New Delhi [India], January 25 : RVS Mani, former Under Secretary in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, who had claimed he was forced to sign documents during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to "fabricate a narrative" of 'Saffron terror' in 2009, was among the 113 awardees who were chosen for Padma Shri on the eve of Republic Day.
RVS Mani, in his book, 'Hindu Terror: Insider account of Ministry of Home Affairs 2006-2010', alleged that he was pressured by political leadership within the Home Ministry in 2009 to sign a second affidavit that fabricated a narrative of "Saffron Terror."
He has also authored books such as 'Deception: A Family That Deceived the Whole Nation', 'Bhagva Aatank Ek Shadyantra', and Dalals.
For the year 2026, the President has approved the conferment of 131 Padma Awards, comprising five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri. Nineteen of the awardees are women, while the list also includes six persons from the categories of Foreign Nationals, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), along with 16 awardees honoured posthumously.
The Centre has announced Padma Vibhusan for Dharmendra Singh Deol (Posthumous) in Arts, KT Thomas in Public Affairs, N Rajam in Arts, P Narayanan in Literature and Education and VS Achuthanandhan (Posthumous) in Public Affairs.
Padma Bhusan is conferred to Alka Yagnik in Art, Bhagat Singh Koshyari in Public Affairs, Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy in Medicine, Mammootty in Art, Nori Dattatreyudu in Medicine, Piyush Pandey (Posthumous) in Art, S K M Maeilanandhan in Social Work, Shatavadhani R Ganesh in Art, Shibu Soren (Posthumous) in Public Affairs, Uday Kotak in Trade & Industry, V K Malhotra (Posthumous) in Public Affairs, Vellappally Natesan in Public Affairs and Vijay Amritraj in Sports.
Meanwhile, President Droupadi Murmu also approved gallantry awards for 70 Armed Forces personnel in recognition of their exceptional courage and sacrifice. The list includes six posthumous honours.
These include one Ashok Chakra; three Kirti Chakras; 13 Shaurya Chakras, including one posthumous; one Bar to Sena Medal (Gallantry); 44 Sena Medals (Gallantry), including five posthumous; six Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry) and two Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry).
Among the awardees are Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, Lieutenant General Dhiraj Seth and several others from the Army, Navy and Air Force.