The Central Government made a surprisingly shocking announcement today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially announced that the Rajiv Khel Ratna award is being renamed as the Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award. He said that this decision was taken after the Indian men’s Hockey team won bronze at the Olympics this year and since the women’s hockey team fought very hard.
This decision has been met with mixed responses, with the Congress members saying that the Central government intentionally took this decision to remove Rajiv’s name. They said that this was a political strategy, and said that if that wasn’t the case, then Rajiv’s name should be retained in the award in recognition of his services to the nation, and a new award should be named after Dhyan Chand.
On the other hand, there have been requests for awarding Dhyan Chand with Bharata Ratna for several years now, for his contributions in the field of hockey, given that he’s a world-renowned player. However, these requests haven’t been heard by any government, despite Dhyan Chand’s birthday being celebrated as National Sports Day. Politics or not, Dhyan Chand being recognised for his efforts seems to be a good thing.