President Ram Nath Kovind presented Padma Awards to 141 awardees for the year 2020 on November 8. The awards included that 7 Padma Vibhushan, 16 Padma Bhushan and 118 Padma Shri Awards. Like earlier Padma awards during the Modi govt, unsung heroes from humble backgrounds were recognised by the govt for their achievements, a welcome change from earlier when the awards were almost exclusively reserved for elites.
However, as always, there are always some people who are not happy with the list of awardees. First, the left-liberals complained about actress Kangana Ranaut awarded the Padma Shri award, accusing her of hate speech. Now, they have found another excuse to attack the Modi government for the selection of awardees.
Several social media users are asking why Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra was not awarded a Padma award. A Twitter user that identifies himself as ‘Liberal, Secular, anti Bhakt’ asked if Chopra was ignored because he is a Farmer’s son and vocally supported Farmers demands.
7 Sportspersons received Padma Awards but not Neeraj Chopra, India’s only Gold Medalist. Is it because Neeraj Chopra is a Farmer’s son and vocally supported Farmers demands?
— Rajesh Kumar (@091Rajeshkumar) November 9, 2021
Another secular, liberal annonumous Twitter account asked the questions, asking if Neeraj Chopra was not given a Padma award because he had vocally supported farmer’s demands, or because he “came out as a decent human who stood by secular values.”
7 Sportspersons received Padma Awards but not Neeraj Chopra, India’s only Gold Medalist. Is it because Neeraj Chopra as a farmer’s son had vocally supported farmer’s demands?
— @Reasonyourself (@Reasonyourself) November 10, 2021
or is it because he came out as a decent human who stood by secular values?
Another user said that apart from Neeraj Chopra and Sonu Sood were most deserving persons for Padma awards.
I think Sonu Sood and Neeraj Chopra were the most deserving persons to be honored with Padma puraskar@SonuSood @Neeraj_chopra1 pic.twitter.com/wfI6niGpCK
— vivek katikar (@VKatikar) November 10, 2021
As if following a toolkit, several other Twitter users asked why Neeraj Chopra didn’t get a Padma award.
Kangna is awarded with ‘Padma Shri’. Looking at the current priorities, not Neeraj Chopra, Babita Phogat is looking to be the best fit in the next list.
— Simran Waliya (@simran_waliya) November 10, 2021
🤦♀️🤦♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
Kangana Ranawat =Padma Award
— Susmita Mazumdar (@Susmita_Speaks) November 10, 2021
Neeraj Chopra = ❎
Why ?? Bcz Neeraj Chopra ia a Farmer’s son ?
If u want Padma then Tweet like Kangana ….
If u want Z category security then Tweet like Kangana
This is new normal of Modi Regime .
7 Sportspersons received Padma Awards but not Neeraj Chopra, India’s only Gold Medalist. Is it because Neeraj Chopra as a farmer’s son had vocally supported farmer’s demands?
— Vaqar A Khan . وقار (@VaqarAhmadKhan1) November 10, 2021
2021 awards of Padma Vibhushan, Bhushan, Padmasri, people like Karan Johar, Kangana, Sumitra Mahajan, Ram V Paswan, Keshubhai patel, Sushma Swaraj, Fernandes, Ekta, etc can get it, but India’s sole gold medalist Neeraj Chopra failed to make it to the list. Sad state of affairs!!!
— Dr Shanthan Reddy (@PalvaiShanthan) November 9, 2021
7 Sportspersons received Padma Awards but not Neeraj Chopra, India’s only Gold Medalist. Is it because Neeraj Chopra is a Farmer’s son and vocally supported Farmers demands?
— Vandit Shah વંદિત શાહ (@vanditsh) November 9, 2021
Although it seems shocking that Neeraj Chopra was not honoured with a Padma award, there is a perfectly valid reason for that. This is because, the awards given on November 8 were for the year 2020, and Chopra won the gold medal in Olympics in 2021. The Padma awards were announced on Republic Day on January 26 this year itself, months before the Tokyo Olympics were held in July-August.
Therefore, there is no way Neeraj Chopra’s name can feature in a list published on January 26, as he clinched the gold medal in javelin throw on August 7.
It is possible that he will be honored with a Padma award next year, when the list of awardees for various awards for the year 2021 is announced, and there is no valid reason to criticise the Modi govt for not awarding this year. However, the critics have forgotten that Neeraj Chopra has been already selected to receive the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, the highest sporting award in the country. This year 12 sportsperson have been named for the Khel Ratna award, which will be presented tomorrow by the president of India.
