Desi Talk

www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know 8 NATIONAL AFFAIRS February 6, 2026 India’s Prestigious Padma Awards In 2026 Include Only 3 Individuals From The United States T wo Indian Americans were among the 13 individuals to receive the prestigious Padma Bhushan award from the Gov- ernment of India. The results were announced on Jan. 25, 2026, as is traditionally done on the eve of Republic Day of India. Dr. Nori Dattatreyudu, in the field of Medicine for his phenomenal work in the field of cancer treatment; and Vijay Amritraj for his work in the field of Sports, specifically relating to ten- nis, were among the recipients from the US. In the category of Padma Shri Awards, of which there were a total of 113, only one individual from the United States received it – Dr. Prateek Sharma in Medicine. Dr. Sharma is a gastroenterologist and academic known for his work on esophageal diseases. He is the President of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. For the Padma Vibhushan category in which only 5 awards are given out, Bollywood star Dharmendra (Dharmen- dra Singh Deol) who died recently, was among the recipients. According to the announcement, Padma Awards are one of the high- est civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines / fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, sci- ence and engineering, trade and indus- try, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. ‘Padma Vib- hushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are an- nounced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. These Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial func- tions which are held at Rashtrapati Bha- wan usually around March / April every year. For the year 2026, the President has approved conferment of 131 Padma Awards including 2 duo cases (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one) as per list below. The list comprises 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards. 19 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 6 persons from the category of Foreigners / NRI / PIO / OCI and 16 Posthumous awardees. By a StaffWriter PHOTO:UN Photo PHOTO:Linkedin @vijay_amritraj PHOTO:@asge.org Praise poured in for Dr. Nori Dattatreyudu, leading cancer specialist, for his Padma Bhushan award in 2026, announced Jan. 25, 2026. A young Vijay Amritraj. Dr. Prateek Sharma 5 Poems For Troubled Times, From Virginia’s New Indian American Lt. Governor “housekeeping in a perfect world” but aware that more must exist outside the gates, even if she can’t describe it. In Hashmi’s analysis, it shows Eve reaching for the apple as embracing her own intuition. “It was something already within her. The knowledge, it wasn’t the voice of a demon or a serpent tempting her, but something innate that she already knew about the chaos that existed in the universe – the potential for disruption.” Hashmi said it’s an human impulse to categorize life, but sometimes it’s useless to try to make sense of it. “We cannot respond to irrationality, and chaos, and disruption, through the norms that we’ve established for ourselves,” she said. “And sometimes it is a matter of let- ting that go, responding more instinctively.” – – – The Death of Socrates by Jennifer Chang Like Socrates, my father wants to know what we think and why So where do I begin? Yes, the curiosity is genuine, but it is also patriarchal, I suspect. A glass, a mirror, I am not. Lest we forget, he is the son of a philosopher, and so I am offspring to reason’s offspring. A daughter-loved despite that. American-loved despite that. … – – – How fathers shape their daughters Hashmi’s final selection mirrors her own history, writ- ten by a poet who, like Hashmi, is an immigrant daughter navigating different worlds and describes the education of a woman growing up around patriarchal values. Born in Hyderabad, India, while her father studied in the United States for a PhD in International Studies, Hashmi didn’t meet her dad until she was nearly 5. “We had to build that relationship. I actually remem- ber meeting him. He was a complete stranger,” she said. He had been raised in a more traditional Muslim cul- ture, she said, but loved his daughters and wanted to see them succeed. “He had to dismantle some of his own patriarchal as- sumptions,” she said. “I watched him change and evolve over many, many decades in his own thinking about the role of women and the place of women.” The poem, she said, describes the challenge daughters can feel, navigating worlds that were not meant for them, building relationships with fathers who think differently. “That taught me how to think through arguments, how to make effective arguments and how to hold my own position,” she said. “As a daughter, you learn how to do that dance with a patriarchal figure, but that helps you to also define your own identity as a woman.” Hashmi decided to run for public office after Trump issued a Muslim ban during his first term; her father was angry, “afraid of the ugliness of the political world,” and he tried to talk her out of it. But eventually, she said, he was “tremendously proud.” He died in 2021, but she thinks he would be proud of her winning and redefining a statewide role shaped by men. “He saw me break out of certain prisons,” she said. “Many of us who are now in the government spaces, you know, we’re still breaking ceilings that way and defining our own identity.” -TheWashington Post SPECIAL REPORT - Continued From Page 7