Bharat Ratna 1

Bharat Ratna
Bharat Ratna

Award Information

Type Civilian

Category National

Description An image of the Sun along with the words "Bharat Ratna", inscribed in Devanagari script, on a peepul leaf

Instituted 1954

Last awarded 2014

Total awarded 43

Awarded by Government of India

Ribbon

First awardee(s) Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Sir C.V. Raman, C. Rajagopalachari

Last awardee(s) Sachin Tendulkar, C. N. R. Rao

Award rank

None ← Bharat Ratna → Padma Vibhushan

Bharat Ratna (Jewel of India or Gem of India in English) is the Republic of India's highest civilian award.
Until 2011, the official criteria for awarding the Bharat Ratna stipulated it was to be conferred "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."[1] In December 2011, the Government of India modified the
criteria to allow sportspersons to receive the award; since then, the award may be conferred "for performance of
highest order in any field of human endeavour."[2]
Any person without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex is eligible for the award. The recommendations
for an award of the "Bharat Ratna" are made by the Prime Minister of India to the President of India; a maximum of
three awards may be made in a given year. The holders of the Bharat Ratna rank 7th in the Indian order of
precedence; however, the honour does not carry a monetary grant. The honour does not confer any pre- or
post-nominal titles or letters; recipients are constitutionally prohibited from using the award name as a title or
post-nominal. However, if they desire, recipients may state they are Bharat Ratna awardees in their curriculum vitae,
on letterheads or on business cards.
Bharat Ratna 2

History
The order to establish the award was given by Rajendra Prasad, President of India, on 2 January 1955. 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 1966
statute.[citation needed] Subsequently, there have been twelve posthumous awards, including the award to Netaji
Subhas Chandra Bose in 1992, which was later withdrawn due to a legal technicality, the only case of an award
being withdrawn.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. There is no formal
provision that recipients of the Bharat Ratna should be Indian citizens. Bharat Ratna has been one award to a
naturalised Indian citizen, Mother Teresa (1980), and to two non-Indians, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987) and
Nelson Mandela (1990). The awarding of this honour has frequently been the subject of litigation questioning the
constitutional basis of such.
Sachin Tendulkar is the youngest person alive at the time of receiving the award (at the age of 40). Dhondo Keshav
Karve is the eldest person alive at the time of receiving the award (age 100).

Specifications
The original specifications for the award called for a circular gold medal, 35 mm in diameter, with the sun and the
legend "Bharat Ratna" (in Devanagari) above and a floral wreath below. The reverse was to carry the state emblem
and motto. It 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. The decoration is in the form of a peepal leaf,
about 5.8 cm long, 4.7 cm wide and 3.1 mm thick. It is of toned bronze. On its obverse is embossed a replica of the
sun, 1.6 cm in diameter, below which the words Bharat Ratna are embossed in Devanagari script. On the reverse are
State emblem and the motto, also in Devanagari. The emblem, the sun and the rim are of platinum. The inscriptions
are in burnished bronze.
The award is attached to a 2-inch-wide (51 mm) white ribbon, and is designed to be worn around the recipient's
neck.

List of recipients
Name Image Birth / Awarded Notes
Death

1. C Rajagopalachari 1878–1972 1954 Independence activist, last and the only Indian Governor-General of India

2. C. V. Raman 1888–1970 1954 Physicist from Madras and a Nobel laureate

3. Radhakrishnan 1888–1975 1954 Philosopher, India's First Vice-President (1952–1962), and India's Second
President(1962–1967)

4. Bhagwan Das 1869–1958 1955 Independence activist, author, Founder of Kashi Vidya Peeth

5. Mokshagundam 1861–1962 1955 Civil engineer, Diwan of Mysore

Visvesvarayya
Bharat Ratna 3

6. Jawaharlal Nehru 1889–1964 1955 Independence activist, author, first Prime Minister

7. Govind Ballabh Pant 1887–1961 1957 Independence activist, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Home Minister

8. Dhondo Keshav 1858–1962 1958 Educator, social reformer

Karve

9. Bidhan Chandra Roy 1882–1962 1961 Physician, Chief Minister of West Bengal

10. Purushottam Das 1882–1962 1961 Independence activist, educator

Tandon

11. Rajendra Prasad 1884–1963 1962 Independence activist, jurist, first President

12. Zakir Hussain 1897–1969 1963 Independence activist, scholar, third President

13. Pandurang Vaman 1880–1972 1963 Indologist and Sanskrit scholar

Kane

14. Lal Bahadur Shastri 1904–1966 1966 Posthumous, independence activist, second Prime Minister

15. Indira Gandhi 1917–1984 1971 Third Prime Minister, first female Prime Minister of India
(1966–1977,1980–1984)

16. V. V. Giri 1894–1980 1975 Trade unionist and fourth President of India

17. K. Kamaraj 1903–1975 1976 Posthumous, independence activist, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu State

