Padma Bhushan – Ask and it Shall be Given!

Saina Nehwal Set to Have Her Way

So Saina Nehwal is having her way, giving credence to the Biblical doctrine, “ask and it shall be given”. At least here the Modi government seems to accept a blind minority belief!

In today’s corporate world it is naive to believe that staff will get their due without selling themselves internally. Since Modi has been aping China and the West in every possible way, why should it not embrace this new-generation tenet as well!

Not surprisingly, the Sports Ministry of India has indicated that Saina would be considered for the Padma Bhushan.

Marketing: If the Padma awards are given to those who ask for it and use the media to market themselves, then those who may have genuinely deserved them but have been overlooked need no longer worry about it.

Because if this is what will happen to India’s prestigious civilian recognition, then the Padma awards will soon be bereft of any shine

Next  year or the year after she (or someone else) will ask for the Padma Vibhushan or the Bharat Ratna and the media (Times Now, for instance) will scream that not giving it to them will be a shame for the country (depending on the individuals’ political affiliation).

And, voila, the government will succumb to the populist pressure and confer the honour on them!

Awards crowning the achievements of individuals without they asking for it is ideal but that seems to have become old-school thinking. Rewards and awards going the way of the deserving is also a thing of the past. Saina is, therefore, being street-smart within the current dynamic. So why fault her!

Smart Saina!: Saina has been consistently having her way the last few years, including the 40-crore, three-year deal she struck with Rhiti Sports Management company in 2012 after an earlier deal with another agency had expired. That made her the highest paid Indian sportsperson beyond the cricketing biggies!

With the ruckus created by Saina over her omission yesterday, I thought even the Padma Shri given to her must be taken back. Known for whinging all the way she wanted the PM to intervene and ensure she gets the Padma Bhushan.

Ridiculous: I find it ridiculous that people should demand awards for themselves.

Let us not forget that her Olympic bronze was a stroke of luck when her Chinese opponent withdrew while leading following an injury.

Recently she even complained that Chinese domination must be checked by limiting participation of its players in tournaments.

Viswanathan Anand won his titles fending off Russian domination with his brilliance, not by ranting about it!

Even Prakash Padukhone, who was the first Indian to win the coveted All-England Open title in 1982 (it was like an Olympic Gold then as the sport was introduced in the Olympics only in 1992, did not go beyond the Padma Shri. Geet Sethi, who had won the world billiards championship a few times, has also had to be content only with the Padma Shri.

Prakash and Geet Sethi were, incidentally, behind the formation of the Olympic Gold Quest, an initiative to promote sports in India and produce Games winners.

Eight-time national badminton champion Syed Modi, who had won several major international titles and a Commonwealth Games gold did not get even a Padma Shri. He was shot dead in 1988 when he was just 27 – a crime that briefly landed his wife Ameeta Kulkarni and her then paramour Sanjay Singh (MP and former minister with enormous political clout) in trouble. They were exonerated soon and the two married thereafter. They are proof that influence, not morals, is all that counts in India.

Saina’s coach until recently, P Gopichand, who emulated Prakash by winning the All-England Open in 2001, was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 2014! Saina, who recently walked away from Gopichand, does seem to have strong motivation for seeking the Padma Bhushan!

G Joslin Vethakumar