[1], On 2 January 1954, a press release was published from the office of the secretary to the President of India announcing the creation of two civilian awards—Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award, and the three-tier Padma Vibhushan, classified into "Pahela Varg" (Class I), "Dusra Varg" (Class II), and "Tisra Varg" (Class III), which rank below the Bharat Ratna. Khan had earlier refused Padma Shri in 1964 and later also turned down Padma Vibhushan in 2000. On 15 December 1995, the Special Division Bench restored the awards and delivered a judgment that the "Bharat Ratna and Padma awards are not titles under Article 18 of the Constitution of India. A floral wreath was embossed along the lower edge and a lotus wreath at the top along the upper edge. 24 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 11 persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and Posthumous awardees. Chatwal also served summons in January 2010. The 1954 statutes did not allow posthumous awards but this was subsequently modified in the January 1955 statute. Nayudu received the Padma Bhushan in 1956 when it was the 2nd highest civilian honour. The recommendations received during 1 May and 15 September of every year are submitted to the Padma Awards Committee, constituted by the Prime Minister. The Awards Committee later submits its recommendations to the Prime Minister and the President of India for further approval. Swaminathan's 90th birthday: Unknown facts you must know about Father of Green Revolution in India", "Remembering Dr Verghese Kurien, the father of White Revolution", "Adoor Gopalakrishnan: Gajendra Chauhan a Simpleton, Should Quit", "India's very own literary genius Khushwant Singh passes away, read his story", "Why is Viswanathan Anand a chess legend? [2] On 15 January 1955, the Padma Vibhushan was reclassified into three different awards: the Padma Vibhushan, the highest of the three, followed by the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri. A Bengali theatre activist Sisir Bhaduri (1959) was the first awardee who refused their conferment as "he felt state awards merely help create a sycophantic brigade" and "did not want to encourage the impression that the government was serious about the importance of theatre in national life. [6][7] The suspension was rescinded on 25 January 1980, after Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister. 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. "[5][6][7] The suspension was rescinded on 25 January 1980 after Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister. The recipients receive a Sanad, a certificate signed by the President of India and a circular-shaped medallion with no monetary association. The medal is suspended by a pink riband 1 1⁄4 inches (32 mm) in width. The Emblem of India is placed in the centre of the reverse side with the national motto of India, "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari Script, inscribed on the lower edge. "[10], The award is conferred for "distinguished service of a high order...without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex." He received the 3rd highest civilian honour back in 1973 for his services to the Indian cricket team. The centrally placed pattern made of outer lines of a square of 1 3⁄16 inches (30 mm) side is embossed with a knob embossed within each of the outer angles of the pattern. When instituted in 1954, twenty-three recipients were honoured with the Padma Bhushan. This page was last edited on 18 October 2020, at 00:00. The Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award of the Republic of India.Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for the "exceptional and distinguished service", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex.