Should Sachin Tendulkar be given Bharat Ratna?

prasanna

Prasanna Mohanty | January 25, 2012



After the sports ministry recommended the names of legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand and mountaineer Tenzing Norgay for Bharat Ratna, there is a hue and cry over omission of Sachin Tendulkar’s name. After all, if there is one sport, and passion, that binds all Indians it is cricket and Tendulkar is the ‘god’ of cricket.

But should we be wasting Bharat Ratna on sports persons at all, or someone who just happens to score a few runs more than the others in a game? There are many awards, including Khel Ratna, Arjun award and the Padma awards, for the sports persons. A few more can be set up if these are found to be wanting. Are we not trivializing our highest civilian award by even considering sportspersons?

Nearly 50 percent of our kids suffer from malnutrition; our health and education systems are in pathetic condition; clean water and toilets are not available to a significant chunk of population and many Indians continue to perish to hunger, eminently treatable diseases and debt every year. We continue to figure at the bottom of human development index, corruption index, education index, hunger index and poverty index.

Shouldn’t we be restricting our highest civilian award to those who really make a difference to our lives by addressing or helping in overcoming any of these problems?

Think it over.

Comments

 

Other News

An ode to the cradle of humankind

The Alphabets of Africa: Poems By Abhay K. Vintage Classics, 280 pages, ₹499.00   Abhay K

Ahmedabad district railway network to be expanded

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the Ahmedabad (Sarkhej) – Dholera Semi High-Speed Double Line project of Ministry of Railways with total cost of Rs. 20,667 crore (approx.). It will be Indian Railways 1st semi high-speed project

Indian Ocean more contested than ever: Western Naval Command Chief

The Indian Ocean is becoming increasingly contested and strategically significant as the Indo-Pacific emerges as the defining geopolitical theatre of the 21st century, Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command, has said.   Spe

Why the judiciary needs much more than four more judges

India has a particular form of governance theatre: the bold declaration that appears to be action but is actually a way of avoiding action. The Union Cabinet on May 5 approved a Bill to increase the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court from 34 to 38. The decision has been touted as a step toward judici

Wisdom stories that don’t preach but encourage reflection

The Foundation Of A Fulfilling Life: Lessons from Indian Scriptures Deepam Chatterjee Aleph Books, 264 pages, Rs 899  

Citizens of the Bay: Why BIMSTEC matters now

The international order is drifting into a dangerous grey zone as the very powers that built today`s multilateral system begin to chip away at it. The United States has increasingly walked away from global rules and forums when they no longer suit its interests, while China has rushed to fill the vacuum on


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter