Bharat Ratna announcement irks hockey enthusiasts

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 26

The recent announcement of the Bharat Ratna Awards to Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya and Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee may have brought cheers to many but has definitely irked the hockey enthusiasts across the country.

The Union Government has failed to respond to their decades of pleas, prayers and requests for conferring the highest civilian award to Dhyan Chand, the legendary Hockey player.

Jalandhar Tribune spoke to various hockey enthusiasts in the city and asked their reactions over the expulsion of the legendary player twice from the Bharat Ratna List of awardees.

“Sachin Tendulkar no doubt has been a great cricketer but he was conferred with the award within hours of retiring from his cricketing career. Although, Dhyan Chand may not be alive today but he is still considered nothing less than a god by all the hockey players of our country. Conferring the award on him would have motivated youths to pick up the national game as their career. It is sad that government has still not adhered to the demands of the hockey lovers,” said

Sanjeev Kumar, Olympian.

“The criteria for the awards should be great, selfless service to the people not merely great achievement. In this scenario, why not the first Indian atop the Everest, Tenzing Norgay, or the first Indian to cross the English Channel, Mihir Sen, be given the award? This award also conferred on Lata Mangeshkar and Bhimsen Joshi will fall flat in standards if the government keep on announcing it for ‘every’ great achievement,” said Gurjit Kaur, international hockey player.

“The government seems to have been fascinated by the English men’s game Cricket and not with its own national game Hockey. It didn’t take long to decide Sachin Tendulkar’s name for the highest Civilian Award then why they are taking so much time in announcing it for the legendary player? I think that the magic of Dhyan Chand has lost to the charisma of the political aspirations,” Harbir Singh, international hockey player.

“Late Dhyanchand deserves Bharat Ratna definitely more than anybody else in India in its field. During his action days, there were no electronic media or advertising brands as today who would have helped the player to lead a descent life. Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pandit Malviya are no doubt a great choice but choosing Dhyan Chand would have been the ‘best of all’,” said Surinder Bhapa, Public Relations Officer, Surjit Hockey Society.

“When the government can celebrate the National Sports Day on his birthday, then why not he be given Bharat Ratna? He played the game purely for the country and not for any brand or tournament cash award. "He may have died 34 years ago but his deeds remain alive and the national sport of hockey is synonymous with him. He should have been given Bharat Ratna,” said Baljit Kaur, SAI Hockey Coach.

Dhyan Chand : The Legend’s magic lost to the political will

Born in Allahabad in 1905, Dhyan Chand is remembered most for his extraordinary goal-scoring feats, in addition to earning three Olympic gold medals (1928 in Amsterdam, 1932 in Los Angeles and 1936 in Berlin) in field hockey, during an era where India was the most dominant team in hockey. Known as 'the wizard' for his superb ball control, he played his final international match in 1948, having scored more than 400 goals during his international career.

Eight years later, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan. He retired from the Indian Army with the rank of Major. He passed away in New Delhi in 1979 at the age of 79. It is said that Dhyan Chand used to practice ball control by sprinting along the length of railway tracks while balancing the ball on the track.

The Union government ignored an appeal by 82 MPs who recommended Dhyan Chand's name for the Bharat Ratna. However, the ministry forwarded his name along with that of Beijing Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra and mountaineer Tenzing Norgay for the award in January, 2012.

A six-member delegation met sports minister Jitendra Singh on July 12, 2011 and on July 19, 2013, the sports ministry recommended Dhyan Chand's name for the highest honour. However, in November, the award was conferred to Sachin Tendulkar, who had just retired from Test cricket.