in the Supreme Court/Bombay High Court for violating the guidelines for selection of Padma Awards, and for corrupt practices. One of our prayers would be, like presently “Police Inquiry” is going on in UK in a scandal “Cash for OBEs”, there should be a CBI inquiry for corrupt practices in conferring these awards, under the supervision of the Supreme/High Court, because according to our information the bureaucrats and politicians involved in preparing this list make crores of rupees while including the names of Award winners in the list. The going rate is from Rs.10 lakhs to Rs.100 lakhs. For industrialists (there are 7 industrialists in the list under reference) Rs.1 crore is like “kabutaron ko dana dalna”. By using that “official stamp of recognition” they then influence the pliable Govt. authorities, like Shri Ratan Tata has done in Singur and Shri Lakshmi Mittal in Orissa; grab people’s land running into thousand acres in the name of development.

 

3. Kuldip Singh, J of the Supreme Court had rightly observed: “The Padma awards have been conferred on businessmen and industrialists who have multiplied their own wealth and have hardly helped the growth of national interest”, while delivering judgment in T.C. © no.9/94 - Balaji Raghavan v/s the Union of India.

 

(a) In the above petition, Shri Balaji Raghavan of Kerala had contended that conferring Padma Awards (titles) was clearly violative of Article 14 read with the Preamble to the Constitution which guarantees to every citizen, equality of status. It was also pointed out that there were no objective guidelines for the manner in which the recipients were to be chosen and over the years, these awards have degenerated into rewards proffered by the powers that be i.e., the Government of the day, in great numbers, to those who serve their political ends.

 

(b) The Constitution Bench consisting of AM Ahmadi, CJ, Kuldip Singh, BP Jeevan Reddy, NP Singh, and Ahmad Saghir, JJ had said in their judgment of 15.12.1995: “The National Awards do not amount to ‘titles’ within the meaning of Article 18(1)” but the Bench had agreed with the petitioner that they should not be used as suffixes or prefixes as also that there should be some guidelines fixed for selection. Kuldip Singh, J had noted: “Therefore, to ensure that Padma awards are truly national in character and above party and political considerations, I suggest that a committee at national level be constituted by the Prime Minister of India in consultation with the President of India which may include, among others, the Speaker of Lok Sabha, the Chief Justice of India or his nominee and the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha”. Consequently, the then PM had appointed a high level committee to set guidelines. It was headed by the then Vice President of India.

 

4. Inspite of Supreme Court directions to select these national awardees judiciously, the Award list is manipulated year after year. Hence, we request the Supreme/High Court to suo motu treat this candid letter as Writ Petition if the Govt. fails to reply to the charges made in this Notice or redress this genuine grievance of an upright citizen for discriminating him since 1991 due to corrupt practices.

 

5. Let us now analyse this year’s Padma Awards list. As many as 30 awardees are from Delhi. If political capitol gets 30, then by the same logic, cosmopolitan commercial capitol, Mumbai should get equal or more numbers. But Maharashtra (11), Kerala (9) and Tamil Nadu (10) equal to Delhi list.

 

6. Delhi getting so many in the list only proves proximity of wheelers and dealers. This proves that one can approach / influence the Home Ministry or the PMO and get oneself included in the list, something which the really deserving people from other parts of the country cannot do.

 

7. The 11 award recipients from Maharashtra (as Shri Bal Thackeray would comment are not even the original Maharashtrians). Smt. Tarla Dalal gets the Padma Shri for writing a few cookery books. Is that a great contribution?

 

8. Then, why I should not get Padma Bhushan for writing 30 books, over 45,000 articles, delivering over 10,000 lectures in 63 countries, treating and training thousands, starting first distance learning course in Naturopathy in India; and recommendations since 1990 from eminent persons?

 

(a) My name was first recommended for Padma Award by Meghalaya CM, Shri B. Lyngdoh to the then Prime Minister, Shri S. Chandrashekhar. On 23rd January, 1991, the then IT Commissioner phoned me personally and complimented me for my name being in the Padma List and asking for my IT A/c no. because then the PAN was not in vogue and records were not computerised.

