New Delhi, March 27 Maharaja Sanajaoba Leishemba, a BJP MP from Manipur, on Friday demanded that the government confer the Bharat Ratna posthumously on Ratan Thiyam, one of India's most prominent theatre personalities, who passed away recently.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, the MP described Thiyam as a "towering cultural icon" from Manipur whose landmark productions – including Chakravyuha, Andha Yug, and Ritusamharam – brought global recognition to Indian theatre.
"Ratan Thiyam was a multifaceted genius – a playwright, director, painter, and writer – who transformed Indian theatre through a unique blending of traditional Manipuri aesthetics with modern theatrical expression over a career spanning more than five decades," Leishemba said.
Thiyam was the first graduate from the National School of Drama (NSD) from Manipur.
He went on to serve as its director from 1979 to 1989 and as chairman from 2013 to 2017. In 1976, he founded the Chorus Repertory Theatre in Imphal, which grew into a nationally acclaimed centre of experimental and socially conscious theatre.
Among his several honours, Thiyam received the Padma Shri, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship. In 2018, then Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu conferred on him the Legend of India Lifetime Achievement Award.
Urging the government to act, the MP said conferring the Bharat Ratna on Thiyam would be "a fitting tribute to a legendary son of Manipur and one of the greatest cultural ambassadors of India."