Tej Hazarika, son of esteemed Assamese singer-composer Bhupen Hazarika has now accepted to receive the prestigious Bharat Ratna award on behalf of his late father. He has been invited by the Indian government to accept the award. He said that it will be his tremendous honour to receive the country’s highest order civilian award.
“The Government of India has graciously extended me an invitation to accept the Bharat Ratna for my father. He sacrificed much and devoted selflessly to the cause of a united and progressive India and now he is being recognized for that with this well-deserved award,” Tej Hazarika told PTI in New York.
“It will be my dreamlike privilege to receive it for my father and his fans and followers everywhere. As always, I will strive to follow in my father's footsteps to work to bring light where there is darkness,” he added.
Tej Hazarika’s remarks on the Bharat Ratna award on Facebook created controversy earlier this month. He said, “It is unfortunate that (some) people would completely misinterpret my public February 11th statement regarding the Bharat Ratna itself by sadly misrepresenting my view of it.”
During the Citizenship Bill protests in Assam, Tej Hazarika dubbed Bharat Ratna as ‘short-lived cheap thrills’. However, later he accepted to receive the award.
“I have not received any invitation so far there is nothing to reject, and how the Centre moves on this matter far outweighs in importance the awarding and receiving of such national recognition—a display of short-lived cheap thrills,” Tej Hazarika earlier told CNN-News18 in a statement.
