Former Nagaland Chief Minister and Congress leader Dr SC Jamir has been conferred with the third-highest civilian award -- Padma Bhushan -- in the field of public affairs on the occasion of 71st Republic Day.
Jamir, who is a prominent tribal Congress leader from the northeast, has served five terms as the Chief Minister of Nagaland between 1980 and 1990 and again between 1993 and 2003.
The veteran leader, who was a signatory of the 16-point agreement which led to the creation of Nagaland, has also served as the Governor of Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Odisha from 2004 to 2018.
Jamir's selection for the coveted award comes as a pleasant surprise given the fact that he has been a vocal critic of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government.
The government, which has celebrated the "genius of East and Northeast" had received over 46,000 nominations this year, over 20 times increase as compared to 2014.
The unsung service and excellence from every nook and corner of the country have been an important part of the awards every year, which has only got more prominent this year.
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There cannot be a better example of this than Jamir getting the Padma Bhushan, reinforcing the fact that the current dispensation continues to recognise all those who have contributed to the nation.
BJP's Manohar Parrikar, who served as the Chief Minister of Goa and also held the Defence portfolio at the Centre, has also been awarded the Padma Bhushan posthumously. He died last year.
BJP stalwarts Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, and socialist George Fernandes have been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award in the country.
This year, as many as 141 Padma Awards, including 7 Padma Vibhushan, 16 Padma Bhushan and 118 Padma Shri Awards were approved for conferment by President Ram Nath Kovind.