Lt. Colonel MS Dhoni

[Mariyam]

We have given Bharat Ratna to filmstars and politicians before. If MGR and Rajiv Gandhi can get the award' date=' I dont see how giving it to sportspersons will devalue it.[/quote'] Rajiv Gandhi was a public servant. He got the award for his contribution to the society ( I think it was for some unemployment and rural development scheme that was his brain child). Not sure about MGR. But I don't think he didn't get the award for acting. Probably for the work he did during his long tenure as a CM.

[King Tendulkar]

Its good promotion for army. Creates awareness among masses of great service army does.Thats why they do this nonsense Its a win win situation for army to do this and win win for Dhoni.

[achilles]

Very happy for MS. Hope it were the Air Force to offer him an honourary rank. The Air Force uniform is just awesome. In any case, Lt.Col. Dhoni :isalute:

[ganeshran]

Rajiv Gandhi was a public servant. He got the award for his contribution to the society ( I think it was for some unemployment and rural development scheme that was his brain child). Not sure about MGR. But I don't think he didn't get the award for acting. Probably for the work he did during his long tenure as a CM.

I dont see anything of value that Rajiv Gandhi did to the level of deserving a Bharat Ratna for his efforts. He got it simply because he was a member of the ruling political family. If that doesnt devalue the title, I dont see how giving it to a sportsperson will. MGR is also more known for his acting. His rule as a CM didnt introduce anything groundbreaking unlike his predecessors like Kamaraj and Annadurai.

[Trichromatic]

Its good promotion for army. Creates awareness among masses of great service army does.Thats why they do this nonsense Its a win win situation for army to do this and win win for Dhoni.

This. One can say that by awarding doctorate to MSD, they tried to promote university and attract more Indian students of that area. In other words they tried to increase profit of the institution. But in this case, if it promotes army then I don't see why this is wrong.

[Mariyam]

I dont see anything of value that Rajiv Gandhi did to the level of deserving a Bharat Ratna for his efforts. He got it simply because he was a member of the ruling political family. If that doesnt devalue the title, I dont see how giving it to a sportsperson will. MGR is also more known for his acting. His rule as a CM didnt introduce anything groundbreaking unlike his predecessors like Kamaraj and Annadurai.

You are preaching to the choir here. Whether or not you agree or if Rajiv Gandhi deserves the award, is a different topic altogether. He has done some notable things re:slum rehabilitation, and rural unemployment. But that is another topic. The award ( Bharat Ratna) is explicitly ( or what the government states) for public service. I don't know what MGR has done. I'm in no position to comment on that. I do know, that Sachin Tendulkar's contribution to the country as a public servant definitely doesn't call for a Bharat Ratna. These awards have a citation, where in it is mentioned why the recipient has received the award. Rajiv Gandhi was a public servant. MGR was also a public servant.Sachin Tendulkar is not. If we're going to confer the Bharat Ratna on him, we might as well give him a Filmfare, a Grammy and an Oscar for best actor in a comic role.

[Mariyam]

This. One can say that by awarding doctorate to MSD, they tried to promote university and attract more Indian students of that area. In other words they tried to increase profit of the institution. But in this case, if it promotes army then I don't see why this is wrong.

Yes, it does promote the Army. But had the Army asked MSD to star in a 30 second ad that promotes the Army he would have done it and the same end result may have been achieved. But by conferring a rank, which other people get through years of excellence through hard work, facing dangers and privations is a little insensitive to the Lt. Cols in the Indian Army. Or so I feel.

[ganeshran]

You are preaching to the choir here. Whether or not you agree or if Rajiv Gandhi deserves the award, is a different topic altogether. He has done some notable things re:slum rehabilitation, and rural unemployment. But that is another topic. The award ( Bharat Ratna) is explicitly ( or what the government states) for public service. I don't know what MGR has done. I'm in no position to comment on that. I do know, that Sachin Tendulkar's contribution to the country as a public servant definitely doesn't call for a Bharat Ratna. These awards have a citation, where in it is mentioned why the recipient has received the award. Rajiv Gandhi was a public servant. MGR was also a public servant.Sachin Tendulkar is not. If we're going to confer the Bharat Ratna on him, we might as well give him a Filmfare, a Grammy and an Oscar for best actor in a comic role.

Lata Mangeshkar, MS Subhalakshmi and Bhimsen Joshi were not public servants either. The public service criteria is one of the criteria defined to receive the award, not the only one. It is also given for artistic, literary and scientific contributions. Sportspersons should also be included. Dhyan Chand and SRT also deserve the Bharat Ratna for their contributions to Indian society

[vamos_rafa]

Lata Mangeshkar' date=' MS Subhalakshmi and Bhimsen Joshi were not public servants either. The public service criteria is one of the criteria defined to receive the award, not the only one. [b']It is also given for artistic, literary and scientific contributions. Sportspersons should also be included. Dhyan Chand and SRT also deserve the Bharat Ratna for their contributions to Indian society

This. The reason that Dhyan Chand or SRT have not received it till now is that the sportsmen are not covered under the list of eligible people. It needs a constitutional amendment. The equivalent to the Bhrat Ratna in sports is Rajiv Gandhi khel Ratna award.

[Mariyam]

Lata Mangeshkar' date=' MS Subhalakshmi and Bhimsen Joshi were not public servants either. The public service criteria is one of the criteria defined to receive the award, not the only one. It is also given for artistic, literary and scientific contributions. Sportspersons should also be included. Dhyan Chand and SRT also deserve the Bharat Ratna for their contributions to Indian society[/quote'] Exactly!!! There was a big furore when M Subbalaxmi got the award. PILs were filed. Parliamentarians argued, and rightly so, that M Subbalaxmi is not a public servant. The Bharat Ratna, as it was originally intended, was meant to be to acknowledge exceptional service to the Indian society. Later they 'amended' the Bharat Ratna to include artistic, scientific and literary contribution to the Indian society. Cricket, as far as I know, is neither an artistic nor a scientific nor a literary contribution to the Indian society. So, if they want to award Sachin Tendulkar this award, they will have to further 'amend' the rules. We all like Sachin. I do too. But to place him in the league of people like Vinoba Bhave, Dr. Ambedkar, JRD Tata and the others is completely wrong. His achievements/impact on the society are not at par to those of the earlier awardees.

[ganeshran]

Exactly!!! There was a big furore when M Subbalaxmi got the award. PILs were filed. Parliamentarians argued, and rightly so, that M Subbalaxmi is not a public servant. The Bharat Ratna, as it was originally intended, was meant to be to acknowledge exceptional service to the Indian society. Thats when they 'amended' the Bharat Ratna to include artistic, scientific and literary contribution to the Indian society. Cricket, as far as I know, is neither an artistic nor a scientific nor a literary contribution to the Indian society. So, if they want to award Sachin Tendulkar this award, they will have to further 'amend' the rules. We all like Sachin. I do too. But to place him in the league of people like Vinoba Bhave, Dr. Ambedkar, JRD Tata and the others is completely wrong. His achievements/impact on the society are not at par to those of the earlier awardees.

See, it is your opinion that Bharat Ratna should be awarded only to people who have an impact on society. However the current scope of the award includes artistic, scientific and literatry achievements as well. And 5 out of the last 9 awardees are musicians who have had a cultural contribution to society including Ravi Shankar, Bismillah Khan, Lata Mangeshkar and Bhimsen Joshi, even if they didnt have any tangible impact on the larger society. If literary and musical contributions can be honored with the Bharat Ratna, I dont see anything wrong with sporting contributions being honored as well. If that means amending the criteria then so be it.

[Mariyam]

^^^ That isn't my opinion. That was the stated purpose of what the Bharat Ratna was supposed to commemorate. We've already devalued the Bharat Ratna by including Pt.Bhimsen Joshi and Lata Mangeshkar etc. If we amend it further to add sports/cricket just with the view to award Tendulkar, we're just devaluing the award even more.

[King Tendulkar]

This. One can say that by awarding doctorate to MSD, they tried to promote university and attract more Indian students of that area. In other words they tried to increase profit of the institution. But in this case, if it promotes army then I don't see why this is wrong.

