Bharat Ratna Award

Bharat Ratna Award:

India has produced a legacy of brave hearts since times immemorial. Probably there is not enough space to measure their sacrifices. However, we cannot close our eyes to those people who have made our country proud by excelling in their own fields and bringing us international recognition. Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian honour, given for exceptional service towards advancement of Art, Literature and Science, and in recognition of Public Service of the highest order.

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. It was to be worn around the neck from a white ribbon. This design was altered after a year.

The provision of Bharat Ratna was introduced in 1954. The first ever Indian to receive this award was the famous scientist, Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman. Since then, many dignitaries, each a whiz in varied aspects of their career has received this coveted award.

In fact, our former President, Shri A. P. J Abdul Kalam is also a recipient of this esteemed honour (1997). There is no written provision that Bharat Ratna should be awarded to Indian citizens only. The award has been awarded to a naturalized Indian citizen, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, better known as Mother Teresa (1980) and to two non-Indians – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Nelson Mandela (1990). It is also not mandatory that Bharat Ratna be awarded every year. The last time this award was given was in 2008, to Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi.

Bharat Ratna Awardees List:

 1. Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi - Arts : 2008 : Karnataka

 2. Kumari Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar - Arts : 2001 : Maharashtra

 3. Late. Ustad Bismillah Khan  - Arts : 2001 : Uttar Pradesh

 4. Prof. Amartya Sen  - Literature & Education : 1999 : United Kingdom

 5. Lokpriya Gopinath (posth.) Bordoloi  - Public Affairs : 1999 : Assam

 6. Loknayak Jayprakash (Posth.) Narayan  - Public Affairs : 1999 : Bihar

 7. Pandit Ravi Shankar - Arts : 1999 : United States

 8. Shri Chidambaram Subramaniam  - Public Affairs : 1998 : Tamil Nadu

 9. Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi  - Arts : 1998 : Tamil Nadu

10. Shri (Dr.) A.P.J. Abdul Kalam  - Science & Engineering. : 1997 : Delhi

11. Smt. Aruna Asaf (Posth.) Ali  - Public Affairs : 1997 : Delhi

12. Shri Gulzari Lal (Shri) Nanda  - Public Affairs : 1997 : Gujarat

13. Shri Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhai Tata  - Trade & Industry : 1992 : Maharashtra

14. Shri Maulana Abul Kalam Azad  - Public Affairs : 1992 : West Bengal

15. Shri Satyajit Ray  - Arts : 1992 : West Bengal

16. Shri Morarji Ranchhodji Desai  - Public Affairs : 1991 : Gujarat

17. Shri Rajiv Gandhi  - Public Affairs : 1991 : Delhi

18. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel  - Public Affairs : 1991 : Gujarat

19. Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedakr  - Public Affairs : 1990 : Maharashtra

20. Dr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela  - Public Affairs : 1990 : South Africa

21. Shri Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran  - Public Affairs : 1988 : Tamil Nadu

22. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan  - Social Work : 1987 : Pakistan

23. Shri Acharya Vinoba Bhave  - Social Work : 1983 : Maharashtra

24. Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu Teresa  - Social Work : 1980 : West Bengal

25. Shri Kumaraswamy Kamraj  - Public Affairs : 1976 : Tamil Nadu

26. Shri V.V. Giri  - Public Affairs : 1975 : Odisha

27. Smt. Indira Gandhi  - Public Affairs : 1971 : Uttar Pradesh

28. Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri - Public Affairs : 1966 : Uttar Pradesh

29. Dr. Pandurang Vaman Kane  - Social Work : 1963 : Maharashtra

30. Dr. Zakir Hussain  - Public Affairs : 1963 : Andhra Pradesh

31. Dr. Rajendra Prasad  - Public Affairs : 1962 : Bihar

32. Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy - Public Affairs : 1961 : West Bengal

33. Shri Purushottam Das Tandon - Public Affairs : 1961 : Uttar Pradesh

34. Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve - Social Work : 1958 : Maharashtra

35. Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant  - Public Affairs : 1957 : Uttar Pradesh

36. Dr. Bhagwan Das  - Literature & Education : 1955 : Uttar Pradesh

37. Shri Jawaharlal Nehru  - Public Affairs : 1955 : Uttar Pradesh

38. Dr. M. Vishweshwariah  - Civil Service : 1955 : Karnataka

39. Shri Chakravarti Rajagopalachari  - Public Affairs : 1954 : Tamil Nadu

40. Dr. Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman  - Science & Engineering. : 1954 : Tamil Nadu

41. Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan  - Public Affairs : 1954 : Tamil Nadu