The debate, though unsavoury and distasteful, goes on...Hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand or cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar?
It is like pitting one behemoth against another colossus.
One scooped up three gold medals at the Olympics and is widely considered as the greatest hockey player the world has ever seen.
Other is the demi-god for the aficionados of the gentleman’s game and who can play the sport with one hand tied behind his back. He has attained feats which has the record books bursting at the seams.
Who rightfully deserves to be conferred upon India's highest civilian award-Bharat Ratna first? The issue elicits a wide array of responses and views from sport experts, some of whom think the debate should not have started in the first instance.
The media loves coarse debate because coarse debate drives ratings and ratings generate profits. In a nutshell, the media loves controversy because that is what sells.
The issue has set off an 'unnecessary' debate, leaving in its wake a bruising competition like situation being considered demeaning to the two giants, who have brought laurels for the nation in their respective fields.
The decision by the government to include sports in India's highest civilian honour was greeted with rhapsodies of praise by one and all, but now arguments , 'pushed by media', have broken out as to which sportsperson between the two should get it first.
Some opine hockey legend Dhyan Chand should get it first, some say 'the demi-god of cricket' Tendulkar deserves it more.
Not only fans but also the great sportspersons are giving their 'valuable' views over the raging issue, which has caught the fancy of one and all among the sports fraternity.
The Sports Ministry has recommended Dhyan Chand's name for the award, saying it was a 'logical choice'.
The ministry had to name only one sportsperson for the Bharat Ratna to the Prime Minister's Office for the award and for them three-time Olympic gold medalist, who passed away in 1979, was the right choice.
In 2011, the government had ignored the plea of 82 members of Parliament, who had recommended Dhyan Chand’s name for the prestigious award but in January 2012, the ministry itself forwarded his name along with Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra and mountaineer Tenzing Norgay for the award.
Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin says Tendulkar deserves to be conferred with the Bharat Ratna, but wants Dhyan Chand to be the first sportsperson to be bestowed with the honour.
'Sachin should be conferred with Bharat Ratna honour. I have never said no to this but hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand should be the first sportsperson to be conferred the award,' Azhar says.
'Dhyan Chand played under British Raj and one should take into account the kind of atmosphere he played under. No proper hockey stick was there...no proper grounds were there.'
Olympian boxer Akhil Kumar also echo Azharuddin’s views.
'Sachin is a great player but I think Dhyan Chand played at a time when there was no facility available in India. Dhyan Chand deserves Bharat Ratna first,' he said.
Former India wicketkepeer Kiran More says: 'There is no question of a comparison. Dhyan Chand deserves it. There is no competition here. Tendulkar deserves it too and will receive it one day. This is definitely a big honour for Dhyan Chand.'
Former India all-rounder Madan Lal endorses More's views. 'Sachin can wait for it. Dhyan Chand had done a lot of good for the country.'
Erstwhile Indian opener Anshuman Gaekwad too reckons,' Dhyan Chand is the deserving candidate.'
'Normally this award is given after a consensus, so Sachin doesn’t come into picture. At the moment, Dhyan Chand deserves it. The days when he played hockey for India were difficult times. There were no facilities or money,' he says.
But 'Bengal Tiger' Sourav Ganguly thinks otherwise.
He says: 'Sachin is a Bharat Ratna. He should be conferred upon the Bharat Ratna.’’
Taking a break from government baiting, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also said Tendulkar deserved India's highest civilian award.
India's latest batting sensation Virat Kohli said, 'Tendulkar really deserves the Bharat Ratna. Whatever he has done, I do not think anyone else can even come close to achieve (100 hundreds in international cricket) what he achieved in the last 22 years, It is impossible.'
Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, too, joined the chorus of demanding Bharat Ratna for Tendulkar.
'The Government should have honoured Tendulkar with Bharat Ratna.'
The 40-year-old Tendulkar, off the boil in recent times, has to his name most of the batting records in Test and ODI cricket, including being the highest run-scorer and century maker in both formats.
Sports lovers feels that a competition-like situation has been created for the prestigious award between the two icons.
And whosoever gets it first, will be like the winner.
'This is like an insult of both the legends. If Dhyan Chand gets it first, cricket lovers will not like it. And if Tendulkar gets it before Dhyan Chand, hockey lovers will hate it,' feels sports lovers Lalit Kumar, Sachin Bhagat, Sandeep Tyagi, Nishant Panchal and Naveen Tyagi.
The government has made a change in eligibility criteria for a person getting the India's highest civilian honour.
The Bharat Ratna will now be awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order 'in any field of human endeavour' -covering almost all the fields that had earlier remained out of the purview of this civilian award.
Earlier, it was restricted to areas like 'art, literature, science and public service', making it difficult for government to consider names of those, who contributed immensely to other fields, including sports.
The message that must be hammered home out of this unpalatable debate is that it should not have been started in the first place and those who waded into it should have let the government of the day decide who deserved it first instead of taking the sheen off the honour by setting the two goliaths against each other.
It is like pitting one behemoth against another colossus.
One scooped up three gold medals at the Olympics and is widely considered as the greatest hockey player the world has ever seen.