18. Mother Teresa of 1910–1997 1980 Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata and Nobel
Calcutta laureate

19. Vinoba Bhave 1895–1982 1983 Posthumous, social reformer, independence activist

20. Khan Abdul Ghaffar 1890–1988 1987 First non-citizen, independence activist
Khan

21. M. G. Ramachandran 1917–1987 1988 Posthumous, film actor, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

22. B. R. Ambedkar 1891–1956 1990 Posthumous, Chief architect of the Indian Constitution,Crusader against
Untouchability, Dalit Icon, Social Reformer, historian, politician, economist,
and scholar

23. Nelson Mandela 1918–2013 1990 Second non-citizen and non-Indian recipient, Leader of the Anti-Apartheid
movement and Nobel laureate

24. Rajiv Gandhi 1944–1991 1991 Posthumous, Sixth Prime Minister.

Bharat Ratna 4

25. Vallabhbhai Patel 1875–1950 1991 Posthumous, independence activist, first Home Minister,Was responsible for
unification of all Indian princely states.

26. Morarji Desai 1896–1995 1991 Independence activist, fourth Prime Minister

27. Abul Kalam Azad 1888–1958 1992 Posthumous, independence activist, first Minister of Education

28. J. R. D. Tata 1904–1993 1992 Industrialist and philanthropist

29. Satyajit Ray 1922–1992 1992 Bengali Filmmaker

30. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam b. 1931 1997 Aeronautical Engineer,11th President of India

31. Gulzarilal Nanda 1898–1998 1997 Independence activist, interim Prime Minister

32. Aruna Asaf Ali 1908–1996 1997 Posthumous, independence activist

33. M. S. Subbulakshmi 1916–2004 1998 Carnatic classical singer

34. Chidambaram 1910–2000 1998 Independence activist, Minister of Agriculture

Subramaniam

35. Jayaprakash Narayan 1902–1979 1998 Posthumous, independence activist and politician

36. Ravi Shankar 1920–2012 1999 Sitar player from Calcutta

37. Amartya Sen b. 1933 1999 Economist from Kolkata and a Nobel laureate

38. Gopinath Bordoloi 1890–1950 1999 Posthumous, independence activist, Chief Minister of Assam

39. Lata Mangeshkar b. 1929 2001 Playback singer

40. Bismillah Khan 1916–2006 2001 Hindustani classical shehnai player

41. Bhimsen Joshi 1922–2011 2009 Hindustani classical singer

Bharat Ratna 5

42. C. N. R. Rao b. 1934 2014 Scientist

43. Sachin Tendulkar b. 1973 2014 Cricket player

Controversies

Subhas Chandra Bose

The Indian government issued a communique in 1992 that Bharat Ratna from West Bengal would be conferred on
Subhas Chandra Bose posthumously. The Supreme Court of India later cancelled this communique following a
public interest litigation filed against the posthumous nature of the award due to the mystery surrounding the death of
Subhas Chandra Bose. The government gave an affidavit that in deference to the sentiments expressed by the public
and the Bose family, the government did not proceed to confer the award.

Abul Kalam Azad

The award was offered to freedom fighter and India'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.

Sachin Tendulkar
Following the award for Sachin Tendulkar, an RTI activist wrote to the Election Commission of India that the
declaration was a violation of the model code of conduct. The petitioner suggested that since Tendulkar was a
Congress nominated MP, the decision to award him the Bharat Ratna would influence the voters of Delhi, Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram where the election process was underway. But the Election
Commission rejected the petition stating that conferring the award on people belonging to non-poll going states did
not amount to a violation of the code.

