Bharat Ratna

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Bharat Ratna
Award Information
Type Civilian
Category National
Instituted 1954
Last Awarded 2009
Total Awarded 41
Awarded by Government oI India
Description
An image oI the Sun along with the words "Bharat Ratna", inscribed inDevanagari script, on
a peepul leaI
First Awardee(s) Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Last Awardee(s) Bhimsen Joshi
Award Rank
None Bharat Ratna Padma Vibhushan
Bharat Ratna (Hindi: , translates to Jewel of India
[1]
or Gem of India
[2]
in English) is ndia's highestcivilian award, awarded for
the highest degrees of national service. This service includes artistic, literary, and scientific achievements, as well as "recognition of
public service of the highest order."
[3]
Unlike knights, holders of the Bharat Ratna carry no special title nor any other honorifics, but
they do have a place in the ndian order of precedence.
The award was established by the first President of ndia, Rajendra Prasad, on 2 January 1954.
[4]
Along with other major national
honours, such as the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, the awarding of the Bharat Ratna was suspended from 13
July 1977 to 26 January 1980.
The honour has been awarded to forty one people, a list which includes two non-ndians and a naturalised ndian citizen. Originally,
the specifications for the award called for a circular gold medal carrying the state emblem and motto, among other things. t is
uncertain if a design in accordance with the original specifications was ever made. The actual award is designed in the shape of
a peepul leaf and carries with the words "Bharat Ratna", inscribed in Devanagari script. The reverse side of the medal carries the
state emblem and motto. The award is attached to a two-inch wide ribbon, and was designed to be worn around the recipient's neck.
Contents
|hide|
1 History
2 Controversies
2.1 Award to Subhas Chandra Bose
2.2 Award to Abul Kalam Azad
3 SpeciIications
4 Living recipients
4.1 Indian recipients
4.2 Foreign recipients
5 Complete list oI recipients
6 ReIerences
7 External links
[edit]History
The order was established by Rajendra Prasad, President of ndia, on 2 January 1954. The original statutes of January 1954 did not
make allowance for posthumous awards (and this perhaps explains why the decoration was never awarded to Mahatma Gandhi),
though this provision was added in the January 1955 statute. Subsequently, there have been twelve posthumous awards, including
the award to Subhash Chandra Bose in 1992, which was later withdrawn due to a legal technicality, the only case of an award being
withdrawn. The award was briefly suspended from 13 July 1977 to 26 January 1980.
The Bharta Ratna Citation, the certificate conferred to Late M. G. Ramachandran
While there was no formal provision that recipients of the Bharat Ratna should be ndian citizens, this seems to have been the general
assumption. There has been one award to a naturalised ndian citizen, Mother Teresa (1980), and two to non-ndians, Khan Abdul
Ghaffar Khan (1987) and Nelson Mandela (1990). The awarding of this honour though, has frequently been the subject of litigation
questioning the constitutional basis of such.
[edit]Controversies
[edit]Award to Subhas Chandra Bose
ndian freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1992. The award was later
withdrawn due to a legal technicality. This is the only case of an award being withdrawn. t was withdrawn in response to a Supreme
Court of ndia directive following a Public nterest Litigation filed in the Court against theposthumous nature of the award. The Award
Committee could not give conclusive evidence of Bose's death and thus it invalidated the posthumous award.
[edit]Award to AbuI KaIam Azad
When the award was offered to freedom fighter and ndia's first Minister of Education, Abul Kalam Azad, he promptly declined it
saying that it should not be given to those who have been on the selection committee. Later he was awarded posthumously in 1992.
[5]
[edit]Specifications
The original specifications for the award called for a circular gold medal, 35 mm in diameter, with the sun and the Hindi legend "Bharat
Ratna" above and a floral wreath below. The reverse was to carry the state emblem and motto. t was to be worn around the neck
from a white ribbon. There is no indication that any specimens of this design were ever produced and one year later the design was
altered.
