‘ Bharat Ratna ‘ is the highest civilian award in India. It is given to outstanding personalities who have served the nation through remarkable and exceptional contributions in art, literature, science, social service, and sports. The first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, instituted ‘Bharat Ratna’ on 2 January 1954.
Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, Sir C.V. Raman, and Chakravarti Rajagopalachari were the first recipients of the Bharat Ratna Award in 1954.
The Prime Minister of India recommends names to the President for the award of Bharat Ratna. After which, this honor is given to that person by the President. Under this award, the recipient receives a Sanad (certificate) and a medal, signed by the President. The prize does not carry any monetary grant.
Let us know some important facts related to this highest civilian honor of the country.
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Bharat Ratna Design:
At present, the award is in the shape of a peepal leaf rimmed in platinum. It is approximately 59 mm long, 48 mm wide, and 3.2 mm thick. On the obverse side, the embossed sunburst design, made of platinum, has a diameter of 16 mm with rays spreading out from the center of the Sun. The words “Bharat Ratna” on the obverse side and “Satyameva Jayate” on the reverse side in Devanagari script, and the National Emblem on the reverse side remained the same. A 2-inch-wide white ribbon is attached to the medal so it can be worn around the neck.
List of Recipients of Bharat Ratna (1954-2022):
| S.No. | Name | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | C. Rajagopalachari | 1954 |
| 2. | Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | |
| 3. | Dr. C. V. Raman | |
| 4. | Dr. Bhagwan Das | 1955 |
| 5. | Dr. M. Visvesvaraya | |
| 6. | Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru | |
| 7. | Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant | 1957 |
| 8. | Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve | 1958 |
| 9. | Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy | 1961 |
| 10. | Purushottam Das Tandon | |
| 11. | Dr. Rajendra Prasad | 1962 |
| 12. | Dr. Zakir Husain | 1963 |
| 13. | Dr. Pandurang Vaman Kane | |
| 14. | Lal Bahadur Shastri (Posthumous) | 1966 |
| 15. | Indira Gandhi | 1971 |
| 16. | V. V. Giri | 1975 |
| 17. | K. Kamaraj (Posthumous) | 1976 |
| 18. | Mother Teresa | 1980 |
| 19. | Acharya Vinoba Bhave (Posthumous) | 1983 |
| 20. | Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan | 1987 |
| 21. | M. G. Ramachandran (Posthumous) | 1988 |
| 22. | Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (Posthumous) | 1990 |
| 23. | Dr. Nelson Mandela | |
| 24. | Rajiv Gandhi (Posthumous) | 1991 |
| 25. | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (Posthumous) | |
| 26. | Morarji Desai | |
| 27. | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (Posthumous) | 1992 |
| 28. | J. R. D. Tata | |
| 29. | Satyajit Ray | |
| 30. | Gulzarilal Nanda | 1997 |
| 31. | Aruna Asaf Ali | |
| 32. | Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam | |
| 33. | M. S. Subbulakshmi | 1998 |
| 34. | Chidambaram Subramaniam | |
| 35. | Jayaprakash Narayan (Posthumous) | 1999 |
| 36. | Professor Amartya Sen | |
| 37. | Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi (Posthumous) | |
| 38. | Pandit Ravi Shankar | |
| 39. | Lata Mangeshkar | 2001 |
| 40. | Ustad Bismillah Khan | |
| 41. | Pandit Bhimsen Joshi | 2009 |
| 42. | Professor C. N. R. Rao | 2014 |
| 43. | Sachin Tendulkar | |
| 44. | Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (Posthumous) | 2015 |
| 45. | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | |
| 46. | Pranab Mukherjee | 2019 |
| 47. | Bhupen Hazarika (Posthumous) | |
| 48. | Nanaji Deshmukh (Posthumous) |
Interesting facts about Bharat Ratna:
- Every year, Bharat Ratna is given by the President of India on 26 January.
- Since 1954, 48 great personalities have been given this honour.
- After receiving this award, the winner will be given the protocol by the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Lok Sabha Speaker, Cabinet Minister, Governor, Chief Minister, former President, former Prime Minister, former Chief Minister, Leader of the Opposition in both the Houses of Parliament. After the place. The person receiving the honour is a VIP for the country.
- There was no provision to give this honour posthumously, but it was changed in 1966.
- the Bharat Ratna award doesn’t need to be given every year. It is up to the central government whether to give this honour or not.
- Bharat Ratna can be given to a maximum of 3 persons in a year.
- The award was suspended between 13 July 1977 and 26 January 1980.
- In 2011, the players who achieved exceptional achievement in sports were included in the order of being awarded the Bharat Ratna.
- Indira Gandhi was the first Indian woman to be awarded the Bharat Ratna.
- Sachin Tendulkar was the youngest person to receive Bharat Ratna (age 40). while DK Karve was the oldest person to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, and he got this honour at the age of 100.
- In 1992, the government’s decision to confer Bharat Ratna posthumously on Subhas Chandra Bose met with criticism due to controversy over his death. Following a 1997 Supreme Court decision, the award was cancelled. This was the first and only occasion when the award was announced but withdrawn.
- There is no written provision regarding Bharat Ratna to be given only to Indian citizens.
- In 1987, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, the first person of foreign origin, was awarded the Bharat Ratna. Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa were also awarded the Bharat Ratna.
- The person who receives Bharat Ratna gets VIP status equal to that of a cabinet minister.
- Bharat Ratna recipients are exempted from paying income tax. Also, they can participate in the meetings and sessions of the Parliament.
- They can also participate in Republic and Independence Day programs as special guests.
- They are allowed free travel by plane, train or bus.
- If a person honoured with Bharat Ratna goes to visit any state, he gets a state guest’s status.
- According to Article 18(1) of the Constitution of India, awardees cannot use ‘Bharat Ratna’ as a prefix or suffix to their name. However, they can add ‘Bharat Ratna Awarded by the President’ or ‘Bharat Ratna Awardee’ in their resume, visiting card, letterhead etc.