References
[1] Bharat Ratna: Govt amends rules to pave way for sportspersons (http:/ / www. indianexpress. com/ news/
bharat-ratna-govt-amends-rules-to-pave-way-for-sportspersons/ 888560/ 0), Agencies, New Delhi, Fri 16 Dec 2011, indianexpress.com
[2] http:/ / mha. nic. in/ sites/ upload_files/ mha/ files/ Scheme-BR. pdf

External links
• "Bharat Ratna Award" (http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/Scheme-BR.pdf). Ministry of Home
Affairs.
Article Sources and Contributors 6

Article Sources and Contributors

Bharat Ratna  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=594308792  Contributors: ANKUR4LUCKY, Aabaride, Abecedare, Accurizer, Adhiraj Bandyopadhyay, Adityaroongta40,
Alangar Manickam, AlexiusHoratius, Alifazal, Allen 6666, Alren, Amit123wiki, Amitabdev, Anandm9, Ankit.modasa, Ankithreya, Antiqueight, Anuandraj, Aparikshya, Arunram, AshLin,
Ashok modhvadia, Ashwatham, Astral, AttoRenato, Aumnamahashiva, Avinashfirake, Ayrton Prost, Bachrach44, Balablitz, Bearian, Bhalli619, Bharat1902, Bharathiya, Bidhan Singh, Bill
william compton, Bishnu Saikia, Bishupriyaparam, Bobbytheonlyone, Boolyme, BostonMA, Bpsubhra, C21K, Canadian Paul, Chakrabortysourav, Cherian Nair, Chezhiyan, Chirags, Chitrada,
Chris the speller, ChrisGualtieri, Closedmouth, CommonsDelinker, Compfreak7, Condorcraft110, Connecttobn, Cory.willis, Cric master, Crusoe8181, Csgoodone16, Cyrilrose, DRAGON
BOOSTER, Dewey Finn, Dharmadhyaksha, Dhawal.bhatt, Dineshkannambadi, Dkmohanty, Dr.sachin23, Dr.spandan, ESkog, Edward, Ekabhishek, El C, Elegance007, Eliz81, En.Dev,
Epicgenius, EricSerge, Faisalhussain mohammed, Flyer22, Fowler&fowler, Frozenprakash, GDibyendu, Ged UK, Georgiebest7, Gilliam, Gnyan1, Gokulchandola, Gopaljirai, Gopalkandoi2042,
Gpoduval, Gprasad3009, Grutness, Guptamysore, Gurubrahma, Gyan wiki, HMSSolent, Hammersoft, Hangal, Harierumely, HazelAB, Hekerui, Heray, Hongooi, ICTlogist, Iamakhilesh,
IndianCow, IndianGeneralist, Indopug, Infinitesom, Itspragee, Jamesx12345, Jarry1250, Jay, Jcmitch96, Jeeteshkumarsharma, Jeff G., Jiang, Jim1138, Jovianeye, JustinSpringer, Jyrejoice, Ka
Faraq Gatri, Kaihsu, Kalumajhi, Kaysov, Kedarisv, Keyan20, Khairnar.mangesh, Koavf, Krsont, Kulexofficial, Kumarrajendran, Kurolikar, KylieTastic, L Kensington, Lord Emsworth, MKar,
Macaddct1984, Mail2rpg, Malik Shabazz, Malo, Man On Mission, Mani1, Mannerheim, Mark Arsten, Martarius, Materialscientist, Mathewp 2002, Mayank.hc, Md Faisal Ansari, Meghanand,
Menchi, Mittgaurav, Mks86, Mogism, Mohammed liyaqhath, Mspraveen, Murtasa, Nachhattardhammu, Nachiketdeo, Naimishoza, Natrajdr, Navinjeth, Navneeth wiki, Neelkamala, Nicke
Lilltroll, Nikhil agrawal90, Nilmerg, Ninney, Nishkid64, Nitin.iitb, Nizil Shah, O.Koslowski, Ohconfucius, Olivier, P mohapatra, Padalkar.kshitij, PankajaSaheb, PatelRahul, Phanstar, Phe, Phil
Boswell, Pokalarudra, Pradeepsinghhbti, Pradiptaray, Pragvansh, Priyankapothala, Pvbp2702, Pvmacwiki, QuadrivialMind, RA0808, RMizo, Raghumk, Ragib, Rahul1411989, Rajbharak, Rajesh
vemulapalli, Ravidreams, Ravinder29, Reaper Eternal, RetiredUser2, Riana, Rich Farmbrough, Robert Prummel, Rohg26, Rsrikanth05, SFK2, SIVARAJ, SRAVANVSRINIVAS,
Sadeanandkiran, Sahara4u, Saket301990, Salilb, Sanjaysr, Santyp, Sar kumar a, Saras.kgp, Satdeep gill, Satori Son, Sayan rc, Sayitaintsojoe, Ser Amantio di Nicolao, Shabbygame, Shadow1,
Shailvora, Shonedeep, Shushruth, Shyam, Siddhartha P Joshi, Sita ram7, Socialservice, Softwaresystemarchitect2010, Soham, Somesh Tripathi, SpacemanSpiff, SpuriousQ, SrikanthRamani,
Srinidhisu, Srinivas.girigowda, Srkris, Srprda, StockholmSyndrome, Sudipta.saha41, Suman malepati, Tabletop, Talkingbuddha, Tammudu123, Tbhotch, Thalor2ait, The Rambling Man,
Thewittyname, This lousy T-shirt, This, that and the other, Tide rolls, Tigger69, Tillwe, Tktru, Tnsatish, Tolly4bolly, Towers1209, Truth only truth, Umesh7811, Uss1049, Utcursch,
Utkarshsingh.1992, Vaibhav bagewadi, Vandriel1325, Vensatry, Venuadepu, Vibhabamba, Vineethtm, Vinod rakte, Viscious81, Vishal14k, Visu1178, Vivekreddy12, Vivvt, Vlath, Vrghs jacob,
W like wiki, Wangond, Werieth, Wikiabhishekshukla, Wikiuser13, Wikwiki, Wildpixs, Wizvikz, Xdamr, Xrie, YellowMonkey, Yuvipanda, Zephyrmaten, Δ, 1335 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Bharat Ratna.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bharat_Ratna.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Kumar Rajendran
File:IND Bharat Ratna BAR.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:IND_Bharat_Ratna_BAR.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Wiki Romi
