Bharat Ratna for trio

THE Central Government’s decision to posthumously confer the highest civilian honour of the country, the Bharat Ratna, on former prime ministers PV Narasimha Rao and Charan Singh and father of the Green Revolution MS Swaminathan is laudable. Even as the selection made by the Modi government is being seen through the political prism in the election year, it does not diminish the awardees’ contribution. Stealing a march on the Congress by honouring Rao, the ruling BJP has claimed that the Gandhi family meted out unfair treatment to the senior party leader. Last month, the government had bestowed the Bharat Ratna on former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur, who had implemented OBC reservation in an effort to uplift the underprivileged section of society. Now, the ruling dispensation has tried to woo the farming community by picking Charan Singh, who advocated pro-farmer measures such as loan waiver and remunerative prices.

As PM, Rao spearheaded economic reforms with the help of then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh. Their policies dismantled decades-old controls, opening up the economy to globalisation, privatisation and deregulation. The growth spurred by those reforms helped India make rapid strides on the economic front; today, the country is the fastest-growing major economy in the world.

Advocating scientific methods to boost agricultural productivity, Swaminathan played a pivotal role in the Green Revolution. His research led to the development of high-yielding crop varieties, transforming India into a self-sufficient food producer and helping mitigate hunger and poverty. No less path-breaking were the initiatives taken by Verghese Kurien, who revolutionised India’s dairy industry. His innovative approach produced an amazing success story in the form of the cooperative movement. This great son of India deserves the nation’s highest civilian honour.

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