Ratan Tata deserved the Bharat Ratna. It ought to have been given to him in his lifetime. Now that he’s lifeless will it’s conferred posthumously?
There are various sound explanation why that ought to occur however, maybe, one stands out. He was a terrific businessman, a visionary industrialist and a heat, compassionate, and good human being. However that might be true of many others. What marks him out is that he was commemorated. Greater than admired he was a hero on a pedestal. That may solely be mentioned of only a few individuals. Maybe a handful. Ratan Tata was considered one of them.
Second, those who we glance as much as — certainly, crane our necks to see — deserve the best recognition. They’re not simply excessive achievers. They’re very particular individuals. That is why he deserves the best award within the land.
Now, should you take a look at the listing of 53 individuals who have been given the Bharat Ratna, Ratan Tata would possibly outshine most of them. Would that not be the case with politicians like BC Roy, PD Tandon, Okay Kamaraj, VV Giri, MG Ramachandran, Rajiv Gandhi, Aruna Asaf Ali, Gulzarilal Nanda, Gopinath Bordoloi, Karpoori Thakur, and Chaudhary Charan Singh?
Let me put it otherwise. If Mom Teresa, MS Subbulakshmi, Amartya Sen, Ravi Shankar, Lata Mangeshkar, Bismillah Khan, Bhimsen Joshi, and Sachin Tendulkar deserved the award — and most actually they did — how can that not be the case with Ratan Tata?
The reality is the award is given by politicians and it goes primarily to politicians. Of the 53 recipients of the Bharat Ratna, solely 18, so far as I can inform, have come from fields of endeavour aside from and outdoors of politics. Since 1954, when the Bharat Ratna was first conferred, just one industrialist has been thought worthy of it — JRD Tata. That’s it.
Little doubt there are various different individuals, from a number of and assorted disciplines, who ought to have gotten it however didn’t. I can consider Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Area Marshal Sam Manekshaw, Salman Rushdie, and Zubin Mehta. Every of them is an excellent Indian who soared to the height of his profession. The world has recognised and applauded their achievement. Alas, their nation failed to take action.
It’s not too late to rectify issues. Giving the Bharat Ratna to Ratan Tata can be a big first step. If it may be given to BR Ambedkar, Vallabhbhai Patel, Abul Kalam Azad and Madan Mohan Malviya a long time after their loss of life, it will probably nonetheless be conferred on Area Marshal Manekshaw, who died in 2008, and Dilip Kumar, who died in 2021. Fortunately, Rushdie, Bachchan and Mehta are nonetheless with us.
Nevertheless, there’s one other miserable fact we have to acknowledge. Many occasions the Bharat Ratna is awarded not as a result of it’s deserved however as a result of it’s politically handy to take action. I received’t title names, as a result of I don’t need to harm egos, however virtually each individual that falls into this class is or was a politician. And it’s been accomplished by each authorities we’ve had, from Jawaharlal Nehru to Narendra Modi.
The unhappy reality we will’t escape from is that always the Bharat Ratna has been given to individuals who didn’t actually deserve it or it’s been denied to others who did. Both method, it diminished the award.
So, isn’t it time that we cease lamenting the truth that actually deserving Indians have been wilfully ignored or the undeserving honoured and try and atone for that lapse? In fact, the true jewels of India will all the time be recognised by their countrymen. In Ratan Tata’s case, the 1000’s that turned up for his funeral, in addition to the pages of newsprint and hours of broadcast time dedicated to him, are a testomony to that reality. Nobody can deny that. However that doesn’t imply the State doesn’t owe them their due. I’d say it could be unforgivable if that doesn’t occur.
Karan Thapar is the creator of Satan’s Advocate: The Untold Story.The views expressed are private