File:C Rajagopalachari Feb 17 2011.JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:C_Rajagopalachari_Feb_17_2011.JPG  License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
 Contributors: Gandhi_Rajagopalachari.jpg: derivative work: Ganeshk (talk)
File:Radhakrishnan.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Radhakrishnan.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Indian Government work
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-61849-0001, Indien, Otto Grotewohl bei Ministerpräsident Nehru cropped.jpg  Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-61849-0001,_Indien,_Otto_Grotewohl_bei_Ministerpräsident_Nehru_cropped.jpg  License: Creative Commons
Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Germany  Contributors: Bundesarchiv Bild 183-61849-0001, Indien, Otto Grotewohl bei Ministerpräsident Nehru.jpg: Heilig, Walter derivative work: Keyan20
File:Indira2.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Indira2.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Dbind, Hekerui, Lovysinghal, Roland zh
File:MotherTeresa 090.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:MotherTeresa_090.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0  Contributors: Túrelio
File:Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Khan_Abdul_Ghaffar_Khan.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: British India
File:MGR with K Karunakaran (cropped).jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:MGR_with_K_Karunakaran_(cropped).jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: MGR
with K Karunakaran.jpg: Original uploader was Kumarrajendran at en.wikipedia derivative work: Keyan20 (talk)
File:Ambedkar Barrister.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ambedkar_Barrister.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Djembayz, Ranjithsutari
File:Nelson Mandela-2008 (edit).jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Nelson_Mandela-2008_(edit).jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0  Contributors: South
Africa The Good News
File:Rajiv Gandhi (cropped).jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Rajiv_Gandhi_(cropped).jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors:
User:Indopug
File:Sardar patel (cropped).jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Sardar_patel_(cropped).jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Government of India work
File:Morarji Desai 1978.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Morarji_Desai_1978.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: White House Staff Photographer
File:Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Maulana_Abul_Kalam_Azad.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0
 Contributors: Roland zh, SpacemanSpiff, Tatiraju.rishabh
File:SatyajitRay.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SatyajitRay.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: Rishiraj Sahoo
File:AbdulKalam.JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:AbdulKalam.JPG  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: Aneesh 90
File:Ms subbulakshmi.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ms_subbulakshmi.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Chandraprabha Cinetone
File:Ravi Shankar 2009 crop.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Ravi_Shankar_2009_crop.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors:
Ravi Shankar 2009.jpg: Alexandra Ignatenko derivative work: Hekerui
File:Amartya Sen NIH.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Amartya_Sen_NIH.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: NIH (according to picture caption)
File:Lata Mangeshkar - still 29065 crop.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Lata_Mangeshkar_-_still_29065_crop.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors:
www.bollywoodhungama.com
File:Bismillah at Concert1 (edited).jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bismillah_at_Concert1_(edited).jpg  License: GNU Free Documentation License  Contributors:
Robert Garfias
File:Pandit Bhimsen Joshi (cropped).jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Pandit_Bhimsen_Joshi_(cropped).jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0
 Contributors: Bhaskar Bhatt Joshi
File:CNRrao2.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:CNRrao2.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: NIMSoffice
File:Sachin at Castrol Golden Spanner Awards (crop).jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Sachin_at_Castrol_Golden_Spanner_Awards_(crop).jpg  License: unknown
 Contributors: http://www.bollywoodhungama.com

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