Bharat Ratna 'Sachin'
Narinder Dahiya*
“Recall the face of the poorest and weakest man you
have seen, and ask yourself if this step you contemplate is going to be any use
to him.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
·
The father of Nation had laid down this litmus test
for lesser mortals to make correct decisions in life. We need to test the
decision of Indian Government to award the Bharat Ratna to Sachin Tendulkar
against this rule.
·
The news of award of Bharat Ratna to Sachin
Tendulkar has been received with lot of jubilation all around the country. All
political parties have welcomed the award and seem united at least on this
issue. (No one wants to antagonize the numerous cricket crazy fans of the
batsman). Some politicians have congratulated the Prime Minister for this
decision. (At last the old man made some decision which is not ‘nonsense’).
·
The media has gone out of its way to highlight the
achievement and has organized special programs to discuss the merits of the
award. (Everyone wants to increase their TRPs with very little investment of
resources towards making a popular program).
·
Sachin has dedicated this award to all the mothers
of the country. (What difference does it make to the lives of millions of Indian
mothers)? But the media somehow liked the story very much.
·
The timing of the award has also been hailed as very
apt and correct as it coincided with the retirement of the cricket maestro. (The
timing also coincides well with elections in five states). The timing of the
award really needs to be hailed as the government was able to decide to bestow
the award on a person before his death or before his reaching a old and senile
age.
·
No one has dared to question the qualification or
suitability of Sachin to bag this award.
·
Let us now dispassionately examine the qualification
of Sachin to bag the highest honor of our country:-
§
He can hit a piece of leather
called a cricket ball, thrown at him, very hard and to a place where he wants,
a fairly large number of times.
§
He has done this while playing
cricket for a private club called the BCCI.
§
The game in which he has excelled
is played in only six countries around the world.
§
He has not passed even his tenth
class examination.
§
He has never questioned the
corruption in the BCCI or ever commented on the numerous match fixing scandals
in cricket.
§
He did not sport the initiative of
world anti doping agency in rooting out doping from cricket.
§
His performance and record as the
captain of the team was dismal and he was not able to lead the team.
§
He has sold maximum number of
foreign soft drinks, which are bad for health of our young generation to make
easy money. Some sports persons have denied doing the same as they were more
concerned about the public health.
§
He has sought tax exemption to
import a foreign car into the country and thus did not want to contribute towards
nation building, which he could easily afford.
§
He has continued to stick to his
place in the team, well beyond the expiry date to play 200 test matches.
§
He stopped bowling so as to prolong
his cricket career thus not ever fully contributing to the team.
§
He has made no substantial
donations to any cause and his contribution to overall good of our country or
humanity is largely unknown.
§
He has been recently honored by
being nominated to the Rajya Sabha. (Rewarded because the masters are sure that
he will never open his mouth). All other sporting awards of the country have
already been conferred on him.
·
Now, let us compare his achievements with some other
citizens of our country who have recently retired.
·
Mr Ratan Tata has recently retired after
successfully leading a huge business empire which provides employment to a
large number of our citizens. His immense contribution to various social causes
is well known. He has stood for truth, honesty and discipline in public life.
His company has probably contributed the maximum in taxes for the development
of our country. But our learned Prime Minister has not found him fit to be
awarded the Bharat Ratna.
·
Similarly, Mr Sridharan, the man behind the success
of Delhi Metro also retired recently. The man is an accomplished engineer,
credited with the success of Konkan Railway also. He is known for his strength
of character and integrity of highest order. He had the strength of character
to stand firm against all political pressures.He has made the lives of
thousands of our citizens slightly more comfortable.
·
The country does not recognize real heroes but
adorns their puppets or mute characters with highest awards. A Bharat Ratna
will now be selling soft drinks, shampoos and other products and will make all
Indians proud.
_________________________________________________
*The author is a Military Veteran reputed for his 'out of the box ideas' and love for challenges. He quit military service at a time when his career was zooming upwards with promise aplenty for higher glories. His pre-mature retirement has left the Indian Army a notch poorer. His prowess and creativity now add value to the Indian Industry.
No comments:
Post a Comment