‘Ratna’ is losing sheen
Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award given to extraordinary achievers in the country. But since the award is placed so high, it does not mean everyone who receives it is also as significant. This applies to the award too. When the award is conferred on really significant achievers, does it increase its own value on par with the recipients.Nobel Prize, no doubt, is an internationally acclaimed one. But some people who were more renowned than that, rejected it and grew above that. The world didn’t reject leaders like Ambedkar and Gandhiji because they did not get Nobel.
Similarly, the world has conveniently forgotten so many Nobel laureates too! Hence, the value of the prize or award lies in the recipients. Even the best award, when conferred on undeserving people, loses its value. So much so that even the deserving ones may hesitate to accept it. This time around, Bharat Ratna has been conferred on three people. Former President Pranab Mukherjee, RSS senior ideologue late Nanaji Deshmukh, and Assamese Singer late Bhupen Hazarika.
People who thought Siddaganga Swamiji who passed away recently could be considered for the award are very disappointed. There is another reason for disappointment. If the recipients were any better known than Swamiji in terms of service, one could have respected the decision of the centre. But the government set aside Siddaganga Swamiji and conferred the honour on these three. To be the President of India, is not a prerequisite to getting a Bharat Ratna but his works during the time he was in the office should make him a deserving person for the award. Pranab Mukherjee was probably among the worst performing finance ministers of this country.
He always had an inclination towards RSS while he was within the Congress too. He spent most of his time as President visiting Tirupati. He resembles P V Narasimha Rao in his demeanour. That’s why the BJP and RSS like him. More than all these, he was seen participating in the programme organized by the RSS a few months ago. After having enjoyed the fruits of power from one party, one needs immense confidence to get on good terms with another party. Sometimes the tradeoffs are very big. Hence to understand why the RSS recommended him for Bharat Ratna is no puzzle really.
Another person conferred with the award is Nanaji Deshmukh. He was a BJP MP during his life time and a senior RSS ideologue. Government has been claiming that he has served the tribals whereas his achievement is that he took the RSS ideology to the tribals and influenced them with brahminism. BJP has been shedding crocodile tears on the Sikh massacre, alleging this was stage managed by the Congress. But Nanaji Deshmukh had defended this massacre saying this was a normal response to whatever had transpired earlier. Yet, he is Bharat Ratna now.
As for Bhupen Hazarika, there is no doubt that he is a singer with consciousness. He had fought elections on BJP ticket and lost. Hence this honour is being seen with a lot of suspicion. If there was any other party in power, this situation would have been different. When compared to these three, Siddaganga Seer was more deserving of a Bharat Ratna than these three. Sachin having scored a few thousand runs is conferred with the Ratna, but Swamiji’s selfless service in terms of providing for food shelter and education is not being considered. This itself is a mockery of his works by the government. Siddaganga seer didn’t lose much because he was denied Bharat Ratna. If he was conferred with the award, the award itself would have gained a lot of weight. In some ways, it is better that he wasn’t conferred with the award. Else, we’d have been forced to see him on the same line as Sachin Tendulkar and Nanaji Deshmukh.
There was a time when a Bharat Ratna awardee would be seen with great respect by the whole country. Today we don’t feel much about the names now. If Bharat Ratna has to regain its glory, political parties should have no role in selection. The award should not be under the government control. Instead, senior experts and thinkers, achievers should be able to choose the awardees independently. To expect something like this is highly impossible from a government that interferes with the CBI functioning itself. Whatever it may be, today the central government has humiliated a true Lingayat and Sharana, and this is an insult to the entire Karnataka.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
