Last week Sachin Tendulkar retired from all forms of cricket. This put an end to his amazing journey of 24 years on the cricket field which included making and breaking many records and achieving many milestones for India as a team member of one of the most successful Indian cricket teams. He played his last test match against West Indies and received a grand and emotional farewell. I like his batting and sportsmanship, I have witnessed his career since the beginning, and he is one of the most celebrated and admired cricketers to date. On the day after his retirement Indian government announced him Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. This announcement was bound to create some controversy and some uproar. Undoubtedly cricket is the most popular sport in India and because of this cricketers receive more admiration, media coverage, fame, and money but that doesn't mean they are the only achievers in the area of sports who make India proud. Therefore, many people will ask the question why Sachin, why not Dhyanchand or Abhinav Bindra or Anand? Is it just because he is famous or because he played cricket? There will be many questions like this. The government did try to play a balancing game to award celebrated scientist Prof. C. N. R. Rao along with Sachin but Sachin's award is going to create some controversy and people are going to push their candidate and ask why not him or her?
I believe the decision was emotional rather than logical. The entire country (at least those who follow cricket) was feeling sad that Sachin was retiring from cricket, the game that he dominated for the last 20 years or so. They all wanted to give him a memorable farewell and maybe the government thought this award would be like a cherry on his farewell cake. Did they get their act right? Definitely not. Many more deserving sports persons deserve this award before Sachin or at least along with him. By selecting Sachin's name government showed the inherent bias that exists in India against other sports compared to cricket. Field hockey is India's national game and the achievements of Major Dhyan Chand are unparalleled. I wonder why his name didn't pop up when the government decided to give this award to a sportsperson. According to me, Dhyan Chand was the most deserving person to get this award in the area of sports, but unfortunately, this didn't happen.
Actually, if anyone takes a look at the list of Bharat Ratna awardees one often wonders why some people even got that award and why it took so many years (even after their death) for some very deserving people to get this award. The award is very politicized. Depending on which government is ruling people get it. Almost every prime minister who ruled for more than a couple of years got this award. The list is heavily populated with undeserving politicians. This has become a pure political award, sometimes awarded to eminent artists and sportspersons. Sachin is the first sportsperson to receive this award and he is also the youngest to receive this award. I am happy for his success but at the same time feel that other more deserving people also should get the recognition and admiration that they deserve. I know that there is bound to be some controversy related to these types of awards, there is more than one deserving person at any given time but there is no restriction on the number of awards so they can give it to all deserving people. I hope our government will realize its mistake soon and take some corrective measures. If they don't then we have to satisfy ourselves by saying that some people are greater than this award, so they don't need it. I also noticed that even Mahatma Gandhi didn't receive this award, but I am glad that he didn't get this award (like the Nobel Peace Prize) because there are some undeserving names in both the lists (Bharat Ratna and Nobel Peace) so it's good that his name is not there along with them. Actually, people like Gandhi don't need any award but others might need it for the sake of that sport (like field Hockey) or recognition of their work, so at least those names should be considered before it's too late.
[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]
Links:
1. Bahrat and Ratna (article from Marathi news paper Loksatta)
2. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/
3. तेंदुलकर, ध्यान चंद, राजनीति और भारत रत्न
I believe the decision was emotional rather than logical. The entire country (at least those who follow cricket) was feeling sad that Sachin was retiring from cricket, the game that he dominated for the last 20 years or so. They all wanted to give him a memorable farewell and maybe the government thought this award would be like a cherry on his farewell cake. Did they get their act right? Definitely not. Many more deserving sports persons deserve this award before Sachin or at least along with him. By selecting Sachin's name government showed the inherent bias that exists in India against other sports compared to cricket. Field hockey is India's national game and the achievements of Major Dhyan Chand are unparalleled. I wonder why his name didn't pop up when the government decided to give this award to a sportsperson. According to me, Dhyan Chand was the most deserving person to get this award in the area of sports, but unfortunately, this didn't happen.
Actually, if anyone takes a look at the list of Bharat Ratna awardees one often wonders why some people even got that award and why it took so many years (even after their death) for some very deserving people to get this award. The award is very politicized. Depending on which government is ruling people get it. Almost every prime minister who ruled for more than a couple of years got this award. The list is heavily populated with undeserving politicians. This has become a pure political award, sometimes awarded to eminent artists and sportspersons. Sachin is the first sportsperson to receive this award and he is also the youngest to receive this award. I am happy for his success but at the same time feel that other more deserving people also should get the recognition and admiration that they deserve. I know that there is bound to be some controversy related to these types of awards, there is more than one deserving person at any given time but there is no restriction on the number of awards so they can give it to all deserving people. I hope our government will realize its mistake soon and take some corrective measures. If they don't then we have to satisfy ourselves by saying that some people are greater than this award, so they don't need it. I also noticed that even Mahatma Gandhi didn't receive this award, but I am glad that he didn't get this award (like the Nobel Peace Prize) because there are some undeserving names in both the lists (Bharat Ratna and Nobel Peace) so it's good that his name is not there along with them. Actually, people like Gandhi don't need any award but others might need it for the sake of that sport (like field Hockey) or recognition of their work, so at least those names should be considered before it's too late.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
Links:
1. Bahrat and Ratna (article from Marathi news paper Loksatta)
2. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/
3. तेंदुलकर, ध्यान चंद, राजनीति और भारत रत्न
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