Bharat Ratna – The Highest Civilian Award Of The Republic of India

The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted in 1954, the award is conferred “in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order”, without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex.

The award was originally limited to achievements in the arts, literature, science, and public services, but the government expanded the criteria to include “any field of human endeavor” in December 2011.

The recommendations for the Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President, with a maximum of three nominees being awarded per year.

Recipients receive a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a peepal-leaf–shaped medallion; there is no monetary grant associated with the award.

The first recipients of the Bharat Ratna were politician C. Rajagopalachari, philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and scientist C. V. Raman, who were honored in 1954.

Since then, the award has been bestowed upon 45 individuals, including 12 who were awarded posthumously.

Former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri became the first individual to be honored posthumously. In 2014, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, then aged 40, became the youngest recipient.

Indira Gandhi was the first lady to be honored with the Bharat Ratna award. Mother Teresa was the first naturalized Indian citizen of Bharat Ratna Award winner in 1980.

Last awarded Madan Mohan Malviya ( Posthumous ) and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2015.

Here’s a complete list of BHARAT RATNA since 1954 to 2017.

1. C. V. Raman – 1954
2. C. Rajagopalachari – 1954
3. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan – 1954
4. M. Visvesvaraya – 1955
5. Bhagwan Das – 1955
6. Jawaharlal Nehru – 1955
7. Govind Ballabh Pant – 1957
8. Dhondo Keshav Karve – 1958
9. Bidhan Chandra Roy – 1961
10. Purushottam Das Tandon – 1961
11. Rajendra Prasad – 1962
12. Pandurang Vaman Kane – 1963
13. Zakir Husain – 1963
14. Lal Bahadur Shastri -:1966
15. Indira Gandhi -1971
16. V. V. Giri – 1975
17. K. Kamaraj – 1976
18. Mother Teresa – 1980
19. Vinoba Bhave – 1983
20. Bacha Khan – 1987
21. M. G. Ramachandran – 1988
22. Nelson Mandela – 1990
23. B. R. Ambedkar – 1990
24. Vallabhbhai Patel – 1991
25. Rajiv Gandhi – 1991
26. Morarji Desai – 1991
27. Satyajit Ray – 1992
28. Abul Kalam Azad – 1992
29. J. R. D. Tata – 1992
30. Aruna Asaf Ali – 1997
31. Gulzarilal Nanda – 1997
32. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam -1997
33. M. S. Subbulakshmi -1998
34. Chidambaram Subramaniam -1998
35. Amartya Sen – 1999
36. Ravi Shankar – 1999
37. Gopinath Bordoloi – 1999
38. Jayaprakash Narayan – 1999
39. Bismillah Khan – 2001
40. Lata Mangeshkar – 2001
41. Bhimsen Joshi – 2008
42. C. N. R. Rao – 2013
43. Sachin Tendulkar -2013
44. Atal Bihari Vajpayee -2014
45. Madan Mohan Malaviya – 2014