Our Prime Minister Narendar Modi has announced the conferral of Bharat Ratna Award, the highest civilian honor of Republic India, on two of Indian Nationalists the former PM Atal Vihari Bajpayee and the founder of BHU Madan Mohan Malviya. Bharat Ratna, Instituted on 2 January 1954, is conferred in recognition to exceptional service/performance of the highest order in arts, literature, science and public services or any field of human endeavor without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The recommendations for the nominees are made by the PM to the president.
Since its inception the awarding of Bharat Ratna has been instrumental in gaining political mileage and that’s the reason it has always spurred extreme controversies and wide criticism. Jawarhar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi nominating themselves for the award during their tenure and Sachin Tendulkar being awarded before the hockey player Dhayanchand have been widely criticized in the past. Likewise the decision by Rajiv Gandhi the then Prime Minister to confer the award posthumously on the former Tamil Naidu Chief Minister M.G Ramchandran in a bid to influence the voters prior to Tamil Naidu assembly elections in 1989 was vehemently demurred. The decision was also criticized for awarding Ramachandran before independence activist B. R. Ambedkar and Vallabhbhai Patel, who were bestowed the honour in 1990 and 1991 respectively. Similarly the posthumous honoring of K. Kamraj the former Chief Minister by Indira Gandhi was criticized for placating Tamil votes before the assembly elections in 1976. In a nutshell the bestowal of the Bharat Ratna has more or less always been a political rudder to scoop interests.
Besides Atal Viahri Vajpayee and Madan Mohan Malviya, some other names which have been tossed by fans and politicians in acknowledgment of “their exceptional services” include Subhas Chandra Bose, Kanshi Ram and Jyoti Basu. I am baffled as how to figure out what qualifies as exceptional service/performance. Phew!!! What is so spectacular about Vajpayee that BJP led NDA government has decided to confer the award?? Is it because Atalji surreptitiously supported the ignominious fall of Indian secularism in the guise of Babri Masjid demolition by saying “there is no question of stopping. By doing Kar Seva in Ayodhya we will not be disrespecting any court order, by doing Kar Seva we will be respecting and obeying the Supreme Court order”? (excerpts of his speech on 5 December 1992 in Jhandewalan Park in Luckhnow). Should such undercover fascist agenda be construed as “any field of human endeavor” for conferring him the award? The grant of Rs. 231 crores to BHU located in Varanasi which is the Prime Minister’s constituency and then the conferral announcement are shrieking examples to be articulated as modification of honor. How can sabka vikas sabke sath be made reality with such an unbalanced and biased growth strategy? If contribution to freedom struggle is the reason for awarding MM Malviya as argued by the PM, then there are far greater nationalists before him like Gokhale, Tilak, Kamladevi, Bhagat Singh, Ashfaqullah Khan, Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan and many more. What is the logic of conferring the dead personalities the award posthumously? If so, then why not Mirza Ghalib, Vivekanand, Akbar, Kabir, Ashoka?
Amidst the gory strife tensions and communal clashes engulfing the country whether it be Assam massacre or Ghar wapsi scandal on one hand and extreme poverty, destitution, lack of equity and justice on the other hand which the government policies are largely to blame for, mere conferral of Bharat Ratna Award cannot not make me happy and proud of saying “I am an Indian “.
right…..