 

(b) Thereafter, many eminent persons, Judges, Ministers, Diplomats, MPs, NGOs, Universities have recommended my name for Padma Bhushan as also for nomination to Parliament under article 80(3), for my outstanding contribution to Nature Cure, AIDS and Alternative Medicine, Humanism in Medicine, Health Freedom Movement, Literature and Education, Social Work, Peace Initiatives, Probity in Public Life, Cleanliness in Politics, Human Rights, etc. spanning over 30 years. There are personally signed letters to that effect from Prime Ministers (Narsimha Rao, Deve Gowda, I.K.Gujral), Ministers (Madhu Dandavate, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Husain Dalwai, Kamal Nath, Sharad Yadav, Murli Manohar Joshi, Shankersinh Vaghela, Shivraj Patil), MP Ramdas Athavale, career diplomat Ashok Gokhale, IFS (Retd) and many distinguished foreigners to show that my work has been recognised cutting across party lines and crossing the national boundaries. Infact, Justice Mohammed Hidayatullah, had personally phoned the then PM Shri PV Narsimha Rao to nominate me to the Rajya Sabha under article 80(3). But that year, as also year after year, corruption level being what it is we know how these nominations are made.

 

9. Dissecting the Padma List 2007 further: From a large state like Uttar Pradesh there are only five recipients, and one of the recipients is Dr. B Paul Thaliath (Medicine), a Keralite. From Gujarat there are only two recipients, one of them being Rajmata Goverdan Kumari (Art). When titles and privy purses were abolished, is it appropriate to list Rajmata title in the official Republic Day Civilian Awards List? From Mumbai Smt. Teesta Setalvad, that holy cow of secularism, gets Padma Shri (for public affairs -- read that for Gujarat bashing), which proves that these awards are politically judged rather than based on merit.

10. This time there are 16 foreigners (including NRIs) in the list. Some like Smt. Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, from South Africa, fully deserve the Award. But tell me whether Ms Indra Nooyi from USA deserves the Padma Bhushan? For what, for making our children addicted to Pepsi Cola laced with cocaine and aspartame? Why not then consider the owner of Manickchand Gutka for Bharat Ratna for building an empire of about 10,000 crores with Rs.500 initial capital?

 

11. In 2001, I had served the Notice on the then Prime Minister, Shri A.B.Vajpayee, in which I had raised, inter alia the following points:

 

(a) Dr. Chittaranjan Ranawat, who had operated on PM’s knee, was given Padma Bhushan as also 5 acres of land. As against that, Dr. Sharad Kumar Dicksheet, holding Limca Book World Record for performing over 45,000 plastic surgeries till then, inspite of his physical handicap, and who was nominated for Nobel by USA, where he is a Green Card holder, was only given Padma Shri.

 

(b) Likewise, Smt. Padmaja Phenany Joglekar, who had brought out an audiocassette of Vajpayee’s poems, was given Padma Shri. Noting these irregularities, my son Robin (who was then 14) had commented that, if an unknown surgeon can be given Padma Bhushan for operating on the PM, why the Ward Boy of Breach Candy be not considered for Padma Shri for sponging the prime minister so clean? Isn’t cleanliness important during recuperation from illness?

 

12. Now, therefore, having proved prima facie corrupt practices in Padma Awards, I hereby request the honest and popular President of India, the Prime Minister who talks of “Zero Tolerance to Corruption” and other recipients of this NOTICE to redress my grievance by IMMEDIATELY including my name in the Padma Awards List 2007 or face a Writ of Mandamus for enforcing my Fundamental Rights and Duties.

 

13. If the Executive does NOT bother to respond to this well-researched petition, the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the final Guardian of our Rights and the final arbiter of decency and probity in public life may initiate suo motu action and facilitate the citizens to get their due recognition, OR simply scrap these awards to shut down one more door of rampant corruption in the corridors of power. This matter is, in fact, apt for a 7-judge bench of the Supreme Court since last petition (referred above) was decided by a 5-judge constitution bench.

