Milkha Singh would go down in history as independent India’s unchallenged sporting hero, whose feats inspired millions of our countrymen, making him a living legend. Despite facing acute hardships and a troubled childhood, the ‘Flying Sikh’, as he was fondly called, attained great heights, not achieved by any sportsman during his golden era. He was an icon whose name and fame cut across generations and made him into one of the best-known Indians of all times. The closest examples of anyone from another field who have attained this kind of reputation over a period of time and sustained it, can be perhaps Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammad Rafi.
A modest man with no pretensions, Milkha was a role model for the best-known woman athlete, P.T. Usha, who like him also obtained the fourth position in the Los Angeles Olympics, 24 year after the flying Sikh lost in a photo finish at Rome. On hearing about his demise, P.T. Usha paid her most sincere homage to him, describing him as her idol. In fact, Milkha’s success story is also a tribute to the Indian Army, which supported his efforts, with not too many facilities available at that time. His story was such that a few years ago, Farhan Akhtar decided to make a movie on him and played the lead character of the distinguished athlete.
Milkha Singh was, without any doubt, a Bharat Ratna and successive governments ignored him for the highest civilian honour in his lifetime, though no one from the field of sports deserved it more than him. Sachin Tendulkar has been worshipped like a God by his fans, but before conferring the Bharat Ratna on him, the UPA government should have considered Milkha Singh. Sachin has achieved innumerable records, but if a person from the field of cricket was to be chosen, both Sunil Gavaskar, arguably the best Indian batsman ever, or Kapil Dev, who led India to its first World Cup victory, should have been chosen. This is not to discount Sachin’s contributions but to underline that he would have qualified for the honour in any case at some point, but there were others who could have been also considered.
There are sportspersons who have outclassed themselves despite several limitations. In the field of hockey, Major Dhyan Chand, his brother Roop Singh and K.D. Singh Babu besides Balbir Singh of the Western Railways and former skipper Ajitpal Singh, were all exceptional sportsmen as well; the first three accomplished a lot before India became independent. P.T. Usha, Saina Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu, Sania Mirza, P. Gopichand, Prakash Padukone, Ramanathan Krishnan, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Abhinav Bindra are amongst a galaxy of sportspersons who have brought glory to our land. However, Milkha Singh was the lone ranger, whose name and fame stood out. In fact, there were so many jokes that were coined featuring him, which showed how popular he was.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has announced the setting up of a Milkha Singh Chair at the Patiala Sports Institute, something which should have been done during his lifetime. Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be honouring public sentiments if he bestows the ‘Bharat Ratna’ on this Bharat Ratna. It would be the most deserving award to a person whose determination and hard work made him a part of the legion of superheroes. May his soul rest in peace.