Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the country (India) that was instituted in the year 1954.
It awarded in exceptional public service or performance of the highest order in any field of human activities like the field of art, literature, and science.
Any person in any occupation, position or sex is eligible for this award.
The Prime Minister of India himself made the recommendations for Bharat Ratna to the President of India.
The Bharat Ratna Award first awarded to politician C. Rajagopalachari, philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and scientist C. V. Raman, 3 persons in 1954.
Till now there are 48 person individuals, including 16 who were awarded posthumously this Award.
The youngest Bharat Ratna recipient was cricketer Sachin Tendulkar at age 40 years, who received this award in 2014.
Bharat Ratna Award:
- In a particular year maximum of three awards are given.
- On conferment of the award, the recipient receives a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a medal.
- The Award does not carry any monetary grant.
- In terms of Article 18 (1) of the Constitution, the award cannot be used as a prefix or suffix to the recipient’s name.
Bharat Ratna Medal:
- The medal/seal is in the form of a peepal leaf, about 5.8 cm long, 4.7 cm wide and 3.1 mm thick.
- It was made by bronze. On its middle embossed the sun of 1 .6 cm in diameter, below this the words Bharat Ratna are written in Devanagari script.
- On the reverse of the medal state emblem is present and motto written in the Devanagari script.
- The emblem, the sun, and rim are of platinum.
- The inscriptions are in burnished bronze.
Bharat Ratna Award Winners :
| Year | Name of Person | Place | Field |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | C.Rajagopalachari | Tamil Nadu | Independence activist |
| 1954 | Dr.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | Andhra Pradesh | Philosopher, India”s 1st Vice President (1952-62), and India”s 2nd President(196267) |
| 1954 | C. V. Raman | Tamil Nadu | Physicist |
| 1955 | Bhagwan Das | Uttar Pradesh | Independence activist, philosopher |
| 1955 | Mokshagundam
Visvesvaraya |
Karnataka | Civil engineer and Diwan of Mysore (1912–18) |
| 1955 | Jawaharlal Nehru | Uttar Pradesh | Independence activist, author & 1st Prime Minister. |
| 1957 | Govind Ballabh Pant | Uttar Pradesh | Independence activist |
| 1958 | Dhondo Keshav Karve | Maharashtra | Social reformer |
| 1961 | Bidhan Chandra Roy | West Bengal | A physician, political leader |
| 1961 | Purushottam Das Tandon | Uttar Pradesh | Independence activist, educator |
| 1962 | Rajendra Prasad | Bihar | Independence activist, lawyer& first President |
| 1963 | Pandurang Vaman Kane | Maharashtra | Indologist and Sanskrit scholar |
|
1963 |
Zakir Hussain |
Andhra Pradesh | Independence activist, Scholar, third President |
|
1966 |
Lal Bahadur Shastri |
Uttar Pradesh |
Posthumous, independence activist, second Prime Minister |
|
1971 |
Indira Gandhi |
Uttar Pradesh | The First Woman Prime Minister of India |
| 1975 | V. V. Giri (1975) | Odisha | Trade unionist |
| 1976 | K. Kamaraj (Posthumous) | Tamil Nadu | Independence activist |
|
1980 |
Mother Teresa |
West Bengal/Albania | Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata |
| 1983 | Vinoba Bhave (Posthumous) |
Maharastra |
social reformer, independence activist |
| 1987 | Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan | Pakistan | First noncitizen, independence activist |
| 1988 | M. G. Ramachandran | Tamil Nadu | Posthumous, film actor, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu |
|
1990 |
Nelson Mandela |
South Africa |
Second non-citizen and non-Indian recipient. |
|
1990 |
B. R. Ambedkar (Posthumous) |
Madhya Pradesh |
The chief architect of the Indian Constitution, Social Reformer, politician, economist, and scholar |
| 1991 | Morarji Desai | Gujarat | Independence activist |
| 1991 | Vallabhbhai Patel (Posthumous) | Gujarat | independence activist, first Home Minister. |
| 1991 | Rajiv Gandhi (Posthumous) | Uttar Pradesh | Sixth Prime Minister. |
| 1992 | Satyajit Ray | West Bengal | Bengali Filmmaker |
| 1992 | J. R. D. Tata | Maharashtra | Industrialist and philanthropist |
|
1992 |
Abul Kalam Azad (Posthumous) |
West Bengal |
Independence activist, first Minister of Education |
| 1997 | Aruna Asaf Ali | West Bengal | Posthumous, independence activist |
|
1997 |
Gulzarilal Nanda |
Punjab |
Independence activist, interim Prime Minister |
| 1997 |
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam |
Tamil Nadu | Aeronautical Engineer, 11th President of India |
|
1998 |
Jayaprakash Narayan |
Bihar | Posthumous, independence activist and politician |
| 1998 | Chidambaram Subramaniam | Tamil Nadu | Independence activist, Minister of Agriculture |
| 1998 | M. S. Subbulakshmi | Tamil Nadu | Carnatic classical singer |
| 1999 | Gopinath Bordoloi
(Posthumous) |
Assam | Independence activist |
| 1999 | Amartya Sen | West Bengal | Economist |
| 1999 | Ravi Shankar | West Bengal | Sitar player from Calcutta |
| 2001 | Bismillah Khan | Bihar | Hindustani classical shehnai player |
| 2001 | Lata Mangeshkar | Maharashtra | Playback singer |
| 2009 | Bhimsen Joshi | Karnataka | Hindustani classical singer |
| 2014 | Sachin Tendulkar | Maharashtra | Cricketer |
| 2014 | C. N. R. Rao | Karnataka | Scientist |
| 2015 | Madan Mohan Malaviya (Posthumous) | Uttar Pradesh | Scholar and educational reformer and founder of Banaras Hindu University. |
| 2015 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Madhya Pradesh | Exprime Minister and one of the best parliamentarians for over four decades. |
| 2019 | Pranab Mukherjee | West Bengal | Indian politician |
| 2019 | Bhupen Hazarika
(Posthumous) |
Assam | Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet and filmmaker |
| 2019 | Nanaji Deshmukh
(Posthumous) |
Maharashtra | Social activist |
Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award in India that was instituted in the year 1954.Maximum 3 people awarded at once in one year.
FAQ
What is Bharat Ratna prize money?
There was no prize money given in the Bharat Ratna award.
Who was the first woman to receive Bharat Ratna?
Indira Gandhi was the first woman to receive the Bharat Ratna award in 1971. She was also the first woman Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977.
Who was the youngest person to receive Bharat Ratna?
Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's youngest person to receive Bharat Ratna at age 40 years in 2014.
Which famous singer is awarded Bharat Ratna in 2019?
Bhupen Hazarika was the famous singer is awarded Bharat Ratna in 2019.
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