List of Padma Bhushan award recipients (1980–89)

Padma Bhushan
Awarded by Government of India
Type	Civilian
Category	National
Description
Obverse	A centrally located lotus flower is embossed and the text "Padma" written in Devanagari script is placed above and the text "Bhushan" is placed below the lotus.
Reverse	A platinum State Emblem of India placed in the centre with the national motto of India, "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari Script
Ribbon
Statistics
Instituted	1954
First awarded	1954
Total awarded	133
Previous name(s)	Padma Vibhushan "Dusra Warg" (Class II)
Award rank ← Padma Vibhushan Padma Shri →

The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award of the Republic of India.^[1] Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred on "distinguished service of a high order", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex.^[2] The recipients receive a Sanad, a certificate signed by the President of India and a circular-shaped medallion with no monetary association. The recipients are announced every year on Republic Day (26 January) and registered in The Gazette of India, a publication used for official government notices and released weekly by the Department of Publication, under the Ministry of Urban Development.^[3] The conferral of the award is not considered official without its publication in the The Gazette of India. Recipients whose awards have been revoked or restored, both of which require the authority of the President, are archived and required to surrender their medals when their names are struck from the register;^[4] none of the conferments of Padma Bhushan during 1980–89 have been revoked. The recommendations are received from all the state and the union territory governments, as well as from Ministries of the Government of India, Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan awardees, the Institutes of Excellence, Ministers, Chief Ministers and Governors of States, Members of Parliament, and private individuals.^[3]

When instituted in 1954, the Padma Bhushan was classified as "Dusra Warg", a class-two award under the three-tier Padma Vibhushan awards, which were preceded by the Bharat Ratna in hierarchy. On 15 January 1955, the Padma Vibhushan was reclassified into three different awards as the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri. The criteria included "distinguished service of a high order in any field including service rendered by Government servants", but excluded those working with the public sector undertakings with the exception of doctors and scientists. The 1954 statutes did not allow posthumous awards; this was subsequently modified in the January 1955 statute. The design was also changed to the form that is currently in use; it portrays a circular-shaped toned bronze medallion 1 ³⁄₄ inches (44 mm) in diameter and ¹⁄₈ inch (3.2 mm) thick. The centrally placed pattern made of outer lines of a square of 1 ³⁄₁₆ inches (30 mm) side is embossed with a knob carved within each of the outer angles of the pattern. A raised circular space of diameter 1 ¹⁄₁₆ inches (27 mm) is placed at the centre of the decoration. A centrally located lotus flower is embossed on the obverse side of the medal and the text "Padma" is placed above and the text "Bhushan" is placed below the lotus written in Devanagari script. The State Emblem of India is displayed in the centre of the reverse side, together with the national motto of India, "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari script, which is inscribed on the lower edge. The rim, the edges and all embossing on either side is of standard gold with the text "Padma Bhushan" of gold gilt. The medal is suspended by a pink riband 1 ¹⁄₄ inches (32 mm) in width with a broad white stripe in the middle.^[3][4] It is ranked fifth in the order of precedence of wearing of medals and decorations of the Indian civilian and military awards.^{[lower-alpha 1]}

After assuming office as Prime Minister of India in 1977, Morarji Desai withdrew all the civilian awards, reckoning them as "worthless and politicized".^[6] As a result, the Padma Bhushan award was not conferred to any person from 1978 until 1980 when the suspension was rescinded on 25 January by Indira Gandhi, Desai's predecessor who had returned to office. Cricketer Sunil Gavaskar became the first recipient of the award since its restoration in 1980; he was the only person awarded in that year.^[7]

A total of 133 awards were presented in the 1980s. Only one award was conferred in 1980 which was later followed by nine in 1981, fifteen in 1982, seventeen in both 1983 and 1984, twenty-one in 1985, fourteen in 1986, twelve in 1987, thirteen in 1988, and fourteen in 1989. A total of ten foreign recipients from Denmark, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States were honoured. Individuals from nine different fields were awarded, which includes twenty-three from the arts, twenty-five from civil services, twenty-eight from literature and education, thirteen from medicine, ten from public affairs, nineteen from science and engineering, eight from social work, three from sports, and four from trade and industry.^[8] Pushpa Mittra Bhargava, scientist and founder-director of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) who had received the award in 1986 in the field of medicine, returned it in 2015 in protest of the Dadri mob lynching and out of concern at the "prevailing socio-politico situation" in the country.^[9]

