Padma Shri

Padma Shri (also Padmashree) is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Awarded by the Government of India, it is announced every year on India's Republic Day.

History

Padma Awards were instituted in 1954 to be awarded to citizens of India in recognition of their distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the Arts, Education, Industry, Literature, Science, Sports, Medicine, Social Service and Public Affairs. It has also been awarded to some distinguished individuals who were not citizens of India but did contribute in various ways to India.

The selection criteria have been criticized in some quarters with the claim that many highly deserving artists have been left out in order to favor certain individuals.

On its obverse, the words "Padma", meaning lotus in Sanskrit, and "Shri", a Sanskrit-derived honorific equivalent to 'Mr.' or 'Ms.', appear in Devanagari above and below a lotus flower. The geometrical pattern on either side is in burnished bronze. All embossing is in white gold.

Padma River

Padma is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for 120 kilometres (75 mi) to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is situated on the banks of the river.

History

Etymology

The Padma, Sanskrit for lotus flower, is mentioned in Hindu mythology as a byname for the Goddess Lakshmi.

The name Padma is given to the lower part of the course of the Ganges (Ganga) below the point of the off-take of the Bhagirathi River (India), another Ganges River distributary also known as the Hooghly River. Padma had, most probably, flowed through a number of channels at different times. Some authors contend that each distributary of the Ganges in its deltaic part is a remnant of an old principal channel, and that starting from the western-most one, the Bhagirathi (in West Bengal, India), each distributary to the east marks a position of a newer channel than the one to the west of it.

Geographic effects

Government of India

The Government of India (GoI), officially known as the Union Government and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 29 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India. It is located in New Delhi, the capital of India.

The basic civil and criminal laws governing the citizens of India are set down in major parliamentary legislation, such as the Civil Procedure Code, the Indian Penal Code, and the Criminal Procedure Code. The union and individual state governments all each consist of executive, legislative and judicial branches. The legal system as applicable to the federal and individual state governments is based on the English Common and Statutory Law. Because the seat of government is in New Delhi, "New Delhi" is commonly used as a metonym for the Central Government.

Legislature

Legislative power in India is exercised by the Parliament, a bicameral legislature consisting of the President of India, the Rajya Sabha, and the Lok Sabha. Of the two houses of Parliament, the former is considered to be the upper house or the Council of States and consists of members appointed by the President and elected by the state and territorial legislatures. The latter is considered the lower house or the House of the people.

Sri

Shri (Devanagari: श्री, IAST; Śrī), also transliterated as Sree, Shri, Sri, Shree, Si or Seri is a word of Sanskrit origin, used in the Indian subcontinent as a polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." or "Ms." in written and spoken language, or as a title of veneration for deities (usually translated as "Holy").

It is also widely used in other South and Southeast Asian languages.

Etymology

Shri has the root meaning of goddess of prosperity.

In Sanskrit grammar, Shri has the feminine gender. It is gender-specific in Sanskrit, but the assumption that it is masculine has resulted in the titles of Shrimati (abbreviated Smt) for married women and Sushri for women (independent of marital status).

Usage

Shri (also Sree, Sri, Shree, श्री) is a polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." or "Ms." The title is derived from Sanskrit श्रीमान् (śrīmān). This use may stem from the Puranic conception of prosperity.

Śhrī is also frequently used as an epithet of some Hindu gods, in which case it is often translated into English as Holy. Also in language and general usage, Śhrī if used by itself and not followed by any name then it refers to the supreme consciousness i.e. God.

Rashtrapati Bhavan

The Rashtrapati Bhavan  pronunciation , "Presidential Residence") is the official home of the President of India, located in New Delhi, India. It may refer to only the mansion (the 340-room main building) that has the President's official residence, halls, guest rooms and offices; it may also refer to the entire 130 hectare (320 acre) President Estate that additionally includes huge presidential gardens (Mughal Gardens), large open spaces, residences of bodyguards and staff, stables, other offices and utilities within its perimeter walls. The main palace building was formerly known as Viceroy's House. In terms of area, was the largest residence of a Head of State in the world until the Presidential Complex of Turkey opened 29 October 2014.

History

The decision to build a residence in New Delhi for the British Viceroy was taken after it was decided during the Delhi Durbar in 1910 that the capital of India would be relocated from Calcutta (Kolkata) to Delhi. When the plan for a new city, New Delhi, adjacent to and south of Old Delhi, was developed in the beginning of the 20th century, the new palace for the Viceroy of India was given an enormous size and prominent position. About 4,000 acres of land was acquired to begin the construction of Viceroy's House, as it was officially called, and adjacent Central Secretariat between 1911 and 1916 by relocating Raisina and Malcha villages that existed there and their 300 families under the Land & Acquisition Act.