Fwd: Indian Navy Clearance Diving Officers BHARAT RATNA
mike dimri
‘Sach’ is life when ‘ratnas’ are so pre-occupied
By Aakar Patel | 24 Jul, 2016, 07:29AM IST
Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian award. I
think it is a mistake to give it to cricketers and Bollywood people
merely for their fame and talent.
Doing so reduces the value of the award and there is also the potential
that it is misused. I would say something similar has happened also in
the case of those cricketers and Bollywood personalities nominated to
the Rajya Sabha. Let me take two examples, Sachin
Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar. Neither of them deserves the Bharat
Ratna and both have misused their fame.
Sachin is in the news these days for taking his former business partner
to the corridors of power to get the matter of a property sorted out.
The issue was some commercial construction being carried out near a
defence area. When news was leaked of this meeting,
Sachin released a statement saying he had no personal business interest
in the matter. Perhaps not. But is it the job of Bharat Ratnas to
peddle business interests before ministers?
To put this in perspective, we should know that Sachin spent three years
in the Rajya Sabha before asking his first question. And when I say
'spent three years in the Rajya Sabha' I mean mostly outside it. A
report in December, 2015 revealed that Sachin had
6% attendance in the Rajya Sabha and had not participated in a single
debate. But he has time to take his friends and business partners to the
defence minister to push their deals? I find it unacceptable that such a
person has been given the Bharat Ratna.
After getting the Bharat Ratna Sachin continues to endorse brands like
BMW. Does it suit public figures, especially ones as rich as Sachin, to
do this? It's quite shameful and degrades the award.
When we give the Bharat Ratna to such people we are essentially
rewarding their talent. We are not recognising their service, which is
the true purpose of civilian awards. Sachin has a long history of
misusing his position. When he got a Ferrari as a gift he
asked the government to waive its import duty. Why should the taxpayer
fund this spoilt billionaire's toys? Ultimately a court had to force him
to pay. When he built a mansion in Bandra, he asked the government to
make an exception for him so that he could
build above the limit. Why should that be granted to him? It is selfish
for him to ask when none of the rest of us ask, or get, such favours.
On June 13
this year, newspapers carried the headline 'Sachin Tendulkar donates Rs
76 lakh to Bengal school'. I was interested by the story, because it
did not follow the selfish pattern of Sachin's life. It revealed that it
was not his money that Sachin was
'donating'. The school was being given money from his Rajya Sabha fund,
meaning it was the nation's money. This is hardly 'donating'. And he
does nobody a favour in doing this.
Sachin is nothing like Muhammad Ali, a sportsman who was given civilian
awards for his consistent and brave positions against injustice and
racism. And Ali was willing to go to jail for his beliefs. Ever heard
Sachin say anything meaningful on the issues that
are so troubling in our time? No. His time is better occupied by
selling us stuff.
Lata Mangeshkar was given the Bharat Ratna in 2001. A few years later
she said she would move to Dubai if a flyover was built opposite her
house on Pedder Road in Mumbai. She and her sister Asha Bhosle opposed
it so effectively that it has still not been built.
A report in April 2012 said Lata Mangeshkar had the worst attendance
record in the Rajya Sabha where she had been for many years. It shows
her and Tendulkar's total disinterest and I would say disregard for this
nation.
Is this how a Bharat Ratna is supposed to behave? To put their
individual need and selfishness above the needs of the many? It's
ridiculous that such people are, as I said, rewarded for their talent
and not their service.
And so far as their talent goes, haven't they been rewarded enough? They
have made themselves very, very wealthy. And that is fine and right. It
is how it should be. They have earned their money and their fame. They
could have earned our respect by behaving
in more public spirited fashion but they have chosen instead to be
unconcerned on that count. They cannot even be bothered to show up in
parliament. (How many times has Sachin missed a match or endorsement
shoot?)
The government of the time is often seduced by fame and feels obliged to
reward such people (and often there is very heavy lobbying from them)
to be given these awards. This should stop. We should separate the
talent of people from their service. It is only
the latter that must be rewarded through national awards.
(Aakar Patel is a writer and columnist. 'Why I write', his translation
of Saadat Hasan Manto's non-fiction is published by Tranquebar)
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Mike Dimri
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