Sachin Tendulkar appointed as MP to Rajya Sabha

Indian cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar has been rewarded for his unparalleled contribution to Indian cricket by being appointed to the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of the Indian Parliament.{{more}} Tendulkar, who recently achieved the phenomenal feat of scoring 100 international centuries, in all forms of the game, has almost God-like status in India, with adoring fans seen to display banners saying, “In India, cricket is religion and Sachin is God”.

Widely renowned for his humility, despite fame and fortune, (he is estimated to be worth in the region of US$115 million), the 39-year-old superstar continues to play and enjoy cricket, even though not with the same level of success as in his heyday.

His appointment to parliament was made on the recommendation of the ruling Congress Party, but had all-party support. Though there has been broad national support, differences of opinion on the matter have been aired by former colleagues and journalists. Some, like former Test players Dilip Vengsarkar, welcomed the appointment as setting “a good precedent”, while another ex-cricketer Kirti Azad, himself an elected member of Parliament, has expressed the view that Tendulkar “can do the job”.

However, noted commentator Harsha Bogle and another former test player, Sanjay Manjrekar, have expressed reservations. Bogle is reported as saying, “If it is an honour, I’m all for it….If it is an attempt at improving governance in India, he doesn’t have the experience.” Manjrekar, who also does commentary now, but played 37 Tests and 74 ODIs for India, says he was “shocked” to hear of Tendulkar’s appointment, and claims that Tendulkar is “not suited for this kind of role.”

He said he wondered how Tendulkar would be able to balance his commitments.

Tendulkar’s appointment was made under a constitutional provision, whereby 12 seats are reserved in the Indian Upper House for persons “..having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social services”. He is the first Indian sportsman to be so rewarded, though the famed musician Ravi Shankar has been similarly rewarded.

The famed cricketer joins an expanding list of sports persons who have ended up in politics. At least two other former Indian cricketers, Kirti Azad and the outspoken Sikh, Navjot Singh Sidhu, won seats in the Lower House of Parliament, the Lok Sabha. World champion boxer Manny Pacquiao of the Phillipines, regarded as one of the two best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, is an elected MP in his country. Chairman of the London Organizing Committee for this year’s Olympic Games, Sebastian Coe is a life peer in the British House of Lords.

Not all sports persons who have dabbled in politics have been so successful. Pakistan’s World Cup-winning captain of 1992, Imran Khan, remains in the political wilderness 16 years after launching his own party in 1996. Famed footballer George Weah, voted African, European and World footballer of the Year 1995, failed in his bid for the Liberian Presidency in 2005 and world chess master Gary Kasparov could make no headway in his bid to remove Russian president Valeri Putin.

In SVG, former cricketer Calder Williams had mixed fortunes, elected to Parliament and catapulted to Opposition Leader in 1979, only to lose his way, and seat, in the rough-and-tumble of local politics!