Arise Sir Sachin: UK rules allow knighthood for Tendulkar

LONDON: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's recent statement on honouring cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar hit headlines in India but raised a minor furore here as he was criticised for being less than knowledgeable about Britain's honours system.

Brown said during his recent visit to New Delhi that he would like to open up the honours syetm so that foreign sportsmen could receive honorary awards. In fact, the rules already allow foreign sportsmen to be so honoured, and many sportspersons such as Don Bradman, Gary Sobers and Richard Hadlee have been knighted.

According to the rules laid down in the 2004 'Review of the Honours System' by Sir Hayden Philips, foreign nationals, including sportspersons, can be considered for honorary awards on recommendation by a committee of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

This applies to Commonwealth countries whose head of state continues to be the British Queen (such as Australia, Canada) and those where the Queen does not have a similar role (such as India).

The rules state:

-- "Nationals of Commonwealth countries of which the Sovereign is Head of State receive substantive awards but advance clearance is sought from the government of that country.

--"Nationals of Commonwealth countries of which the Sovereign is not Head of State may be considered for honorary awards.

-- Nationals of non-Commonwealth countries may also be considered for honorary awards".

Some of the recent recipients of honorary knighthoods have been former New York mayor Rudy Guliani, Microsoft owner Bill Gates and the singer Bono. Foreign cricketers who have been so honoured are Viv Richards (1999), Richard Hadlee (1990), Gary Sobers (1975) and football legend Pele.

Brown's reportedly said in Delhi on 20 January, "I propose honorary awards so the British nation can salute their achievements in one of our national sports. Obviously it is a matter for the honours committee, but I hope they will consider it'.

However, it has been pointed out here that there was no need for a fresh 'proposal' to honour Tendulkar and other foreign sportspersons, since the rules already allow them to be so honoured.

Sayeeda Warsi, shadow minister for Community Cohesion said, "We all know of foreign sportsmen who have received honours, such as Sir Viv Richards, Franky Dettori MBE and Pele KBE.

"This sort of announcement by the Prime Minister is completely disingenuous and will simply further people's impression that he is not capable of being straight with the public. As Prime Minister, Gordon Brown should be focussing his attention of the pressing issues of the day, and not making insincere announcements in an effort to grab headlines."

The British media quoted Brown as saying in Delhi: "It used to be the case that great cricketers from the Commonwealth would be recognised by the British nation through our honours system - we think of Sir Donald Bradman or Sir Garfield Sobers.

"That was, of course, a function of Empire and it has fallen into disrepair now that most Commonwealth countries have opted out of the honours system and have their own honours.

"But I believe it was a good tradition to celebrate the achievements of great Commonwealth cricketers - it shows we are a nation of good sports. Personally, I would like to see some of the great players of our era receive honorary awards so that the British nation can salute their achievements in one of our national sports. Obviously, these are issues for the independent honours committee, but I hope they will consider it."

Apart from Tendulkar, other cricketers mentioned in the British media after Brown's Delhi statement include Sunil Gavaskar, Imran Khan, Courtney Walsh, Shaun Pollock and Steve Waugh. It also opens up the possibility of foreign football managers such as Arsene Wenger being given British titles.