India’s ruling party politician Subramanian Swamy has proposed giving former President Mahinda Rajapaksa India’s top civilian award.
Swamy tweeted saying Rajapaksa should be given the Bharat Ratna award for dfeating the LTTE.
“…just as we have awarded Bharat Ratna to Mandela for freeing his people we should award MR for freeing his people and Bharatiyas from LTTE terror,” Subramanian Swamy tweeted.
Subramanian Swamy was in Sri Lanka recently where he met Rajapaksa to invite him to attend an event in India.
The Bharat Ratna, which was instituted in 1954 by the government of India, is the country’s highest and most prestigious civilian award and ranks seventh in the order of precedence.
The award is given “in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order”. It is a merit-based award and is presented to the winners without any distinction of position, race, sex, or occupation.
Prior to 2011, the award was only given for achievements in the fields of science, arts, literature, and public services.
However, in December 2011, achievements in “any field of human endeavour” was also included thereby expanding the criteria of the awards. Every year, a maximum of three awards are presented. The Bharat Ratna awards are given by the President of India; however, the recommendations are made by the Prime Minister.
