Bharat ratna to ghalib

There was an article recently by Justice Markandey Katju, advocation Bharat ratna for Ghalib in The Hindu and i had sent my below view to the paper which was printed but only a shortened version.

Ghalib contributed greatly to Hindustani culture. Though he is a great philosopher, popular perception did not give him enough credit, but focused more on his views on wine and religion. Ghalib’s views were at least a hundred years in advance of his times. He spoke for a united india rising above the regional differences of Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad etc. He condemned the division of languages as urdu for muslims and hindi for hindus. He exposed hypocrites in the name of religion. Though he believed in unifying spirituality which comes close to Sufism and Advaitavada, he looked down upon rituals. His following couplet gives an idea of his philosophy. ‘Hai parey idraak se apna masjood, qible ko ahl-e-nazar qiblanuma kehte hain’ – The entity I worship is beyond the reach of intellect, for, people with insight perceive of the qibla(mecca) as only a pointer to the worshipped. Speaking of Bharat Ratna, Ghalib never cared for appreciation; he said, ‘na sitaaish ki tamanna, na sile ki parwa; gar nahin hain mere ashar main mani na sahi’ - Neither I care for praise nor for reward, if there is no meaning in my couplets, then so be it. Ghalib said, he was a nightingale of a paradise which was not yet born and hoped that future generations would appreciate the depth of his thought. It’s time we gave the poet his due. Nevertheless, Ghalib would be no lesser a philosopher poet, with or without Bharat Ratna.

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article2732614.ece
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/letters/article2735936.ece