What is Bharat Ratna Award?
Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award given by the Government of India for exceptional service to the arts, literature, science, politicians, thinkers, scientists, industrialists, writers and philanthropists and in recognition of high civil service.
When was the Bharat Ratna Award instituted?
The country's highest civilian award 'Bharat Ratna' was instituted by the then Indian President Shri Rajendra Prasad on 02 January 1954. This decoration is awarded to those persons who have done important work in any field of the country, by doing excellent work in their respective fields, brought pride to our country and our country got international recognition. The first Bharat Ratna was awarded to the country's second President Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in 1954. So far 53 personalities from different fields have been honored with Bharat Ratna.
Brief information about Bharat Ratna Award:
| Category of award | Civil honor |
| Establishment year | 1954 |
| Prize money | - |
| First winner | Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Chandrasekhar Venkataraman, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (1954) |
| last winner of the award | Karpoori Thakur, LK Advani, PV Narasimha Rao, Charan Singh, MS Swaminathan (2024) |
| Description | Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian honor of India |
Important facts related to Bharat Ratna Award:
- Bharat Ratna is given by the President of India on 26 January.
- The first award was given to the famous scientist Chandrasekhar Venkataraman.
- Since then this award has been presented to many eminent persons for achieving excellence in their respective fields.
- The award was discontinued in 1977 by the Janata Party, but was reintroduced by the Congress government in 1980.
- When the Bharat Ratna Award was reintroduced in 1980, it was first received by Mother Teresa.
- Our former President, Scientist Dr. A. P.J. Abdul Kalam was also given this prestigious award in 1997.
- There is no written provision that 'Bharat Ratna' will be given only to Indian citizens.
- This award was given to a natural Indian citizen 'Agnes Gonkha Bozakhiyu', who we know as Mother Teresa.
- Two other non-Indians - Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan were given the award in 1987 and Nelson Mandela in 1990. It is also not mandatory that Bharat Ratna award will be given every year.
- Bharat Ratna can be given to a maximum of three persons in a year.
- For the first time Lal Bahadur Shastri was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously.
- Shri Satyapal Anand challenged the process of posthumously awarding Bharat Ratna to Rajiv Gandhi in the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
List of Bharat Ratna Awardees since 1954 till date:
| Year | Names of winners | Life span and important facts |
| 1954 | Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | (September 05, 1888-April 17, 1975) |
| 1954 | Chakravarti Rajagopalachari | (December 10, 1878-December 25, 1972) |
| 1954 | Dr. Chandrasekhara Venkataraman | (07 November, 1888-21 November, 1970) |
| 1955 | Dr Bhagwan Das | (January 12, 1869 -September 18, 1958) |
| 1955 | Sir Dr. Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya | (September 15, 1860-April 12, 1962) |
| 1955 | Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru | (14 November, 1889-27 May, 1964) |
| 1957 | Govind Vallabh Pant | (September 10, 1887-March 07, 1961) |
| 1958 | Dr Dhondo Keshav Karve | (April 18, 1858-November 09, 1962) |
| 1961 | Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy | (July 01, 1882-July 01, 1962) |
| 1961 | Purushottam Das Tandon | (August 01, 1882-July 01, 1962) |
| 1962 | Dr Rajendra Prasad | (December 03, 1884-February 28, 1963) |
| 1963 | Dr. Zakir Hussain | (February 08, 1897-May 03, 1969) |
| 1963 | Dr. Panduranga Vaman Kane | (07 May 1880-08 May 1972) |
| 1966 | Lal Bahadur Shastri (Posthumously) | (October 02, 1904-January 11, 1966), after death |
| 1971 | Indira Gandhi | (19 November, 1917-31 October, 1984) |