[edit]Living recipients
[edit]Indian recipients
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1997)
Ravi Shankar (1999)
Amartya Sen (1999)
Lata Mangeshkar (2001)
Bhimsen Joshi (2008)
[edit]Foreign recipients
Nelson Mandela (1990)
[edit]Complete list of recipients
S.No Name
Birth /
death
Awarded Notes
1. C. Rajagopalachari 18781972 1954 Independence activist, last Governor-General
2. C. V. Raman 18881970 1954 Physicist
3. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 18881975 1954 Philosopher, second President
4. Bhagwan Das 18691958 1955 Independence activist, author
5.
Mokshagundam
Visvesvarayya
18611962 1955 Civil engineer, Diwan oI Mysore
6. Jawaharlal Nehru 18891964 1955 Independence activist, author, Iirst Prime Minister
7. Govind Ballabh Pant 18871961 1957
Independence activist, ChieI Minister oI Uttar Pradesh, Home
Minister
8. Dhondo Keshav Karve 18581962 1958 Educator, social reIormer
9. Bidhan Chandra Roy 18821962 1961 Physician, ChieI Minister oI West Bengal
10. Purushottam Das Tandon 18821962 1961 Independence activist, educator
11. Rajendra Prasad 18841963 1962 Independence activist, jurist, Iirst President
12. Zakir Hussain 18971969 1963 Scholar, third President
13. Pandurang Vaman Kane 18801972 1963 Indologist and Sanskrit scholar
14. Lal Bahadur Shastri 19041966 1966 Posthumous, independence activist, third Prime Minister
15. Indira Gandhi 19171984 1971 Fourth Prime Minister
16. V. V. Giri 18941980 1975 Trade unionist and Iourth President
17. K. Kamaraj 19031975 1976 Posthumous, independence activist, ChieI Minister oI Madras State
18. Mother Teresa 19101997 1980 Catholic nun, Iounder oI the Missionaries oI Charity
19. Vinoba Bhave 18951982 1983 Posthumous, social reIormer, independence activist
20.
Khan Abdul GhaIIar
Khan
18901988 1987 First non-citizen, independence activist
21. M. G. Ramachandran 19171987 1988 Posthumous, Iilm actor, ChieI Minister oI Tamil Nadu
22. B. R. Ambedkar 18911956 1990
Posthumous, architect oI the Indian Constitution, politician,
economist, and scholar
23. Nelson Mandela b. 1918 1990
Second non-citizen and Iirst non-Indian recipient, Leader oI the Anti-
Apartheid movement
24. Rajiv Gandhi 19441991 1991 Seventh Prime Minister
25. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel 18751950 1991 Posthumous, independence activist, Iirst Home Minister
26. Morarji Desai 18961995 1991 Independence activist, IiIth Prime Minister
27. Abul Kalam Azad 18881958 1992 Posthumous, independence activist, Iirst Minister oI Education
28. J. R. D. Tata 19041993 1992 Industrialist and philanthropist
29. Satyajit Ray 19221992 1992 Filmmaker
30. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam b. 1931 1997 aeronautical engineer, 11th President
31. Gulzarilal Nanda 18981998 1997 Independence activist, second Prime Minister
32. Aruna AsaI Ali 19081996 1997 Posthumous, independence activist
33. M. S. Subbulakshmi 19162004 1998 Carnatic singer
34.
Chidambaram
Subramaniam
19102000 1998 Independence activist, Minister oI Agriculture
35. Jayaprakash Narayan 19021979 1999 Posthumous, independence activist and politician
36. Ravi Shankar b. 1920 1999 Sitar player
37. Amartya Sen b. 1933 1999 Economist
38. Gopinath Bordoloi 18901950 1999 Posthumous, independence activist, ChieI Minister oI Assam
39. Lata Mangeshkar b. 1929 2001 Playback singer
40. Bismillah Khan 19162006 2001 Hindustani classical shehnai player
41. Bhimsen Joshi b. 1922 2008 Hindustani classical singer