Padma Bhushan for Chicagoland resident

CHICAGO: It was with baited breath that Indian Americans in Chicagoland waited for an announcement from New Delhi about the Padma Shri Awards to be announced for chosen NRIs.

They expected that at least one of their acclaimed leaders and community activists would get the honor. A few names are said to have been suggested to the Indian government by concerned authorities in this country, but when the final announcement came there were surprises, as usual.

From Chicagoland, Tan Chung was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the second highest award in the Padma category, on the eve of the 60th  Republic Day of India by the President of India for his "distinguished service  of high order" in the field of "Literature and Education."

Chung is an Indian Citizen of Chinese descent born in Malaya in 1929, having lived, first, in China for 23 years, and then, in India for 44 years.  He stepped into the shoes of his illustrious father, Prof. Tan Yun-Shan (1898-1983) of Shantiniketan, a pioneer of Chinese studies in India and Sino-Indian studies and contributed to the building up of the Chinese studies programs in Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) from 1964 up till 1994 when he finally retired from JNU as Professor of Chinese.

He has authored many books, among which, China and the Brave New World and also Triton and Dragon (a Gyan Publication) are text books for history courses in Indian and foreign universities. Since 1999, Prof. Tan and his wife have been living in Chicago with their son. Indian Consul General Ashok Kumar Attri greeted Chung and Mrs Chung at one of the recent Consulate events.