Home Minister P Chidambaram has backed the demand to include sports in the criteria for award of Bharat Ratna. This would make it possible for Sachin Tendulkar to receive the award.
The home ministry has conveyed its recommendation to the Prime Minister's Office. The home ministry is the administrative ministry for the coveted award that is conferred on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. It is awarded for exceptional service towards advancement of Art, Literature and Science, and in recognition of public service of the highest order.
Maken's communication to the home ministry to seek inclusion of sports came in the backdrop of a clamour for bestowing Tendulkar with the coveted award following India's World Cup triumph.
Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi - who died earlier this year - is the last person to have been conferred the Bharat Ratna in 2009. It has been bestowed on 40 other personalities, 11 of them posthumously.