Mumbai: Former president Pranab Mukherjee has been awarded the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award, by President Ram Nath Kovind, in a decision which the BJP is likely to hail as a sign of its broad-minded and non-partisan approach to politics. ‘‘One of our own has been honoured,’’ was Rahul Gandhi’s self-congratulatory tweet. Of course, cynics will point out that though Pranab had spent a lifetime in Congress, he was drawn towards the RSS in his autumn years. Also, he was known for his good rapport with PM Modi while in office as President; not to forget his recent bonhomie with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. All these imponderables seem to have worked in his favour.
But Pranab may find he is in strange company – that of the late RSS ideologue Nanaji Deshmukh – who too has been awarded the Bharat Ratna, albeit posthumously. Deshmukh is the second leader from RSS ranks after Atal Bihari Vajpayee to have been honoured thus. A pracharak, to begin with, he was largely responsible for introducing RSS ideology in eastern Uttar Pradesh. Later, a member of the Jan Sangh, he played a key role in the JP movement. He was born on October 11, 1916, in the small town of Kadoli in Parbhani district of Maharashtra. More than 103 years later, Kovind has conferred the highest civilian award on him for his ‘services to the nation’. One such service which may be acknowledged is the setting up of the country’s first rural university in MP.
About Deshmukh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet, “His stellar contribution towards rural development showed the way for a new paradigm of empowering those living in our villages. He personifies humility, compassion and service to the downtrodden. He is a Bharat Ratna in the truest sense!”Modi was more than lavish in his praise of Mukherjee as well and hailed him as an “outstanding statesman of our times”. “He has served the nation selflessly and tirelessly for decades, leaving a strong imprint on the nation’s growth trajectory. His wisdom and intellect have few parallels. Delighted that he has been conferred the Bharat Ratna.” The third Bharat Ratna, awarded to music maestro Bhupen Hazarika, was long overdue and will surely resonate with Assam, if not the entire North East. Though one wonders what Hazarika would have said about the simmering controversy over the Citizenship Act, which has the entire area in its thrall. ‘‘The songs and music of Bhupen Hazarika have been admired over generations. From them radiates the message of justice, harmony and brotherhood,’’ PM said about Hazarika.
