PCI chairman objects giving award to Sachin

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PCI chairman objects giving award to Sachin

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Justice Katju thinks Bharat Ratna for cricket players and film stars shows low cultural level.

14 May,2012 05:25 pm

In a fresh start of remarks surrounding the ‘God of Cricket’, Justice Markandey Katju, Chairman, Press Council of India, has said that the deemed Bharat Ratna should not be awarded to Sachin Tendulkar.According to Undian media, Justice Katju remarked that demands seeking Bharat Ratna for cricket players and film stars just speak of the ‘low cultural level’ in the country.Denying the right for sports and film personalities to be called as the “Country’s Gem”, the PCI chairman said that the award should rather be presented to nationalist poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Munshi Premchand and Tamil poet Subramania Bharathi.Justice Katju’s remarks come as a knee-jerk reaction to the government changing eligibility criteria for the Bharat Ratna award last year. The government’s move was initiated after a mass appeal was echoed stating how sports should not be left out of the country’s highest civilian respect. Until 2011, Bharat Ratna’s eligibility criteria said that people who had excelled towards the advancement of art, literature, science and public service of the highest order could get the award.However last year, the government modified the criteria stating that Bharat Ratna will now be awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance in any field of human endeavour.Bharat Ratna was constituted in the year 1954 and it is just plain surprising that sports as an important field of excellence, had been kept off the eligibility hook for over 50 years.Moreover, it is very important to note that some of the very deserving names outside of sports and films have also not been recognised by the government. Whilst known political party leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Jayprakash Narayan have each been awarded a Bharat Ratna under the guise of apparent ‘public service’.The deemed award has been marred by controversies many times, but has maintained its dignity as the highest civilian honour. It is also important to note that there have been some enormously talented and well-deserved Bharat Ratna awardees in the past, like C V Raman, Lata Mangeshkar, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Amartya Sen, Pandit Ravi Shankar, B R Ambedkar, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, Satyajit Ray and Mother Teresa.