Why can’t Sachin be the ‘Bharat Ratna’

The demands to decorate batting maestro Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar with the country’s highest civilian honour- the Bharat Ratna – has gained momentum ever since Team India lifted the prestigious Cricket World Cup trophy after toppling Sri Lanka in the finals held in Mumbai.

Voices in favour of Sachin are coming from all walks of life and several former cricketers, eminent sport personalities, Bollywood stars and even political parties have now joined the chorus to bestow him with the top honour.

Going by Sachin’s extraordinary accomplishments and the numerous accolades, which this living legend has won for his team and India, he is already a "Bharat Ratna" in the eyes of his admirers whether he actually gets it or not. So felicitating him with the country’s top civilian honour will just be a fitting tribute to this God of cricket for achieving many milestones in his over two-decade long career.

The demand to decorate the batting maestro with the Bharat Ratna was first made way back in the year 2003 by the Shiv Sena and seconded by the then Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Murli Manohar Joshi.

The talks to confer upon him the Bharat Ratna again gained momentum after Sachin became the first batsman in the history of One-Day International Cricket to score a double hundred. Sachin achieved this rare feat, while tearing apart the strong fielding set-up by the South African team at Gwalior in February 2010.

In view of this achievement, and more importantly, after Team India’s World Cup glory, Maharashtra Assembly recently adopted a resolution seeking country’s highest civilian award for Sachin Tendulkar. The Maharashtra government is also going to recommend Sachin Tendulkar for the country’s highest recognition.

Given the buzz surrounding Sachin, he is almost certain to be honoured with India’s highest civilian award, and if he does, it would be another first for the master-blaster as no other sportsperson has ever won the Bharat Ratna. If reports are to be believed, Sachin’s name for the honour has also been recommended by the Government of India, which makes the possibility of his winning stronger than ever before this time around.

However, there are several obstacles which the government needs to clear before it actually felicitates Sachin with the honour and answer some pertinent questions- can we really overlook the contribution of other great sportsmen like Major Dhyanchand, wrestler Dara Singh, cricketers Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar or ace-shuttler Prakash Padukone at the cost of Sachin?

Bharat Ratna is given only to those who have done eminent work in the field of art, literature, social service, science and technology but sports is not included in it, so bestowing ‘Bharat Ratna’ to sportspersons would require tweaking of criterion that has been laid down for the country’s highest civilian honour.

This is why the Sports Ministry is going to ask the Home Ministry to include sports in the criterion for Bharat Ratna. If this happens, it would be a welcome move and alleviate the level of sports in the country. After superb performance by the Indian athletes in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games in China, the expectations are high and we all want our sportsmen to do well in international events like Olympics.

Secondly, those who oppose the idea of giving the highest civilian honour to Sachin, contend that he is too young to be considered for the honour given the fact the award has been given to several luminaries posthumously in the past.

Another pertinent question which crops up during the debate is - shouldn’t it be given to those whose achievements had benefited the society at large, rather than for mere `personal achievements`.

And if the government’s intention is to honour the true sons of Mother India then why not give Bharat Ratna to father of nation Mahatma Gandhi, who made supreme sacrifices while battling the British regime and freed us from the Colonial rule.

The general idea behind the award is to recognize the significant contribution of any individual in the field of art, literature, social service, science and technology whose work benefits the society. In that sense social workers, RTI activists, scientists and literary persons deserve this honour more than Sachin, whose "personal achievements" have nothing to do the with the society.

For instance, if an actor excels in acting or if a golfer equals records made by Tiger Woods, by the dint of his performance, then also it has nothing to do with the society.

However, there is a different perspective to see this. Since Tendulkar is a sportsman and has made India proud through his sheer grit and determination, he has been doing a great service to the sports he is associated with and encouraged a lot of youngsters to follow him. That’s all he can do in his capacity as a sportsman. He has taken the name of India beyond its shores and that too with such a positive conviction that it has permeated in the society.

Sachin is, undoubtedly, one of the rare gems that this soil has produced and he will continue to be revered as one of the brightest superstars of cricket in the years to come. He has raised the level of his game to unparallel heights and his greatness is duly acknowledged by his peers, rivals, seniors, fans and commoners alike.

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