 

14. Inspite of the above, or because of the above, this Citizen sends his warm greetings on India’s 58th Republic Day, with a strong message that ‘We the People’, will not tolerate rampant corruption anymore and reminding the powers that be to wake up.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Dr. Leo Rebello

World Peace Envoy

Address : 28/552 Samata Nagar, Kandivali East, Mumbai 400101

Telefax : (022) 28872741

Mobile : 9869650870

Email: drleorebello / leorebello

Website: www.healthwisdom.org

 

Annexures:

1.. Letter of Shri Shankersinh Vaghela, Union Minister of Textiles, dated 19.10.06 strongly recommending me for Padma Bhushan.

 

2.. My comprehensive resume to show the amount of work done by me and various International awards received by me and offices held by me.

 

3.. The list of Padma Award winners 2007 released by PTI on 26.10.07 with some highlights.

 

Note: If necessary, all recommendations duly preserved since 1990 will be shown to authorities concerned or the Supreme/High Court. I reserve my right to add, alter, delete portion of this Notice / Petition to make it more foolproof.

 

 

 

 

ANNEXURE I

 

Shankersinh Vaghela

Minister of Textiles

Government of India

New Delhi 110011

 

Vide DO no. M-1884 MOT/06 dated 19th October, 2006

Wrote to Shri Shivraj Patil, Minister for Home Affairs, Govt. of India,

North Block, New Delhi,

 

Res. Patil Saheb

Please find enclosed a biodata in respect of Dr. Leo Rebello for Padma Bhushan Award for outstanding contribution to Natural Medicine for AIDS. Dr. Rebello is the Director of Natural Health Centre at Mumbai since 1978. He has been awarded by many awards / recognition for excellence in Alternative Medicine. I strongly recommend his name for the PADMA BHUSHAN AWARD for the year 2006.

 

With regards,

Yours sincerely,

Sd/-

Shankersinh Vaghela

 

The above letter was personally acknowledged by Minister of Home Affairs, Shri Shivraj V. Patil, vide no. V.29791/HMP-06 dated 20/23 October 2006.

 

 

Annexure II

Resume of Dr. Leo Rebello FOR PADMA BHUSHAN FOR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO NATUROPATHY AND AIDS.

Address : 28/552, Samata Nagar, Kandivli East, Bombay 400101, India

Telefax: (91-22) 2887-2741. Mobile: +9869650870.

Email: leorebello, drleorebello

Website : www.healthwisdom.org

 

Age: 56 years (Born on 11 April, 1950 in Bombay).Designation: Director of Natural Health Centre, Bombay, from 1978.President of AIDS Alternativa International, since 1989.

 

Education and Professional Memberships/FellowshipsN.D., Ph.D. (UK), D.Sc. (Sri Lanka), F.F.Hom (Malaysia). Fellow of the European Medical Association, UK.Fellow of British Guild of Drugless Practitioners, UK. Fellow of Indian Naturopathic Practitioners Association, Delhi.Fellow of Medicina Alternativa, Alma Ata.

 

Interviews etc. : Interviewed, inter alia, by Time magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Pravda, BBC TV and Radio, TV Asia, Doordarshan, Star TV, All India Radio, Times of India, Mid-Day, Asian Age, the Observer, etc.

 

Present Honorary Positions Held1.. World Peace Envoy of International Association of Educators for World Peace, from 2004.

2.. President, World Constitution and Parliament Association, USA, from 2002. 3.. Goodwill Ambassador of St. Stanislas Order, Poland, from 1997.4.. Senator-Minister, International Parliament for Safety and Peace, Italy, from 1997.5.. Vice President, International Organization for Animal Protection, Germany, since 1995.6.. Advisor to American Foundation for AIDS Alternative, from 1999.7.. Corresponding Member of Institute of International Affairs, France, 1998.8.. Founder and President of All India Letter-Writers Association – a 26 years old registered association of Conscience Keepers, entered as World Record in the Limca Book of Records.9.. Elected Board Member of the Registry of World Citizens, Paris, France, 2004.

 

Awards/Recognitions, etc.

· Dag Hammarskjold International Award for Excellence in Alternative Medicine, 1988.

