Demand for Bharat Ratna for Tenzing Sherpa makes a return

SANKHA GHOSH, SNS, SILIGURI. 27 MAY 2023 : Ahead of the 70th anniversary of the ascent of Mount Everest, the demand for mountaineer Tenzing Norgay Sherpa to be awarded the Bharat Ratna has come up again.

As a n adventure organization demanded the country's highest civilian honour to be given to Sherpa, the Trinamul Congress ha strained its guns at the Centre for its alleged lackadaisical role in conferring the prestigious award on the mountaineer.

The Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation (HNAF) has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Mamata Banerjee, requesting them to take positive steps, as it says, the same has been an emotive issue in Darjeeling district.

Tenzing Norgay, along with Sir Edmund Hillary, had conquered Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak, for the first time on May 29, 1953.The day is internationally celebrated as Everest Day.

"We have been raising the demand for Bharat Rama for Tenzing Norgay Sherpa posthumously. The icon figure was the first person to climb Mount Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary 70 years ago. We have written to t he Prime Minister, chief minister and Darjeeling MP drawing their attention to the long standing demand. He had been an extraordinary individual of Darjeeling district, whose contribution to India and the world deserves utmost recognition," said secretary of the organization, Dip Narayan Talukdar.

HNAF has been celebrating Everest Day on 29 May in association with the Siliguri Municipal Corporation every year. An annual blood donation camp will be organised to mark the occasion.

"Tenzing Norgay Sherpa ha d received a host of medals and recognition from different countries. He is respected all over the world for his exceptional achievement, but despite several appeals, the highest civilian honour of India couldnot be given to him. On the other hand, in 1987, Sir Eduard Hillary was inducted into the Order of New Zealand, and then in 1995 received the British Commonwealth's highest honour in becoming a Knight of the Garter. He also received honorary doctorates from universities around the world," said HNAF president Sankar Majumder.

The demand for Bharat Ratna for Sherpa is being raised since 2012 after the Centre extended the ambit of the award to "recognise excellence in any field of human endeavour."

Norgay was given the Padma Bhushan in 1959 and a posthumous Padma Vibhushan in 2008, 22 wars after his death. He received a host of medals from Britain, Iran, Nepal, Soviet Union, France and Italy. In 2015, a mountain region in Pluto was named after Tenzing by the International Astronomical Union, a recognised authority that names

celestial bodies and their surface features, after the same was recommended by NASA.

A section of 75th Street in the Wood side neighborhood of Queens, New York, will be co-named 'Tenzing Norgay Sherpa Way' in honor of the mountaineer on 29 May.

Programme coordinator of HNAF Animesh Bose said,  I am still keeping our hopes alive with the thought that Norgay will be conferred with Bharat Ratna."

Meanwhile, the issue has heated up the political scene, with the Trinaniul Congress blaming the BIP-led government at the Centre.

"We have been raising the issue of honouring Tenzing Norgay Sherpa with the Bharat Ratna for a long time, but the Centre is not taking steps. It appears that the Darjeeling MP does not treat it as his responsibility. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also been requesting the same, but nothing has happened. It is unfortunate that the Centre is ignoring the important demand," said senior party leader and Siliguri Mayor Gautam Deb.

A senior TMC leader said that Prime Minister Narendra Mod i and SS Ahluwalia (former Darjeeling MP) had publicly spoken for the Bharat Ratna award for Sherpa during their election campaign in 2014,"but the promise remains unfulfilled."

Mr Bista, on the other hand, said he had already raised the issue in Parliament. "He is an icon for the entire world.

I have demanded in the Lok Sabha that Tenzing Norgay Sherpa should be given the Bharat Rama posthumously. At the same time, I will take all the necessary initiatives to ensure that the award is given," he said.