Athletics
Bharat Ratna for Milkha Singh — Fans demand on Twitter
As the nation comes to terms with the loss it has incurred overnight, Milkha Singh's fans are out on Twitter demanding the Bharat Ratna be awarded to him posthumously.
Milkha Singh
The legendary sprinter and one of India's first superstars in sports, Milkha Singh, passed away on Friday night due to covid-19 related complications. This development has left the Indian sports fans, who looked up to him as an inspiration in their lives, completely shattered.
As the nation comes to terms with the loss it has incurred overnight, Milkha Singh's fans are out on Twitter demanding the Bharat Ratna – the country's highest civilian honour, be awarded to him posthumously.
A four-time Asian Champion, Milkha Singh was awarded the Padma Shri – India's fourth-highest civilian honour, in the year 1959 after his splendid show at the 1958 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
Later in his life, in the year 2001, Milkha Singh was also nominated for the Arjuna Award – something which he outrightly rejected.
"I am against this award itself and the way it is awarded. Even the Prime Minister's Office makes a recommendation of names. It is of no use giving such awards to such persons who might produce one freak performance during their lifetime," Singh had said then.
While his fans expected that Milkha Singh would surely be awarded with the Bharat Ratna sometime in the future for his achievement in athletics, it never materialised. Now, after his death at the age of 91 years, sports fans from across the country have joined hands on Twitter to demand Bharat Ratna for Milkha Singh.
