Should 'Bharat Ratna' Sachin Tendulkar say no to commercial ads?

Just hours after Sachin Tendulkar brought the curtains down on a 24-year international career, the Prime Minister’s Office announced he would become the first sportsperson to be conferred the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award. “Sachin Tendulkar is undoubtedly an outstanding cricketer - a living legend who has inspired millions across the globe,” the PMO release had said. “During the last 24 years, since the young age of 16 years, Tendulkar has played cricket across the world and won laurels for our country. He has been a true ambassador of India in the world of sports. His achievements in cricket are unparalleled, the records set by him unmatched, and the spirit of sportsmanship displayed by him exemplary. That he has been honoured with several awards is testimony to his extraordinary brilliance as a sportsman.” [caption id=“attachment_1257865” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File picture of Sachin Tendulkar. Reuters[/caption] But the sight of Sachin Tendulkar – on our TV screens doing commercial ads, day after day even after getting the award – has raised more than a few eyebrows. The Public Concern for Governance Trust , an NGO based in Mumbai, has written to the former cricketer asking him to reconsider promoting commercial products on television. The letter to Tendulkar is signed by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Julio Rebeiro. In the past, World Sport Group (India), the company that manages Tendulkar’s commercial interests, has said that he will honour all contracts, which run until 2014. But they haven’t exactly laid out his future plans. At the moment, Tendulkar endorses more than 10 brands – from Aviva Life Insurance to Luminous, an inverter maker and realtor Amit Enterprises. Officially, a Bharat Ratna recipient is not barred from marketing/advertising. The rulebook states that “the honour does not confer any pre- or postnominal titles or letters; recipients are constitutionally prohibited from using the award name as a title or post-nominal”. But many at the PCGT felt that by appearing in ads and attempting to sell products, Tendulkar was demeaning the award itself – you don’t want a Bharat Ratna selling you stuff on TV or anywhere else. If he accepts the PCGT’s suggestion, the free time he gains could also perhaps allow Tendulkar to use his MPLAD fund better. In his first two years as a member of the Rajya Sabha, he had access to Rs 10 crore under the MP Local Area Development Fund but he suggested no projects for suburban Mumbai and the funds lapsed. In the same period, he did find time to appear in plenty of ads. Tendulkar has yet to reply to the letter, which was sent a couple of days back. But PCGT hopes that he decides on at least a future course of action; one that includes no ads. The full text of the letter is reproduced below: Dear Sachin, The Trustees of the Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT) greatly appreciate your contributions to cricket. Your hard work, self discipline and team spirit have made you achieve the highest in world cricket and you truly are an icon for the youth. We were happy to see that government of Maharashtra has decided to include your life sketch in the text books and thus you will continue to inspire the youth. I hope you will take the following in the spirit it is written. The Trustees at the weekly meetings, after appreciating your achievements, have expressed their discomfort with a ‘Bharat Ratna’ awardee promoting commercial products on television. Incidentally, this discomfort is prevalent in many sections of Mumbai society. We will appreciate if you re-consider such commercial endorsements and instead, utilize your iconic stature and nation-wide popularity to endorse social messages that will inculcate ethical and civic values among the citizens in general and the youth in particular. If you propagate such changes in our common habits and mind-set you will revolutionize the very ethos of this country’s people and lead us to modernity. With regards, Yours sincerely, JULIO RIBEIRO