· Fellow, Academie Diplomatique de la Paix, Brussels, 1990.

· Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanism in Medicine, 1994.

· Yellow Emperor Prize for Holistic Healing, 1995.

· Grand Cross with Collar (GCCStS) of St. Stanislas Order, 1997.

· Accademico (the only Asian recognised so far) by The Academia Constantiniana, 1997.

· 2000 Millennium Medal of Honor from American Biographical Institute, 1998.

· Maharashtra Ratna, 1998.

· 100 Outstanding Persons of the 20th Century, IBC, Cambridge, 1999.

· World Record for Pen Power in Limca Book of Records 2001-2003.

· Listed in Marquis Who’s Who in the World 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and British Alumni Directory.

· World Peace Ambassador Award, 2004 of the International Association of Educators for World Peace.

· Special Executive Magistrate (same as Justice of the Peace) for Greater Bombay, for 18 years.

· Served on the Indian Films Censor Board for about two years.

 

Dr. Leo Rebello’s Publications

Dr. Leo Rebello has published till date 30 books, several articles, poems, reports, etc. 1.. AMRIT MANTHAN (An International Journal of Holistic Health Sciences)(Editor & Publisher).2.. Book NATURE CURE & YOGA THERAPY, in 3rd Edition.3.. Book PANACEA FOR PAIN.4.. Poetry book TRAVESTY OF LIFE (50 all-time best poems) – thrice recommended for the Nobel.5.. Book on SHADOW GOVERNMENT experiment. 6.. PEN POWER – an encyclopedia of letters to the editor. Entered as World Record in the Limca Book.7.. Book AIDS AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE (4th Revised and Enlarged Edition).

8.. Book FREE, FAIR AND FEARLESS.9.. Book HOLISTIC HEALING IN TROPICAL DISEASES.

 

 

Dr. Leo Rebello’s Foreign Visits

Lectured in some 63 countries world-over, including at WHO, UNAIDS, UNESCO, UNDP, UNEP, UNYO, UN-Habitat conferences and is the only Indian doctor to visit the Nobel Foundation and recommend to the Medical Nobel Committee to give Nobel Prize in Medicine also to Holistic Healers. He is also nominated for a Nobel for the fourth time in successive years.

 

Dr. Leo Rebello conducts public lectures, seminars, health camps, training on, notably, following subjects. 10,000 lectures given in some 63 countries

1.. From AIDS Scare to AIDS Care (the title © of his forthcoming book). 2.. Stress Management.3.. From Fat to Fit (or How to Reduce Weight Naturally).4.. Management of Asthma through Naturopathy, Yoga, Homeopathy.5.. Diabetes Dilemma.6.. Cancer Conundrum.7.. Hypertension – let it not kill you.8.. How to gain height.9.. Dr. Leo Rebello’s 10 Health(y) Commandments.10.Health of the Elderly.

 

International Biographical Listings

1.. Marquis Who’s Who in the World – 2002/2003/2004/2005 and 2006.

2.. American Biographical Institute’s – Man of the Year 1997 - 2005.

3.. 500 Leaders of Influence.

4.. Personalities of the World.

5.. International Who’s Who of Intellectuals.

6.. Men and Women of Distinction.

7.. Directory of International Biography.

8.. World’s Who’s Who of Authors and Writers.

9.. Men of Achievement.

10. International Writers Directory.

11. Limca Book of Records – World Record.

12. Listed in “Ask Me”.

13. All India Rare Group Donors (Blood Group “O” Rh –ve).

14. All India Directory of Senior Eminent Naturopaths.

15. All India Directory of 100 Prominent Alternative Medicine Practitioners.

16. Indian Directory of Yoga Experts.

17. All India Directory of Successful Writers.

18. International Professional of the Year 2005 IBC, Cambridge.

19. Asian Admirable Achievers, 2006.

20. The World Medal of Freedom, the American Biographical Institute, 2006.

 

Dr. Leo Rebello guides doctoral and post-doctoral students. He pioneered and started in 1978 a sixty-lesson Correspondence Course in Naturopathy in Bombay and has trained and treated thousands. Dr. Leo Rebello is also the originator of Walkathons against Drugs, AIDS; Jogathon for Health, and as Advisor to Nashabandi Mandal (Prohibition Council), Maharashtra, he has gone to various Colleges/Schools to create awareness on Substance Abuse. He also gives Counseling to Drug Addicts and AIDS patients.

