Jagjit Singh more than deserves the Bharat Ratna, says wife Chitra

by Subhash K. Jha Ghazal singer Chitra Singh, who is fighting a lone battle to get her husband and late ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh the Bharat Ratna, says he deserves the country’s highest civilian honour. “I think he deserves the Bharat Ratna, no less. The country must give him his due. Manmohan Singh_ji_ released two commemorative stamps on Feb 8 of Jagjit_ji_. That was okay. But what about the recognition that Jagjit Saab deserves?” Chitra asked. [caption id=“attachment_103372” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Jagjit Singh (Courtesy: AFP)[/caption] The ghazal maestro’s widow, herself a renowned ghazal singer, had been persuading Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi for many years to award the Bharat Ratna to her husband. “They gave Jagjit_ji_ the Padma Bhushan in 2003. Eleven years have passed since. Every year we expected him to get the Bharat Ratna,” she said. In 2012, for a function in Delhi on Jagjit Singh’s first death anniversary, Chitra had met Sonia Gandhi to invite her. But she couldn’t help with the Bharat Ratna. “Sonia_ji_ was extremely gracious. I was told I wouldn’t be given more than five to seven minutes. But she spent 40 minutes with me. I raised the subject of the Bharat Ratna for my husband. But it didn’t go any further,” she explained. “I raised the issue with Manmohan Singh_ji_ who was very close to Jagjit_ji_. He too was very gracious. He said he’d try his best. But nothing happened,” she said. Chitra feels Jagjit’s fans should begin an online campaign for him to get a Bharat Ratna. “When I meet his admirers and fans they all say is that he should get the Bharat Ratna. But that’s it. It never goes beyond that. If his fans really feel he should get the Bharat Ratna, then they need to hammer it into the new government.” She feels the new BJP government would do the needful. “Narendra Modi_ji_ had said on Jagjitji’s death that not only had we lost a great musician but Gujarat had lost a friend. My husband had a soft corner for Gujaratis. He had also met Modi_ji_,” she said. Jagjit, known as much for his ghazals and bhajans as for his work in Hindi cinema, had died following a brain haemorrhage. He was 70. IANS