Ruckus over the 'Ratna'

     Every other day I open the newspaper or switch on a news channel one or the other person demanding The Bharatratna for someone who according to that person has given his/her highest contribution for the country. The human emotion that lies behind this is quite understandable. It is obvious for one to feel that the one whom he/she considers a role model not only for his/her own self but for the entire society, whose work is exemplary and who has dedicated a great effort and time of his/her life should be awarded with an honor. I am also ready to concede that most of such demonstrations fall in this category.

     But despite conceding to this emotional side one thing that consistently comes to my mind is that to what extent do we let our personal as well as our social life run by these emotional drives? We boast of being a rational animal' i do not believe in the dichotomy of emotions and rationality but i do believe that each has its own place. While our love,affection for a person makes us proactive to demand something for that person the thing we call 'Honor' our rationality should inform us that we are actually belittling that person.

    All of us are constantly engaged in some kind of work. Marx calls us 'working animal'. There are types of this kind of animals. Each one has a different purpose and a different drive that lies behind this urge to work. We commoners work for our daily bread-butter ( in India butter is still a luxury for many 'commoners' also but we seem to have worked our definition out). There are some who identify their benefit and work ceaselessly to achieve it. There are visionaries who work for some great cause that embraces the good of many. They take many with them and give them a purpose and a sense of comradeship. Those who work for a cause are not bothered by these things and those who aim at applause work their way around properly. I do not intend to make a judgement over which is a better motive to work. That is not my purpose to write this article. Each one is entitled to work by the virtue of being a 'working animal' and to choose the way one wants to by the virtue of being a 'thinking animal'. My concern is how far are we going to be engaged in this hunt for 'honor'? As a society we must rise above these things at some point of time and that point cannot be pushed ahead by us.

     I do not deny the fact that it is our duty as a society to recognize and reward the great efforts made by individuals as well as organizations. This not only encourages those working hands but also inspires other souls to join hands with them. There have been many examples when we failed to recognize and duly reward contributions of legends. But to me that is a shame on us and in no way decreases the value of those contributions. We should be alert and earnest enough to show our gratitude towards such individuals. As a alert society it surely is our duty to raise our voice and make the authority listen and give an authorised recognition (to say so). But if those in charge are deaf enough to ignore these voices why should we be so eager to soar our throats and sour the taste of the achievements of the people whose work admire and respect. Respect should be commanded not demanded. No good work can go unnoticed. Those who fail to notice it are unfortunate and those who are obsessed to attract other's attention to it become pitiable beyond a certain point.
    An award is simply a formal recognition to someone's work. But that is not the ultimate one. Think about all the saints, philosophers and legends who had profound impacts on societies all over the globe. Which awards were they given? What title was conferred upon them? On the contrary many of them were subjected to humiliation and torture. The fact that today even after centuries have gone by we still remember their work is enough of a evidence to the greatness of those personalities and their work. A person is given his/her due recognition when the work done by him/her is carried forward and when the dreams are realized.

     In today's world where media has eyes and ears wide open like a hawk over everything that happens in the society such instances become an issue of mostly unfruitful prime-time debates and achieve no more than a mockery of some valuable contribution. It's high time we realise this and stop making a fool of ourselves. the sooner we realise this the better we maintain the 'honor' of us as also of those whom we admire.