| 1975 | Varahagiri Venkata Giri | (August 10, 1894-June 23, 1980) |
| 1976 | K. Kamaraj (Posthumously) | (July 15, 1903–1975) |
| 1980 | Mother Teresa | (August 27, 1910-September 05, 1997) |
| 1983 | Acharya Vinoba Bhave (Posthumously) | (September 11, 1895–November 15, 1982), posthumously |
| 1987 | Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan | (06 February 1890 -20 January, 1988), first non-Indian |
| 1988 | Dr. M.G. Ramachandran (Posthumously) | (January 17, 1917–December 24, 1987), after death |
| 1990 | Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar (Posthumously) | (April 14, 1891-December 06, 1956), after death |
| 1990 | Nelson Mandela | (July 18, 1918-December 05, 2013), other non-Indians |
| 1991 | Rajiv Gandhi (Posthumously) | (August 20, 1944–May 21, 1991) |
| 1991 | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (Posthumously) | (October 31, 1875–December 15, 1950), after death |
| 1991 | Morarji Desai | (February 29, 1896–April 10, 1995) |
| 1992 | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (Posthumously) | (November 11, 1888–February 22, 1958) |
| 1992 | J. R. D. Tata | (July 29, 1904-November 29, 1993) |
| 1992 | Satyajit Ray | (May 02, 1921-April 23, 1992) |
| 1997 | A. P. J Abdul Kalam | (15 October, 1931-27 July, 2015) |
| 1997 | Gulzari Lal Nanda | (July 04, 1898-January 15, 1998) |
| 1997 | Aruna Asaf Ali (Posthumously) | (July 16, 1909 -July 29, 1996) |
| 1998 | M. S. Subbulakshmi | (September 16, 1916-December 11, 2004) |
| 1998 | C. Subramaniam | (January 30, 1910-November 07, 2000) |
| 1998 | Jayaprakash Narayan (Posthumously) | (October 11, 1902–October 08, 1979), after death |
| 1999 | Pandit Ravi Shankar | (April 07, 1920-December 12, 2012) |
| 1999 | Amartya Sen | (03 November 1933-present) |
| 1999 | Gopinath Bordoloi | (1890–1950), posthumously |
| 2001 | Lata Mangeshkar | (September 28, 1929) |
| 2001 | Ustad Bismillah Khan | (March 21, 1916-August 21, 2006) |
| 2008 | Pandit Bhimsen Joshi | (04 February, 1922 -05 January, 2011) |
| 2014 | C.N.R. Rao | (June 30, 1934-present) |
| 2014 | Sachin Tendulkar | (April 24, 1973-present) |
| 2015 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | (December 25, 1924-August 16 2018) |
| 2015 | Madan Mohan Malaviya (Posthumously) | (December 25, 1861- November 12, 1946, after death) |
| 2019 | Pranab Mukherjee | (11 December 1935) |
| 2019 | Bhupen Hazarika (Posthumously) | (September 8, 1926-November 5, 2011 posthumously) |
| 2019 | Nanaji Deshmukh (Posthumously) | (October 11, 1916 – February 27, 2010 after death) |
| 2024 | Karpuri Thakur (Posthumously) | (January 24, 1924 – February 17, 1988) |
| 2024 | Lal Krishna Advani | (November 8, 1927 - Present) |
| 2024 | PV Narasimha Rao | (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) |
| 2024 | Charan Singh | (23 December 1902 – 29 May 1987) |
| 2024 | MS Swaminathan | (7 August 1925 – 28 September 2023) |
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Bharat Ratna Award FAQs:
Satyajit Rai is the first filmmaker to be awarded the Bharat Ratna Award. This award was given to him in 1992.
In 1992, Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhai Tata (JRD Tata) was awarded the country's highest civilian honor "Bharat Ratna" by the Government of India. He got this award because of his selfless humanitarian efforts.
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1992. But his death raised concerns about the posthumous reference to the award, which led the Indian government to withdraw the award.
Sachin Tendulkar is the first sportsperson and the youngest person to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. Also, he is the first cricketer to be honored with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
In 1997, former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was honored with India's prestigious award Bharat Ratna. His full name was Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam. Apart from this, he is also called by the name of Missile Man and President of the people.