 

Dr. Leo Rebello’s Ambition: To set up World’s First Holistic AIDS and Cancer Hospital. Here the HIV positive, Cancer, Diabetes and other so-called incurable cases will be admitted for Natural Treatment, consisting of Diet, Biochemic medicine, Homeopathy, Yoga, Acupuncture, Oxygen therapy, Ayurveda, etc. The proposed 500 beds facility will need approx. 100 acres of land preferably by the river side. It will house a University, R & D Centre, Herbarium, Recreation and Sports Centre and will grow food through Biodynamic Farming Methods. The Centre will also have an all-religion theme park, vegetarian restaurant, homeopathic and Ayurvedic medicine laboratories, conference facilities, electronic and print media production centres, housing blocks for dedicated staff, students hostels, and old age home.

 

 

ANNEXURE III

 

Following is the list of Padma awardees for 2007 released by the PTI on 26 January 2007 :

Padma Vibhushan: Balu Sankaran (Medicine); Fali Sam Nariman (Public Affairs); Khushwant Singh (Literature and Education); N N Vohra (Civil Service); Naresh Chandra (Civil Service); Justice (Retd) P N Bhagwati (Public Affairs); Late Shri Raja Rao (Posthumous) (Literature and Education) USA; Raja Jesudoss Chelliah (Public Affairs); Sudarshan Erinackal Chandy George (Science and Engineering) USA; and Venkataraman Krishnamurthy (Civil Service).

Padma Bhushan: Bhikhu Parekh (Literature and Education) UK; Late C P Saikia (Posthumous) (Literature Assam); Ela Gandhi (Public Affairs) South Africa; Rev Father Gabriel (Literature and Education) Kerala; Gopaldas Neeraj (Literature and Education) Uttar Pradesh; Gurcharan Singh Kalkat (Science) Chandigarh; Indra Nooyi (Trade and Industry) USA; Jamshed J Irani (Trade and Industry) Maharashtra; Javed Jan Nisaar Akhtar (Literature and Education) Maharashtra; Jeffrey D Sachs (Literature and Education) USA; Justice K T Thomas (Public Affairs) Kerala; Kavalam Narayan Panikkar (Art) Kerala; Captain L Z Sailo (Literature and Education) Mizoram; Manju Sharma (Science and Engineering) Delhi; N Mahalingam (Trade and Industry) Tamil Nadu; O Suzuki (Trade and Industry) Japan; Prithipal Singh Maini (Medicine) Delhi; Pandit Rajan Misra (Art) Delhi; Ramankutty Nair (Art) Kerala; Pandit Sajan Misra (Art) Delhi; Saroj Ghose (Science and Engineering) West Bengal; Shiv Kumar Sarin (Medicine) Delhi; Vaidya Shriram Sharma (Medicine) Maharashtra; Late Somnath Hore (Posthumous) (Art) West Bengal; Sunil Bharti Mittal (Trade and Industry) Delhi; Syed Haider Raza (Art) France; Hakim Syed Mohammad Sharfuddin Quadri (Medicine) WB; T N Srinivasan (Literature and Education) USA; Tapan Ray Chaudhuri (Literature and Education) UK; Tyeb Mehta (Art) Maharashtra; V Mohini Giri (Social Work) Delhi; and Vilayanur Ramachandaran (Science and Engineering) USA.

