ShePower This Republic Day, 2020

Every year on the eve of India’s Republic Day, the list of Padma Awards are announced. The Padma Awards constitute the highest civilian awards in the country after the Bharat Ratna. ThePadma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri Awards are given in various disciplines or fields of activities, like public affairs, art, social work, literature and education, trade and industry, science and engineering, medicine, sports, civil service, etc.

In a record making move, the Sports ministry of the country has nominated an all women list, 9 in all, a first in the history of the honours which were first instituted in 1954. India has never had a glorifying chapter in the history of women athletes barring a rare P.T Usha, a fact that has changed completely in the last decade. The nominees of the awards this year are all exceptional women with exceptional talent who have faced insurmountable odds to stand at the peak of their chosen professions.

36 year old Boxer MC Mary Kom has been recommended for the country's second-highest civilian honor Padma Vibhushan. If the Padma Awards committee confer this honor on Mary, she would be the fourth sportsperson and the first woman athlete in the country to receive it. She has already received the Padma Bhushan in 2013 and Padma Shri in 2006. Mary will be representing India at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Reigning world Badminton champion PV Sindhu has been recommended for Padma Bhushan, the third highest honour.

The other seven women in the list have all been nominated for the Padma Shri. First on the list is Vinesh Phogat, one of the famous Dangal sisters. She is the first Indian woman wrestler to win Gold in both the Commonwealth and Asian Games and also is the first Indian athlete to get nominated for the Laureus World Sports Awards. Table Tennis star, Manika Batra, ranking 47thin the world has led the team to an astounding win in the final against four-time gold medalists and defending champions Singapore at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. 30-year old T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur became the first Indian woman to score a century in a Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) match in November 2018and is already the winner of the prestigious Arjuna Award in the year 2017. Women's Hockey team captain Rani Rampal was the youngest player in the national team which participated in the 2010 World Cup. Her team won silver in 2018 Asian Games held in Jakarta. Former Indian shooter Suma Shirur also finds a place owing to her contributions to the game. Twin Sisters Tashi and Nungshi Malik are first female twins to climb Mount Everest and conquer the Seven Summits. Let’s hope they are the first twins to win the Padma Shri.

Irrespective of who the actual winners are, this list in itself is a win for a nation that has come a long way.