May help to increase funding and looking after army personnel better. Thats why they do these things, its armys initiative not Dhonis. Army trying to say remeber us and great job we do, look after us

[King Tendulkar]

To get Dhoni to advertise your product costs crores and crores. The army got him for free:--D

[ganeshran]

^^^ That isn't my opinion. That was the stated purpose of what the Bharat Ratna was supposed to commemorate. We've already devalued the Bharat Ratna by including Pt.Bhimsen Joshi and Lata Mangeshkar etc. If we amend it further to add sports/cricket just with the view to award Tendulkar, we're just devaluing the award even more.

The statement that we are devaluing the Bharat Ratna by including Pandit Joshi and Lata Mangeshkar is your opinion. Others may have a different opinion and be in the favour of honoring national icons by giving them the highest civillian award

[vamos_rafa]

The statement that we are devaluing the Bharat Ratna by including Pandit Joshi and Lata Mangeshkar is your opinion. Others may have a different opinion and be in the favour of honoring national icons by giving them the highest civillian award

Absolutely. The fact is that the need was felt to modify the constitution so as to confer the highest order to greats like MS,Lata Mangeshkar or Bhimsen Joshi or Bismillah Khan. Similarly, if required, it should be modified to include the sportsmen as well.

[Mariyam]

The statement that we are devaluing the Bharat Ratna by including Pandit Joshi and Lata Mangeshkar is your opinion. Others may have a different opinion and be in the favour of honoring national icons by giving them the highest civillian award

Others? Speak for yourself, prole. :P The Bharat Ratna is being devalued ( or diluted) by all these artistic and literary additions. We already have awards to honour naional icons who excel in various spheres of life. Broadly speaking, in democratic societies, civilian awards are of two types: 1)Those which are for individual excellence in a chosen field of life. 2)Those which are for contribution to society. Sachin deserves the highest possible award in the first category of awards. So do Lata Mangeshkar and the others. But when people who are good in a certain field are awarded for ( that too the top honour) Public Service, the award is being devalued. Do you think Sachin Tendulkar's contribution to Indian society matches that of Dr.Ambedkar or any of the earlier awardees? Amending the rule-book, just to award Tendulkar sounds ok to you?

[ganeshran]

Others? Speak for yourself, prole. :P The Bharat Ratna is being devalued ( or diluted) by all these artistic and literary additions. We already have awards to honour naional icons who excel in various spheres of life. Broadly speaking, in democratic societies, civilian awards are of two types: 1)Those which are for individual excellence in a chosen field of life. 2)Those which are for contribution to society. Sachin deserves the highest possible award in the first category of awards. So do Lata Mangeshkar and the others. But when people who are good in a certain field are awarded for ( that too the top honour) Public Service, the award is being devalued. Do you think Sachin Tendulkar's contribution to Indian society matches that of Dr.Ambedkar or any of the earlier awardees? Amending the rule-book, just to award Tendulkar sounds ok to you?

Again, what you are stating is your personal opinion on what the scope of the awards should be. Similar personal opinion can be applied to whether the existing awardees actually deserved them or not - case in point Rajiv Gandhi and MGR. My take on it is that if musicians and literary achievements can be awarded the Bharat Ratna, then there is no objection to it being awarded to Sports persons as well especially SRT and DhyanChand. If the sole criteria for the awards is to be exceptional public service, then that is acceptable as well but then the cultural aspects of the awards must also be removed.

[saneindian]

If sportsperson could get Padma awards, wonder why they are not eligible for Bharat Ratna? It's like saying a sportsperson is eligible for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel ratna awards but cannot be given Arjuna Award. Yes sports isn't mentioned specifically as a category, but why should sportsperson or for that matter professionals from any particular group be excluded from getting the highest civilian award of the land?

[Raghav_12]

Going by your definition of Public Service, Bharat Ratna can only be conferred to politicians as they are the only one who declare public service as their profession. Rest of the people have to take some profession to earn thier living. And I am not ready to believe that Bharat Ratna was supposed to be limited to or should be limited to Politicians only. By inclusion of other fields, excellence where brings happiness to society, you actually appreciating value of award instead of devaluing it. And why so much furore when Sachin's name is being proposed for these awards? When people belonging to areas of singing/dancing/ acting can be given Bharat Ratna, why not Sachin?