The following is an incomplete list of people who have either declined or renounced an Indian honour or decoration. These include recipients of the Bharat Ratna and the Padma awards (Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri), along with other Indian governmental awards. In some instances, the families of an intended posthumous recipient of a national honour have declined the award for various reasons. Since the honours system was instituted in 1954, approximately 50 individuals have either refused or returned their honours, most of which were awarded in the categories of Art and in Literature and Education.[1]

The President of India may cancel and annul any honour if the recipient commits any acts of criminal misconduct or otherwise abuses the award. As there are no specific guidelines for otherwise withdrawing a national honour from a recipient, the acts of returning/renouncing an award to register a protest, or refusing an award after an official awards list has been published, are only symbolic actions.[2] For instance, while independence activist and educationist Asha Devi Aryanayakam refused the Padma Shri after it was conferred upon her in 1954,[3] she remains on the official register of Padma awardees.[4] In 1984, poet and novelist Khushwant Singh, a 1974 Padma Bhushan honoree, returned the honour to protest the Indian army's Operation Blue Star; in spite of this, he remains listed as a Padma Bhushan recipient.[4]

Bharat Ratna

Refused the honour (Hridya Nath Kunzru)

An Indian freedom fighter and public figure, H. N. Kunzru was nominated for the highest Indian civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 1968 but he declined, citing his opposition to such honours in a Republic, which he had first voiced during the Constituent Assembly debates.[5]

Refused the honour (Maulana Abul Kalam Azad)

Prominent independence movement leader and India's first Minister of Education Maulana Abul Kalam Azad declined the honour, arguing that those who were on selection committees for national honours should not themselves receive them. He received a posthumous Bharat Ratna in 1992.[6]

Refusal of posthumous conferment (Subhas Chandra Bose)

In 1992, the surviving family of nationalist leader and revolutionary Subhas Chandra Bose, who had died under mysterious circumstances in 1945, were contacted about accepting a posthumous Bharat Ratna on Bose's behalf; however, his family declined the honour, citing the length of time it had taken the government to recognize him.[7]

Padma Vibhushan

Refused the honour

Returned the honour

Refusal of posthumous conferment

Padma Bhushan

Refused the honour

Refusal of posthumous conferment

Returned the honour

Padma Shri

Refused the honour

Refusal of posthumous conferment

Returned the honour

Arjuna Award

Refused the award

Milkha Singh refused the award in September 2001, stating after having received the Padma Shri in 1958, it was meaningless to receive a less-prestigious award, and the award itself was being given to low-calibre athletes and had become heavily politicized, which had taken away any prestige it might have once had.[57]

Returned the award

In September 2010, boxer Laishram Sarita Devi, a 2009 recipient, returned the award to protest corruption in the government's management of Indian sports.[58]

Accepted an honour but subsequently declined one

Sitara Devi

Refused or returned an honour, but subsequently accepted one

Sunderlal Bahuguna

Soumitra Chatterjee

Michael Ferreira

Buddhadev Das Gupta

Anna Hazare

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Khushwant Singh

Mother Teresa

Refused or returned multiple honours

Baba Amte

In 1991, social activist Baba Amte returned his Padma Vibhushan, along with the Padma Shri conferred in 1971, to protest against the treatment given to the tribals during the construction of Sardar Sarovar Dam.[69]

Krishna Kumar Birla

Industrialist K. K. Birla was offered the Padma Bhushan in 1976 by Indira Gandhi, but refused as he was "not enamoured of titles" and further considered the honour "too insignificant." He was subsequently promised a Padma Vibhushan after first being awarded the Padma Bhushan, but again declined the offer as accepting a Padma Vibhushan would equate his achievements with his more distinguished father G. D. Birla's, which in his mind would be disrespectful.[70]

Amalprava Das

Social worker and Gandhian Amalprava Das refused the Padma Shri on personal grounds in 1954.[3] She later declined a Padma Vibhushan.[71]

Sharad Anantrao Joshi

Agricultural economist and politician Sharad Anantrao Joshi declined the Padma Shri in 1992 over the government's agricultural policies, which he felt marginalized farmers. In 2016, his family refused a posthumous Padma Vibhushan on his behalf as Joshi's work for the good of farmers was not reflected in the Government policies for them.[72]

Vilayat Khan

Sitarist Vilayat Khan refused Padma Shri (1964), Padma Bhushan (1968), and Padma Vibhushan (2000) and stated that "the selection committees were incompetent to judge [his] music".[6][10][19]

Manikonda Chalapathi Rau

Manikonda Chalapathi Rau, journalist and editor of the National Herald, returned his Padma Bhushan in 1969, citing personal reasons.[73] He subsequently refused the Padma Vibhushan.[74]

Badal Sarkar

Playwright Badal Sarkar rejected the Padma Shri in 1972 as he was already a 1968 recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, which he said was the best recognition for a writer. He refused a Padma Bhushan in 2010 for the same reason.[24]

Surjit Patar

In 2015, poet Surjit Patar returned the Sahitya Akademi Award he had received in 1993, to protest a climate of "intolerance" in India. In December 2020, he returned the Padma Shri awarded to him in 2012.[75]

Unknown recipients of Padma awards

Returned honours

Military decorations

Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (returned the decoration)

In April 1990, Lt. Gen. S. C. Sardeshpande, a commander of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in the Sri Lankan Civil War, returned the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM) conferred on him in January 1989, "in the context of criticism in Tamil Nadu of the role of the IPKF in Sri Lanka." As no provisions for returning military decorations existed, however, the medal was returned to the general.[76]

Annulment of Padma awards

While there are no specific criteria for withdrawing a Padma award from an honoree, the President of India, per the awards' statutes, may cancel and annul any award in the case of any misconduct committed by the recipient.

Padma Shri

At least three awards of the Padma Shri have been cancelled and annulled, twice in 1958 for recipients residing in the state of Punjab and once in 1974 for a recipient residing in the state of Gujarat.[2]

References

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