Padma Awards of 2023 were conferred upon the awardees at the second Civil Investiture Ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan on 5th April 2023. Padma Shri awardee from Karnataka Bidri Ware handicraft artist Shah Rasheed Ahmed Quadri said after receiving the award that he thought the BJP government wouldn’t give anything to him as he is a Muslim, but PM Narendra Modi has proven him wrong.
Shah Rasheed Ahmed Quadri reiterated the same thing when he met PM Narendra Modi after the ceremony. A video of him thanking PM Modi has also gone viral on social media.
#WATCH | Padma Shri awardee Shah Rasheed Ahmed Quadari thanked PM Modi after he received the award today
— ANI (@ANI) April 5, 2023
“During Congress rule, I didn’t get it (Padma Shri). I thought BJP govt will not give it to me but you proved me wrong, ” says Shah Rasheed Ahmed Quadari pic.twitter.com/BKQGMKc10R
As PM Modi approached to meet the Padma awardees, Shah Rasheed Ahmed Quadri shook hands with the Prime Minister and said, “I am from Bidar in Karnataka. I applied for this award in the Congress tenure for five years. I did not get it. The BJP government came to power after that. I remained silent thinking that this is a BJP government and it will not give the award to us (Muslims). But you have chosen me and you have proven my thinking wrong. Thank you so much for this.”
PM Modi was seen laughing at his comments.
During a media interaction, Shah Rasheed Ahmed Quadri said, “I tried for this award for ten years. Every year, it would cost me Rs. 12000 for the application. I have this much big profile. It includes 50 color photos. That too cost me a lot. After five years, a BJP government was voted into power. I quit applying for this award thinking that the BJP government never gives anything to a Muslim. But Modi Ji chose me and proved that my thought was wrong. I thank Modi Ji, Amit Shah Ji, and everyone who has played a key role in this award.”
#WATCH | I tried for 10 years to get this award. When BJP govt came, I thought I will not get this award because BJP never gives anything to Muslims, but PM Modi proved me wrong by choosing me for this award: Shah Rasheed Ahmed Quadari, who received Padma Shri award today pic.twitter.com/H3XPTV9xYJ
— ANI (@ANI) April 5, 2023
Shah Rasheed Ahmed Quadri had shown his astonishment when the prizes were discussed in January and claimed that until he got a call from a representative of the Central government, he could not believe it. At that time, he said, “I never expected the Union government to recognise the six-century-old exquisite Bidriware and honour me with the Padma Shri. I could not believe it until one of the officials from the Union government rang up and informed me about the national award.”
When he was ten years old, the 68-year-old Shah Rasheed Ahmed Quadri began this traditional craft. In defiance of his father Shah Mustafa Quadri, a craftsman who made Bidriware, he began studying art. Rasheed Quadri comes from a long line of artists. First in his family to begin this age-old craft work was his grandfather Shah Muhammad Quadri. Shah Rasheed Ahmed Quadri has previously received several awards, including the State Award in 1984, the National Award in 1988, the District Karnataka Rajyotsava Award in 1996, and The Great Indian Achievers’ Award in 2004.
