Khan said he has written to the President and Home Minister that time has come to support young musicians below the age of 40 to foster classical music in India.
"When we recognise young sports persons when they are 30 why we fail to recognise young musicians and wait till they reach 80 to bestow on them Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi awards? It's the duty of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) to foster young talents and support them rather than sending older people on foreign tours," he told PTI in an interview.
Khan, 67, said that the least the government can do is to support young musicians much like the way sportspersons are encouraged in the form of awards such as the Arjuna Award.
"We see that the government recently honoured a musician who was 105 and why wait until the musicians can't walk to the podium and can't hear what has been said about him or her on the stage? Why give awards in death beds?" he asked.
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Khan argued that artists should be encouraged when they are young and not when they have retired.
Although there is no age for art or music there is age limit for artists and musicians, he said.
Calling for recognition of young Indian artists, Khan said India is young and vibrant and has world's fastest growing young population but not much has been done to support young artists.
In a special performance, Khan and his sons Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan enthralled the audience at the United Nations with a half-hour long recital of tunes such as 'Vaishnav Jan to' and 'Raghupati Raghav Rajaram' on 'International Day of Non-Violence' last week.