Yoga guru Ramdev urges Government to consider ‘sanyasis’ for Bharat Ratna

New Delhi: Yoga guru Ramdev has appealed the Government that ‘sanyasis’ (seers) should also be considered for the country's highest civilian award – ‘Bharat Ratna’.

He said, ‘‘It is unfortunate that no sanyasi has been chosen for the Bharat Ratna in the past 70 years be it Maharishi Dayananda Saraswati, Swami Vivekananda ji, or late seer Shivakumara Swami ji. I appeal to the government to consider someone from the saint community for the prestigious award next year.''

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According to some media reports, yoga guru Ramdev has appealed to the Central government to consider someone from the saint community for the prestigious award next year.

The remarks from yoga guru came in the wake of demands for conferring the 'Bharat Ratna' on Shivakumara Swami, the iconic Lingayat seer of Karnataka’s Siddaganga Mutt who died recently.

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It is to be mentioned that Shivakumara Swami died on January 21 at the age of 111 years. He was suffering from lung infection. Swami was said to be one of the oldest persons living in India.

Ramdev is not the only person to criticize the BJP government for not pitching Swami's name for the 'Bharat Ratna’, instead Congress has also criticized BJP for this.

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It may be noted that former President Pranab Mukherjee, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leader Nanaji Deshmukh (posthumously) and legendary Assamese singer Bhupen Hazarika (posthumously) are among those who have been chosen for the country's highest civilian award - Bharat Ratna - for their immense contribution in their respective fields and public life.

Who is eligible for ‘Bharat Ratna’?

Instituted in 1954, the ‘Bharat Ratna’ award is conferred ‘in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order’, without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex.

The award was originally limited to achievements in the arts, literature, science, and public services, but the government expanded the criteria to include ‘any field of human endeavor’ in December 2011.