Bharat Ratna – Story of the Highest Civilian Award of India

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The Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award, was founded in 1954. These prizes are open to all individuals, regardless of race, occupation, position, or gender. It is given in acknowledgment of outstanding service or performance in any sphere of human endeavour. The Prime Minister personally recommends the Bharat Ratna to the President. According to data from the Ministry of Home Affairs, there are no formal recommendations required.

Story of the Bharat Ratna from 1954 to 2024

The number of annual awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year. On conferment of the award, the recipient receives a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a medallion.

The Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award, was founded in 1954. These prizes are open to all individuals, regardless of race, occupation, position, or gender. It is given in acknowledgment of outstanding service or performance in any sphere of human endeavour. The Prime Minister personally recommends the Bharat Ratna to the President. According to data from the Ministry of Home Affairs, there are no formal recommendations required.

The inaugural recipients of the Bharat Ratna were the former Governor-General of the Union of India, C. Rajagopalachari, the former President of the Republic of India, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and Indian physicist C. V. Raman, who were honored in 1954. Since then, the honor has gone to 53 people, 18 of whom received it posthumously.

List of Bharat Ratna Awardee from 1954 to 2024

SL.No.YearNameState / CountryLife span
11954C. RajagopalachariTamil Nadu1878-1972
21954Sarvepalli RadhakrishnanTamil Nadu1888-1975
31954C. V. RamanTamil Nadu1888-1970
41955Bhagwan DasUttar Pradesh1869-1958
51955M. VisvesvarayaKarnataka1861-1962
61955Jawaharlal NehruUttar Pradesh1889-1964
71957Govind Ballabh PantUttar Pradesh1887-1961
81958Dhondo Keshav KarveMaharashtra1858-1962
91961Bidhan Chandra RoyWest Bengal1882-1962
101961Purushottam Das TandonUttar Pradesh1882-1962
111962Rajendra PrasadBihar1884-1963
121963Zakir HusainAndhra Pradesh1897-1969
131963Pandurang Vaman KaneMaharashtra1880-1972
141966Lal Bahadur ShastriUttar Pradesh1904-1966
151971Indira GandhiUttar Pradesh1917-1984
161975V. V. GiriOdisha1894-1980
171976K. KamarajTamil Nadu1903-1975
181980Mother Teresa West Bengal1910-1997
191983Vinoba BhaveMaharashtra1895-1982
201987Abdul Ghaffar KhanPakistan1890-1988
211988M. G. RamachandranTamil Nadu1917-1987
221990B. R. AmbedkarMaharashtra1891-1956
231990Nelson MandelaSouth Africa1918-2013
241991Rajiv GandhiUttar Pradesh1944-1991
251991Vallabhbhai PatelGujarat1875-1950
261991Morarji DesaiGujarat1896-1995
271992Abul Kalam AzadWest Bengal1888-1958
281992J. R. D. TataMaharashtra1904-1993
291992Satyajit RayWest Bengal1922-1992
301997Gulzarilal NandaPunjab1898-1998
311997Aruna Asaf AliWest Bengal1909-1996
321997A. P. J. Abdul KalamTamil Nadu1931-2015
331998M. S. SubbulakshmiTamil Nadu1916-2005
341998C. SubramaniamTamil Nadu1910-2000
351999Jayaprakash NarayanBihar1902-1979
361999Amartya SenWest Bengal1933-
371999Gopinath BordoloiAssam1890-1950
381999Ravi ShankarUttar Pradesh1920-2012
392001Lata MangeshkarMaharashtra1929-2022
402001Bismillah KhanBihar1916-2006
412009Bhimsen JoshiKarnataka1922-2011
422014C. N. R. RaoKarnataka1934-
432014Sachin TendulkarMaharashtra1973-
442015Atal Bihari VajpayeeMadhya Pradesh1924-2018
452015Madan Mohan MalaviyaUttar Pradesh1861-1946
462019Pranab MukherjeeWest Bengal1935-2020
472019Bhupen HazarikaAssam1926-2011
482019Nanaji DeshmukhMaharashtra1916-2010
492024Karpoori ThakurBihar1924-1988
502024L. K. AdvaniDelhi1927-
512024P. V. Narasimha RaoTelangana1921-2004
522024Charan SinghUttar Pradesh1902-1987
532024M. S. SwaminathanTamil Nadu1925-2023

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