Other is the demi-god for the aficionados of the gentleman’s game and who can play the sport with one hand tied behind his back. He has attained feats which has the record books bursting at the seams.
Who rightfully deserves to be conferred upon India's highest civilian award-Bharat Ratna first? The issue elicits a wide array of responses and views from sport experts, some of whom think the debate should not have started in the first instance.
The media loves coarse debate because coarse debate drives ratings and ratings generate profits. In a nutshell, the media loves controversy because that is what sells.
The issue has set off an 'unnecessary' debate, leaving in its wake a bruising competition like situation being considered demeaning to the two giants, who have brought laurels for the nation in their respective fields.
The decision by the government to include sports in India's highest civilian honour was greeted with rhapsodies of praise by one and all, but now arguments , 'pushed by media', have broken out as to which sportsperson between the two should get it first.
Some opine hockey legend Dhyan Chand should get it first, some say 'the demi-god of cricket' Tendulkar deserves it more.
Not only fans but also the great sportspersons are giving their 'valuable' views over the raging issue, which has caught the fancy of one and all among the sports fraternity.
The Sports Ministry has recommended Dhyan Chand's name for the award, saying it was a 'logical choice'.
The ministry had to name only one sportsperson for the Bharat Ratna to the Prime Minister's Office for the award and for them three-time Olympic gold medalist, who passed away in 1979, was the right choice.
In 2011, the government had ignored the plea of 82 members of Parliament, who had recommended Dhyan Chand’s name for the prestigious award but in January 2012, the ministry itself forwarded his name along with Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra and mountaineer Tenzing Norgay for the award.
Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin says Tendulkar deserves to be conferred with the Bharat Ratna, but wants Dhyan Chand to be the first sportsperson to be bestowed with the honour.
'Sachin should be conferred with Bharat Ratna honour. I have never said no to this but hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand should be the first sportsperson to be conferred the award,' Azhar says.
'Dhyan Chand played under British Raj and one should take into account the kind of atmosphere he played under. No proper hockey stick was there...no proper grounds were there.'
Olympian boxer Akhil Kumar also echo Azharuddin’s views.
'Sachin is a great player but I think Dhyan Chand played at a time when there was no facility available in India. Dhyan Chand deserves Bharat Ratna first,' he said.
Known as 'The Wizard' for his astonishing ball control, Dhyan Singh used to practice a lot during night after his duty hours. He invariably used to wait for the moon to come out so that the visibility in the field improved as there were no floodlights at that him.
He was called 'Chand' by his fellow players, as his practice sessions at night invariably coincided with the emergence of the moon.Former India wicketkepeer Kiran More says: 'There is no question of a comparison. Dhyan Chand deserves it. There is no competition here. Tendulkar deserves it too and will receive it one day. This is definitely a big honour for Dhyan Chand.'
Former India all-rounder Madan Lal endorses More's views. 'Sachin can wait for it. Dhyan Chand had done a lot of good for the country.'
Erstwhile Indian opener Anshuman Gaekwad too reckons,' Dhyan Chand is the deserving candidate.'
'Normally this award is given after a consensus, so Sachin doesn’t come into picture. At the moment, Dhyan Chand deserves it. The days when he played hockey for India were difficult times. There were no facilities or money,' he says.
But 'Bengal Tiger' Sourav Ganguly thinks otherwise.
He says: 'Sachin is a Bharat Ratna. He should be conferred upon the Bharat Ratna.’’
Taking a break from government baiting, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also said Tendulkar deserved India's highest civilian award.
India's latest batting sensation Virat Kohli said, 'Tendulkar really deserves the Bharat Ratna. Whatever he has done, I do not think anyone else can even come close to achieve (100 hundreds in international cricket) what he achieved in the last 22 years, It is impossible.'
Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, too, joined the chorus of demanding Bharat Ratna for Tendulkar.
'The Government should have honoured Tendulkar with Bharat Ratna.'
The 40-year-old Tendulkar, off the boil in recent times, has to his name most of the batting records in Test and ODI cricket, including being the highest run-scorer and century maker in both formats.
Sports lovers feels that a competition-like situation has been created for the prestigious award between the two icons.
And whosoever gets it first, will be like the winner.
'This is like an insult of both the legends. If Dhyan Chand gets it first, cricket lovers will not like it. And if Tendulkar gets it before Dhyan Chand, hockey lovers will hate it,' feels sports lovers Lalit Kumar, Sachin Bhagat, Sandeep Tyagi, Nishant Panchal and Naveen Tyagi.
The government has made a change in eligibility criteria for a person getting the India's highest civilian honour.
The Bharat Ratna will now be awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order 'in any field of human endeavour' -covering almost all the fields that had earlier remained out of the purview of this civilian award.
Earlier, it was restricted to areas like 'art, literature, science and public service', making it difficult for government to consider names of those, who contributed immensely to other fields, including sports.
The message that must be hammered home out of this unpalatable debate is that it should not have been started in the first place and those who waded into it should have let the government of the day decide who deserved it first instead of taking the sheen off the honour by setting the two goliaths against each other.
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