Sachin Tendulkar for Bharat Ratna. The talk has been on long enough. But when India's union government formally acknowledges the clamour for conferring Bharat Ratna on Sachin Tendulkar, it has to be more than a mass fan rush. On Tuesday, the government said it had received requests "from various quarters" to consider Sachin Tendulkar for Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India. According to a report in The Hindu, the government said a proposal to bring sportspersons under potential candidates for Bharat Ratna was "under consideration". At present, the award honours "exceptional services in arts, literature and science" and "public services of the highest order".
Proposal Favouring Sachin Tendulkar
Mullappally Ramachandran, Minister of State for Home, on Tuesday said in the upper house of the Parliament that the government was considering a modification in the existing eligibility norms. A Bharat Ratna for Tendulkar, who is widely considered one of the greatest batsmen of all time and a hugely influential icon in India, has been figuring in public talk for years together.
There has been a near-consensus on the political front as well. Leaders of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party have backed the proposal that gathered steam with the Minister for Sports Ajay Maken giving a go-ahead to include sport in the award categories. Meanwhile, support is building around Tendulkar's candidature, the latest nod coming from contemporary sporting icon and World chess champion Viswanathan Anand who maintains that the cricketer deserves the honour.
Though the Ministry of Sports did not root for a particular sportsperson when it forwarded the recommendation to the Home Ministry the man in focus was, evidently, Tendulkar. The involvement of high-profile ministries in the proposal reflects the influence of Sachin Tendulkar as a mass icon and perhaps, it's only political pragmatism to use the 38-year-old cricketer's superstar status to muster up some populist points. In July this year, The Times of India reported on the Home Ministry writing to the Prime Minister's Office asking it to take a decision on the proposal. So far, Bharat Ratna has been conferred on 41 persons.
Critics Say Tendulkar's Records not Enough
While it's hard not to sense the overall feeling of pride and adulation that binds the proposal together, there are voices of dissent as well, subtly pointing out that Tendulkar's laurels -- there are many, of course, including the most number of runs and centuries in international cricket -- ultimately don't quite make the grade as "public service".
Even with the altered guidelines, there's a possibility of debate over the honour for Tendulkar. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh, has already made a start, stating hockey legend Dhyan Chand -- and not Tendulkar -- deserved the first Bharat Ratna for a sportsperson. The award was last conferred on late Hindustani classical musician Pandit Bhimsen Joshi in 2008.
Krishna Kumar - Senior journalist with more than 10 years' experience, on print and web. Has held senior positions in reporting and feature teams in ...
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