Sachin Tendulkar and Bharat Ratna

Sachin Tendulkar’s immense contribution to Indian cricket is never undermined. But after winning the only award in the cricketing world that he had so far been bereaved of, the Indian sports community has become more grateful towards the legendary man. Ruling the world with his bat, even at the end of his career, Sachin found a new chorus shouting for him. This time not for fours and sixes from him, but to give him back by awarding him the highest civilian award in India, the Bharat Ratna.

Sachin for Bharat Ratna?

Sachin is Great….

Anybody, who is even remotely aware of the game called cricket can’t really deny that. A person who has been holding the Indian cricket team together for 23 years or so, has broken almost all the possible records for a batsman and is on verge of scoring a century of centuries is certainly the greatest of them all. His contribution to Indian cricket is immense and had he not been there the scenario could have been very much different. A role model for the youth and old with one of the cleanest image in the world of sports is really one of the best things produced in the land of India. And from there comes the demand for him to be awarded Bharat Ratna, the highest award in India.

BUT….

If we take a look at Sachin Tendulkar as a person, he has done nothing wrong. However, all his contribution has been in the field of cricket. The question that comes up from the critics is that, has he done enough to the society to be considered the most important person for the nation? Has he influenced the youth, who follows him like God, in being more active and being on the right track to improve India as a nation? The answer is no. Whatever he has done so far is solely in the field of cricket and it has almost no importance in the society as a whole. Now, is it justified to award someone with such one-dimensional personality with an award like Bharat Ratna? But the thing that acts in support of this campaign is that Bharat Ratna was awarded to singers like Lata Mangeskar, Bhimsen Joshi, MS Subbulaxmi for their achievements in the field of music. Thinking on the same line a sportsperson should also be awarded with it for his achievement in that field.

And Also…

Dhyan Chand

As an informed Indian I fell that the contribution of the industrialists like NR Narayan Murthy or Dhirubhai Ambani in taking the Indian economy to where it is now deserves more credit than a sportsperson’s world dominating achievement. So the Indian youth should not blindly throw their views projecting Sachin as Bharat Ratna. Instead, they should think of the people who have brought a positive revolution in the lives of millions of Indians.

However, looking at the emergence of sports in the lives of people at the current time, one has to agree that sportspersons deserve the honour sooner or later. But even if we look at the world sports and the Indians in there, is Sachin Tendulkar’s name the first one to emerge for the biggest recognition? Are the achievements of Dhyanchand, Vishwanathan Anand, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Leander Paes or M C Mary Kom any less than that in any way? In fact it is opposite. What these people did in their respective sports for India at their positions are nothing less than revolutionary. Sachin Tendulkar may be most popular among the names mentioned above, but Bharat Ratna is in no way an award for popularity. It is an award for the extraordinary contribution to the nation and in that these people are much above Sachin Tendulkar. Dhyanchand has dominated the world of Hockey for a long time, so did Vishwanathan Anand in the world of Chess. Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh was a cricket star when no other Indian was any close to the world standards. Leander Paes has put India in the world Tennis map and there is a steep rise in performance since. Nobody can deny his contribution to the Indian Davis Cup team in the years he has been a member of the team. Mary Kom has overcome the bias against her gender in the Indian society to dominate women’s Boxing for years.

Anna: fighting for India

The Current Scenario..

The hottest topic in India at present is, however, Anna Hazare’s hunger strike with the aim of uprooting corruption from India. The movement has found a solid base and it is the time for the real Indians to come forward and support the cause. Bollywood actor Aamir Khan has come up strongly in support of this noble cause with a strong letter to the Prime Minister of India. Anupam Kher, Rahul Bose, Juhi Chawla, Onir, Diya Mirza, Madhur Bhandarkar and other Bollywood celebrities have also expressed support through their Twitter accounts. But at this time, the role model of Indian youth, the Bharat Ratna worthy Sachin Tendulkar has preferred to remain silent on the issue. The recent world cup winners, who are the flavour of Indian youth now, prefers to lobby for a Bharat Ratna for Sachin Tendulkar than voice their support in the fight against corruption. My appeal to Dhoni, Shewag or Yuvraj at this time would be to please come up with a statement of support for these people who are daring to donate their lives for the welfare of the country, leaving aside the thought of money-producing IPL and the joy of World Cup. A message of solidarity with the likes of Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Swami Agnivesh and others by the Indian cricketers will do a lot in spreading the message among the Indian youth. The Indian society deserves this from the person they have worshipped as hero.

Finally..

The thought behind this article is not to undermine the achievements of Sachin Tendulkar. What I feel is this is not the time for him to receive the highest civilian award in India. Firstly, this is the time to bleed for the country for real and support the millions of people who are ready to undergo anything to make India a better place. Secondly, there are a lot of more deserving people who have not yet received the honour and our role should be to promote them first. And at last, let Sachin Tendulkar use his popularity in a positive way to the cause of improving India and then he should, of course, be awarded with whatever India can.