Recipients

The sole recipient of 1980, cricketer Sunil Gavaskar is widely considered as one of the greatest opening batsmen of all time. He is the first batsman to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket.^[10]

Awarded in 1981, Mrinal Sen is considered as "one of India's greatest directors".^[11] Sen debuted as a director with Raat Bhore (1955) and made 27 films in 50 years.^[12] He is also a recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, country's highest award in cinema.^[13]

In a career spanning over sixty years, filmmaker Richard Attenborough, awarded in 1983, is best known for his eight Academy Award-winning film Gandhi (1983) and is considered as "one of Britain's best-known actors and directors".^[14]

Mathematician K. G. Ramanathan is widely known for his works in number theory, mainly the analytic and arithmetic theory of quadratic forms over division algebras with involution. He was awarded with a Padma Bhushan in 1983.^[15]

Known for his "bold depiction of socially controversial themes", writer and playwright Vijay Tendulkar has 28 full-length plays to his credit, which include Sakharam Binder and Ghashiram Kotwal. He was awarded in 1984.^[16]

Awarded in 1985, Hindustani classical vocalist Bhimsen Joshi was a disciple of Kirana gharana, an Indian musical school. He is widely known for the Khyal genre of singing and was later awarded with a Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, in 2008.^[17]

Founder of Self Employed Women's Association, 1986 award winner Ela Bhatt was consultant to UNICEF for the Bangladesh Women's Department in 1977 and was also presented with a Ramon Magsaysay Award.^[18]

Aerospace scientist Roddam Narasimha was awarded in 1987. A former Director of the National Aerospace Laboratories and the Chairman of the Engineering Mechanics Unit at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, he has authored more than 250 scientific papers and fifteen books.^[19]

British politician Fenner Brockway, Baron Brockway was co-founder of No-Conscription Fellowship. He was awarded with a Padma Bhushan in 1989.^[20]

Awarded in 1989, Hindustani classical vocalist Girija Devi is a disciple of Benares gharana, an Indian classical musical school. She is widely known for the thumri genre of singing.^[21]

Scientist Ashesh Prasad Mitra contributed towards research in fields of ionosphere and earth's near-space environment using ground-based and space technology. He was Director of the National Physical Laboratory of India (1982–86), Director-General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (1986–91), fellow of the Royal Society of London and received Padma Bhushan in 1989. He is often referred as "the doyen of upper atmospheric research in India."^[22]

Japanese politician Yoshio Sakurauchi was chairman of the Japan-India Association for over 25 years. In that capacity, and as the Foreign Affairs Minister, he helped strengthen cultural and economic ties of India and Japan. He was presented with the award in 1989.^[23]

Explanatory notes

Foreign recipients

References

External links

• "Awards and medals". Ministry of Home Affairs (India). 14 September 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015. 

Indian honours and decorations
Civilian	National Bharat Ratna Padma Vibhushan Padma Bhushan Padma Shri Children National Bravery Award National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement National Bal Shree Honour Women Stree Shakti Puraskar Police President's Police Medal for Gallantry Police Medal for Gallantry Central Ganga Sharan Award George Grierson Award Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan Award Moturi Satyanarayan Award National Award for Child Welfare Subramanya Bharathi Award By field Literature Sahitya Akademi Fellowship Sahitya Akademi Award Cinema Dadasaheb Phalke Award National Film Awards Other arts Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship Sports Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Arjuna Award Dronacharya Award Dhyan Chand Award Science & Technology Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Kalinga Prize Gallantry Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak Jeevan Raksha Padak Medical Dr. B. C. Roy Award International Gandhi Peace Prize Indira Gandhi Peace Prize Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony
Military	Wartime   Param Vir Chakra   Maha Vir Chakra   Vir Chakra Peacetime   Ashoka Chakra   Kirti Chakra   Shaurya Chakra Distinguished Service & Gallantry   Sena Medal Army   Nao Sena Medal Navy   Vayusena Medal Air Force Wartime   Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal   Uttam Yudh Seva Medal   Yudh Seva Medal Peacetime   Param Vishisht Seva Medal   Ati Vishisht Seva Medal   Vishisht Seva Medal Service and campaign medals   Wound Medal   General Service Medal 1947   Samanya Seva Medal   Special Service Medal   Samar Seva Star   Poorvi Star   Paschimi Star   Operation Vijay Star   Siachen Glacier Medal   Raksha Medal   Sangram Medal   Operation Vijay Medal   Operation Parakram Medal   Sainya Seva Medal   High Altitude Service Medal   Videsh Seva Medal Other Awards Mention in Dispatches Commendation Card