Significant recognition for Kerala: Eight Malayalees, including VS, Justice KT Thomas, Mammootty, get Padma awards

NEW DELHI: Senior communist leader and former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan on Sunday. Former Supreme Court Judge Justice K.T. Thomas and educationist P. Narayanan have also been conferred with the same award.

Megastar Mammootty and SNDP Yogam General Secretary Vellappally Natesan were conferred the Padma Bhushan. Three out of the five Padma Vibhushans this year are Malayalees.

The Padma Shri has been bestowed upon Dr A.E. Muthunayakam, a prominent space scientist and one of the pioneers of Indian rocket technology; dancer Kalamandalam Vimala Menon, and G. Devaki Amma, who grows and maintains a forest in her home compound in Muthukulam, Kandallur, Kayamkulam. The Padma Shri was also bestowed upon R. Krishnan, a painter from the Kurumba tribe of the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu with Malayali roots, as a posthumous honour.

The Padma Vibhushan has been conferred on the late Bollywood actor and former Member of Parliament, Dharmendra, and on the Carnatic musician Dr N. Rajam, a native of Chennai and professor at Banaras Hindu University. The Padma Vibhushan is a fitting tribute to V.S. Achuthanandan and P. Narayanan, the former editor of vernacular Janmabhoomi.

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister and JMM leader Shibu Soren, BJP leader from Delhi VK Malhotra and prominent advertising director Piyush Pandey were awarded the Padma Bhushan honour posthumously.

Singer Alka Yagnik, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Chennai-based gastroenterologist Dr K.R. Palaniswami, renowned radiation oncologist Dr Dattatreyudu, prominent industrialist S.K.M. Maeilanandhan (Erode), Kannada writer R. Ganesh, Kotak-Mahindra Bank founder Uday Kotak and former tennis player Vijay Amritraj are the other Padma Bhushan recipients.

The Padma Shri has been conferred on 113 people, including cricketers Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur, actor R. Madhavan, Tamil Nadu police officer Vijayakumar, who led the hunt for Veerappan, former UGC chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar, singers Gayathri-Rajni sisters, para-athlete Praveen Kumar, hockey player Savita Punia, and Indian wrestling coach Vladimir Mestvirishvili (posthumously).