BHARAT RATNA: SACHIN
“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.
Abhishek Ponia
Hi Mr. Dahiya,
Appreciate your views. Whether SRT deserves the award or not is debatable. However, your knowledge of cricket and SRT, evidently, is minimal.
Cricket, or any sport for that matter, is the single united reason of happiness in this country. While a common man like me is frustrated, upset, sad and depressed with everything from onion price rise to corruption to terrible politics, a hero named Sachin Tendulkar has been able to provide “MOMENTS OF HAPPINESS”. He has been an inspiration, NOT ONLY as a sportsman but also as a human being. He is rated the most humble and down-to-earth star by people ACROSS THE WORLD. He has never been involved in any on-field or off-field controversy which has tarnished the image of the sport or the country.
Secondly, cricket has 10 test playing nations and another 20+ associate nations. So cricket is played across over 30 countries. SRT has managed to popularise the sport and the INDIAN team in all these countries. Anyone across the world who knows anything about cricket knows that INDIA is where the legend SRT was born.
SRT has been involved in innumerable charities and social activities. Like you, millions are unaware of this as he never publicised this in the media. Unlike many others who do it more for PR, he has kept most such things under wraps. He has also helped innumerable junior cricketers with interactions, knowledge and equipment, plenty of times.
He did not pass his 10th class examination as he was preparing to represent INDIA on the world stage. His 10th certificate would not have won India a world cup or any other cup for that matter. FYI, on his first tour of Pakistan, he was hit on the nose by Waqar Younis, blood gushing out of his nose, he got up and said “Mai khelega”. Such courage, heart and valour a 10th certificate would not have taught him.
Yes his captaincy record is nothing to be proud of. Hence, he himself stepped down to make way for better leadership. Wonder how many such examples we see in any field. All performers are not necessarily good leaders and vice-versa. Anyone who has played sport decent level of sport will understand this.
You say he played beyond his “expiry” to play 200th test for India. I ask – what is expiry of a cricketer? How qualified are YOU to define when he should have retired? What metrics can you show to say he should have retired earlier? FYI, his world test ranking among batsmen when he retired was 18. That means, he was the 18th best batsman in the world when he retired. Being in the top 20 is something millions dream of and at 18 you believe he didn’t deserve to be in the team.
Yes he has made money through endorsements. That’s any celebrity’s prime earning in the modern age. Will you reject an earning opportunity when a major company offers to pay you crores of money for endorsing their brand? NO HUMAN will reject such an opportunity. FYI, he has NEVER endorsed an alcohol brand or a cigarette brand, he was offered more money than most people make in their lifetimes.
Some other things you don’t know about him. 1. Sachin was the first one to engrave the Indian Tricolour on his helmet above the BCCI logo. When asked why, he said i represent India & i want the Tricolour to be on my forehead when i playing there. 2. Shooting for a advertising commercial the director told him he will need to hit cricket balls with a broomstick. He refused to do so saying – “that will make me look bigger than the sport, and i am not”. The director had to replace the broom with bat and wickets. 3. Greg Chappel, when Indian coach, asked SRT – “why do you practice even on off days? Why are you at the ground when noone else is, why do you spend so much extra time, it will overwork your body”. His reply – “i am carrying the expectations of over a billion Indians, its my duty to serve them. Resting is not an option.” 4. When a certain politician announced that Mumbai is only for Marathis, SRT appeared in the media and said Mumbai is a part of India and belongs equally to all Indians. 5. After the 26/11 blasts, the next match India played a few weeks later, SRT won the match for India in Chennai, dedicated the victory to Mumbai & the victims and said – “i now play for India, more than ever”. 6. During the 1999 World Cup, he was in England, his father expired. He came to India, completed the funeral and in 36 hours was back in England to play for INDIA.
These are the moments, memories, events and expressions which make the existence of this man seem surreal. Hence, called the GOD by many, including me.
I can go on and on with this. However, I believe I have made my case.
Again, I am not debating whether he deserves the award or not. I am letting you know that he is different from what your perception of him is. I will not say anything against anyone who has got the award, but SRT’s integrity, discipline, humility, hard work, longevity, character are more than just inspirational.
Narinder Singh Dahiya
Hi Mr Ponia,
I seriously appreciate your point of view. I would also like to thank you for enhancing my knowledge about cricket and SRT.
You are right the article is not about the award. It is about the simplicity (lack of education) and innocence (or is it lack of scientific temper) of the people of our country. It is to show how GULLIBLE the people of our country are or perceived to be so by our Netas.
You have rightly pointed out that today “a common man like you is frustrated, upset, sad and depressed with everything from onion price rise to corruption to terrible politics” but rather than striving to make a difference we have been lulled to find our solace in mythical hero named Sachin Tendulkar (SRT). We have been brain washed to worship humble, down to earth and non controversial heroes who in no way threaten our corrupt feudal lords.
You have mentioned that SRT is involved in a number of charities. Please name a few of them to enlighten us. Similarly please also look for real beneficiaries of SRT.
“Mai Khelega” is not something uncommon in the field of sports, specially when one is striving for a place in the side. Your knowledge of cricket would surely let you recall a number of such cases. SRT never said “Mai Khelega” once his place in the team was assured’ in fact some people accuse him of selecting the matches.
I do not deny SRT his right to earn good money but the right to earn money at the cost of the health of young people by endorsing “Soft Drinks” even after he had become billionaire is questionable. Far poorer sportsman like Gopichand refused to do so.
We are far to gullible because we are impressed by following useless actions (NO COST TO SRT) on part of SRT:-
Our Netas also understand how gullible we are and therefore have awarded the “Bharat Ratna” to SRT to gain few votes at no cost of effort or resources on their part.
“Religion is the opium of the people” is one of the most frequently paraphrased statements of German economist Karl Marx. We the people of our country are being kept under the influence of opium by our Netas either through religion or by making us worship false Gods like SRT.
Time has come to break the shackles of ignorance fed to us in the form of newspaper articles and learn to think on our own.