Chennai: Senior Journalist N Ram welcomed the decision of the government to accord Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award for agricultural scientists Prof M S Swaminathan, former prime ministers P V Narasimha Rao and C Charan Singh, on Friday.
N Ram suggested that the government should also consider honouring the likes of Dr Verghese Kurien with Bharat Ratna and all those who are deserving without any omissions.
Swaminathan averted global famine- "I know Prof M S Swaminathan closely. He is a great human being. Whatever he gets as a prize, he will give it away to the foundation. He will never use them. It is his interest and commitment," Ram told ETV Bharat.
He was once an IPS and then he quit to pursue his passion for science gravitated him towards genetics, which he studied in Holland. His contributions to agriculture came at the right moment, according to the senior journalist.
Ram said Swaminathan's research was on how to increase the yield of wheat and rice, which he did in an honest manner and that it received support from former Minister C Subramanian. “I will not agree with some claiming that the Green Revolution was detrimental to food production. Famine would have hit our people,” Ram said.
Swaminathan became a global figure after his contributions helped avert a great famine on a global scale, while he served as the head of the International Rice Institute, Ram said, adding he should have gotten it when he was alive.
Narasimha Rao altered the development course of India - Narasimha Rao is a brilliant intellectual and is better known to me when he was our Foreign Minister, Ram said, adding that Rao will be the highly intellectual Prime Minister easily after Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
Whether or not we subscribe to his ideologies, his tenure as a Prime Minister with Manmohan Singh (in his cabinet as Finance Minister) brought in a monumental change, he said.
"Those changes did help the country take the path of development. There might have been reservations about the changes brought in, but what he has achieved through such changes was huge. It is apt to provide him Bharat Ratna," the senior journalist said.
"The privatisation and liberalisation measures taken earlier have now become beneficial for the people. This is how we should approach it," Ram said, when asked what one should learn from Narasimha Rao's policies regarding privatisation and liberalisation.
"I also look at it critically. Inequality grew due to such actions during that period. But there was growth. We are not talking about whether it is the right path. What he did must be seen as an important achievement," Ram added.
On Narasimha Rao being a polyglot, Ram shared a small anecdote from his personal experience. "I met him when I went to (New) Delhi. I boarded a flight from Chennai and he joined me from Hyderabad. I saw him reading (English translation of a novel) 'Love in the Time of Cholera' written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He told me he got that as a gift from an ambassador. I was amazed when he said he rued how he would have loved it more if it were in Spanish, in which it was originally written. I asked him if he would read Marquez in Spanish. To which, he said that he had attended Spanish language classes while in JNU, so he could read," Ram said.
"I told him to get it in Spanish from America, where I was heading to at that time. As promised, I bought it in Spanish and sent it to him. He acknowledged it later," Ram added, saying that Rao knew 12 or 13 languages. "He had read a lot of literature. He later told me he could not get time after becoming the Prime Minister," Ram said.
As for C Charan Singh, Ram said that it was very apt to award Singh as well. He suggested that one should read the biography of Singh authored by Prof. Paul Brass to know the former PM's contribution to the nation.
"I do not want to enter into a debate as to why the awards are being announced now, at the time of elections," he said.
N Ram also said the choice of the government was good and welcomed the decision to honour all three. "So many others were getting it. I'm not blaming any party. I do not lobby for anyone," he said.
Verghese Kurien should get it too- Yet, I would be happier if this honour is bestowed upon Dr. Verghese Kurien, who is best known as 'Amul' Kurien. If this happens in the next few days, it would show that this government is serious about recognising those who helped build this country, without omitting the deserving, added Ram.
"Who knows (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi may put it out on Twitter (X)," Ram said, in a lighter vein.
He said both Prof. Swaminathan and Kurien are on equal terms. "Even today, the best model for co-operatives is drawn from what Kurien envisaged. He fought against the privatisation of cooperative societies," he said.
Therefore, the contributions of 'Amul' Kurien for it should be recognised, Ram suggested, adding that, "He impacted the lives of millions of people and changed their lives for good."
Making a case, Ram said Kurien led the White Revolution from the front and he is the architect, who helped India become self-sufficient in milk production and the world's largest milk producer.
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