Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Padma awards

Malayalam writer, academician, and social activist Sukumar Azhikode turning down the Padma Shri (Jan. 27) evokes little surprise. With due regard to the authority of the President of India and the institution of the Padma awards, one is often left wondering at the rationale and the benchmark that have governed them all these years. A gifted teacher and academician, an incisive thinker and literary critic, a renowned philosopher, writer and orator par excellence, and an ardent advocate of the Gandhian thought, Professor Azhikode deserves to be honoured on a par with his contemporaries who have stood equally tall with comparable stature and accomplishment in other fields.

Kishore Sreenivasan,
Lincoln, Nebraska

It is not as if the awardees are totally unaware that they are being considered for the awards. If one feels strongly about them, he or she can opt out rather than wait for a formal announcement. All talk of awards being against the Constitution is blather. Excellence is honoured in civilised societies. Which is why we have the Oscars, the national film awards, literary awards, and so on.

Sivaram Srikandath,
Kochi

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