New Delhi : Noted historian Ramachandra Guha on Wedneday criticised the choice of Madan Mohan Malaviya for Bharat Ratna posthumously, saying it was “indefensible” and there were “far greater Indians” eligible for the highest honour than the late freedom fighter and Hindu Mahasabha leader.
Guha, however, said giving former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee a Bharat Ratna was “fine”.
“Giving Vajpayee a Bharat Ratna is fine but one should not award it to people dead or long dead. Awarding Malaviya is a mistake..,” he tweeted.
In a series of tweets, Guha said: “If Malaviya, why not give Tagore, Phule, Tilak, Gokhale, Vivekananda, Akbar, Shivaji, Guru Nanak, Kabir, Ashoka, Bharat Ratnas too?”
“The more I think of it, the more the award of the Bharat Ratna to MM Malaviya strikes me as parochial and indefensible….,” he said.
