Singer Adnan Sami, who had embraced Indian citizenship a few years ago, has been conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri award for his services in the field of Art. The award will be conferred by the President of India in a ceremonial function in March or April this year.
Adnan Sami on Saturday expressed his gratitude towards the government for recognising him. Taking to the microblogging site Twitter, Sami called it the greatest moment in his 34 years of the musical journey.
He wrote: “The greatest moment for any Artiste is to be appreciated & recognised by his/her government. I am overwhelmed with infinite gratitude for being honoured with the ‘Padma Shri’ by the Government of India. It has been a 34 years musical journey.. ‘Bohot Shukriya’!!”
The greatest moment for any Artiste is to be appreciated & recognised by his/her government. I am overwhelmed with infinite gratitude for being honoured with the ‘Padma Shri’ by the Government of India.
It has been a 34 years musical journey..
‘Bohot Shukriya’!!?#PadmaAwards— Adnan Sami (@AdnanSamiLive) January 25, 2020
Prior to this, Singer Adnan Sami has been bestowed with many honours, including Nigar Award, Bolan Academy Award and Graduate Award. The singer is also the youngest recipient of the Naushad Music Award for Excellence in Music. Previous recipients of this award include Lata Mangeshkar and Music Maestro Khayam.
While many of his fans took to Twitter to congratulate the talented musician, the usual set of the so-called ‘liberals’ descended upon his timeline to attack him for being conferred with the honour. Both the Modi government and the singer became a target of many on social media.
One Syed Kamran Hussain, a Youth Congress worker took to the microblogging site to invoke Sami’s Pakistani lineage. Invoking Sami’s father’s association with Pakistani military, the Congress worker even went on to shamelessly target BJP government for conferring Sami with the award.
मज़े हैं यार तुम पाकिस्तानी के ? बाप वहाँ के एयरफोर्स में रहकर देश पे बम गिराने की साजिश करे ? और बेटा को भारत सरकार पद्म श्री अवार्ड दे? सारे देश भक्त खामोश क्यों है भाई?इतना सन्नाटा क्यों हो गया?अंधे भक्तों अब समझ आ गया न बीजेपी का पाकिस्तानी कनेक्शन?बिरयानी,शाल अब पद्म श्री?
— Syed Kamran Hussain (@kamranYC) January 25, 2020
In fact several social media users attacked the Modi government for awarding Padma Shri to Adnan Sami as his father was a Pakstani Air Force pilot who had fought against India in Indo-Pak wars. Propaganda website Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair also raised this point, sharing a video of Arshad Sami Khan talking about how they had shot down Indian airplanes. These are the same people who champion the cause of liberty and choice, but now not hesitating to attack Adnan Sami for the duties done by his father as a soldier.
Squadron leader and a War Hero for Pakistan in 1965 war, Arshad Sami Khan once said, “MIGs were falling like little birds… We’ve got down 9-10 MIGs, 14 aircrafts in total.. Anyways let’s forget that… Congratulations to @AdnanSamiLive bhai for Padam Shri. https://t.co/t4SyXBLjEr pic.twitter.com/V3PZ4rm2Np
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) January 25, 2020
One may question whether someone is deserving for an award or not, but saying someone should not get an award for what their parents did is completely illogical. Moreover, Adnan Sami has denounced Pakistani citizenship and has become an Indian citizen, and the award is given for his contribution towards the field in music, not for who his parents were.
Despite a known fact that Adnan has embraced Indian citizenship, another troll took to the social media site to impel the singer by writing that “your government which is Govt of Pakistan hates you”.
But your government which is Govt of Pakistan hates you https://t.co/mVIZuKBEtW
— Sangram Satpathy (@SangramSatpath3) January 26, 2020
The bullying, of course, did not end there. ‘Journalist’ Ali Sohrab who is infamous for sharing objectionable and bigoted content on his Twitter page and was, lately, arrested by Uttar Pradesh police for his hate-filled comments against Kamlesh Tiwari who was hacked to death by Islamists, went a step ahead to spitefully evoke BJP and spread falsehood about the citizenship law. Taking to Twitter, Sohrab said that while BJP is hell-bent on sending Indian Muslims to Pakistan, it is awarding Adnan Sami, who is a Pakistani with the prestigious Padma award.
भारत के मुसलमानों को पाकिस्तान भेजने पर आमादा हैं BJP सरकार और पाकिस्तान से आए @AdnanSamiLive को पद्म पुरस्कार दे रही है BJP सरकार….@ajitanjum https://t.co/fPwigbtuaU
— काकावाणी 2.0 (@007AliSohrab) January 26, 2020
Samajwadi Party-friendly ‘journalist’ Rohini Singh who is associated with ultra-left wing propaganda website ‘The Wire‘ and is notoriously known for fake news and propaganda went on to question the famed singer’s credentials.
What is he getting an award for? https://t.co/1Uy7DnzHlB
— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) January 25, 2020
These so-called champions of freedom of speech, who have on several occasions shown extreme hatred for the government, are probably rattled because Adnan Sami, who has been very vocal about his affirmation towards PM Narendra Modi and the BJP government, is amongst the select few who have been conferred with this prestigious award.
Apart from Adnan Sami, Bollywood actor, Kangana Ranaut is also among the notable personalities shortlisted for the Padma Shri award which is given for distinguished service in the field of Art.
Ahead of the 71st Republic Day, the government of India released the list of Padma Awardees who will be conferred with amongst the highest civilian awards later this year by the President of India.
As per the list released by the government, the President, this year, has approved conferment of 141 Padma Awards including 4 duo cases (one award is given to two persons). The list includes 7 Padma Vibhushan, 16 Padma Bhushan and 118 Padma Shri Awards.