Padma Shri: A Sivasailam (Trade and Industry) Tamil Nadu; Adya Prasad Mishra (Literature) UP; Amitav Ghosh (Literature and Education) USA; Ananda M Chakrabarty (Science and Engineering); Ananda Shankar Jayant (Art) Andhra Pradesh; Anoop Misra (Medicine) Delhi; Ashok Kumar Hemal (Medicine) Delhi; Astad Aderbad Deboo (Art) Maharashtra; Atul Kumar (Medicine) Delhi; B Paul Thaliath (Medicine) Uttar Pradesh; Bakul Harshadrai Dholakia (Education) Gujarat; Balbir Singh (Medicine) Delhi; Baldev Raj (Science and Engineering) Tamil Nadu; Bharath Balachandra Menon (Art) Kerala; Late Devindra Rahinwal (Posthumous), (Social Work); Dilip K Biswas (Science and Engineering); Gajendra Narayan Singh (Art) Bihar; Geeta Chandran (Art) Delhi; Giriraj Kishore (Literature and Education) UP; Rajmata Goverdan Kumari (Art) Gujarat; Harpinder Singh Chawla (Medicine) Chandigarh; Jeev Milkha Singh (Sports) Punjab; K R Palaniswamy (Medicine) Tamil Nadu; Khalid Zaheer (Social Work) Uttaranchal; Kharak Singh Valdiya (Engineering) Karnataka; Kiran Karnik (Science and Engineering) Delhi; Koneru Humpy (Sports) Andhra Pradesh; Lalit Pande (Environment Protection) Uttaranchal; Louis Remo Fernandes (Art) Goa; M Mohan Babu (Art) Andhra Pradesh; Mahadev Prasad Pandey (Literature and Education); Mahipal S Sachdev (Medicine) Delhi; Manjunath Cholenahally Nanjappa (Medicine) Karnataka; Mayilvahanan Natarajan (Medicine) Tamil Nadu; Meenakshi Gopinath (Literature and Education) Delhi; Miriam L'vovna Salganik (Literature and Education); Mohsin Wali (Medicine) Delhi; Mujtaba Hussain (Literature and Education) AP; Mushirul Hassan (Literature and Education) Delhi; Naina Lal Kidwai (Trade and Industry) Maharashtra; Narmada Prasad Gupta (Medicine) Delhi; Neelamani Devi (Art) Manipur; P Gopinathan (Art) Kerala; P R Thilagam (Art) Tamil Nadu; Pannuru Sripathy (Art) Andhra Pradesh; Perumalsamy Namperumalsamy (Medicine) Tamil Nadu; Pratibha Ray (Literature and Education) Orissa; Pushpa Hans (Art) Delhi; Rabinder Gokaldas Ahuja (Sea Cadet Corps Management); Rajinder Gupta (Trade and Industry) Punjab; Ravi Narayan Bastia (Science and Engineering) Maharashtra; Late Ravindra Dayal (Literature & Education) Delhi; Rostislav Borisovich Rybakov (Literature and Education); Runa Banerjee (Social Work) Uttar Pradesh; S Dhakshinamurthy Pillai (Art) Tamil Nadu; Sister S M Cyril (Social Work) Ireland; Shanti Hiranand (Art) Delhi; Shashikala Jawalkar (Art) Maharashtra; Shekhar Pathak (Literature and Education); Sheo Bhagwan Tibrewal, (Medicine) United Kingdom; Sonam Skalzang (Art) Jammu & Kashmir; Sonam Tshering Lepcha (Art) Sikkim; Sudhir Kumar Sopory (Science and Engineering); Sukumar Azhikode (Literature and Education) Kerala; Sushil Gupta (Social Work) Delhi; Syeda Saiyidain Hameed (Public Affairs) Delhi; T S Rangarajan (Literature and Education) Tamil Nadu; Tarla Dalal (Cookery) Maharashtra; Teesta Setalvad (Public Affairs) Maharashtra; Temsula Ao (Literature and Education) Assam; Thanu Padmanabhan (Science and Engineering) Maharashtra; T Kochandy Alex (Science and Engineering) Karnataka; Thingbaijam Babu Singh (Art) Manipur; Lama Thupten Phuntsok (Social Work) Arunachal Pradesh; Valayapatti A R Subramaniam (Art) Tamil Nadu; Vijaydan Detha (Literature and Education) Rajasthan; Vikram Seth (Literature and Education) United Kingdom; Waman Thakre (Art) Madhya Pradesh and Yusufkhan M Pathan (Literature and Education).