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 (File referring to external site opens in a new window) , 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.
Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi - Arts : 2008 : Karnataka
Kumari Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar - Arts : 2001 : Maharashtra
Late. Ustad Bismillah Khan - Arts : 2001 : Uttar Pradesh
Prof. Amartya Sen - Literature & Education : 1999 : United Kingdom
Lokpriya Gopinath (posth.) Bordoloi - Public Affairs : 1999 : Assam
Loknayak Jayprakash (Posth.) Narayan - Public Affairs : 1999 : Bihar
Pandit Ravi Shankar - Arts : 1999 : United States
Shri Chidambaram Subramaniam - Public Affairs : 1998 : Tamil Nadu
Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi - Arts : 1998 : Tamil Nadu
Shri (Dr.) A.P.J. Abdul Kalam - Science & Engineering. : 1997 : Delhi
Smt. Aruna Asaf (Posth.) Ali - Public Affairs : 1997 : Delhi
Shri Gulzari Lal (Shri) Nanda - Public Affairs : 1997 : Gujarat
Shri Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhai Tata - Trade & Industry : 1992 : Maharashtra
Shri Maulana Abul Kalam Azad - Public Affairs : 1992 : West Bengal
Shri Satyajit Ray - Arts : 1992 : West Bengal
Shri Morarji Ranchhodji Desai - Public Affairs : 1991 : Gujarat
Shri Rajiv Gandhi - Public Affairs : 1991 : Delhi
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel - Public Affairs : 1991 : Gujarat
Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedakr - Public Affairs : 1990 : Maharashtra
Dr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela - Public Affairs : 1990 : South Africa
Shri Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran - Public Affairs : 1988 : Tamil Nadu
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan - Social Work : 1987 : Pakistan
Shri Acharya Vinoba Bhave - Social Work : 1983 : Maharashtra
Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu Teresa - Social Work : 1980 : West Bengal
Shri Kumaraswamy Kamraj - Public Affairs : 1976 : Tamil Nadu
Shri V.V. Giri - Public Affairs : 1975 : Orissa
Smt. Indira Gandhi - Public Affairs : 1971 : Uttar Pradesh
Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri - Public Affairs : 1966 : Uttar Pradesh
Dr. Pandurang Vaman Kane - Social Work : 1963 : Maharashtra
Dr. Zakir Hussain - Public Affairs : 1963 : Andhra Pradesh
Dr. Rajendra Prasad - Public Affairs : 1962 : Bihar
Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy - Public Affairs : 1961 : West Bengal
Shri Purushottam Das Tandon - Public Affairs : 1961 : Uttar Pradesh
Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve - Social Work : 1958 : Maharashtra
Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant - Public Affairs : 1957 : Uttar Pradesh
Dr. Bhagwan Das - Literature & Education : 1955 : Uttar Pradesh
Shri Jawaharlal Nehru - Public Affairs : 1955 : Uttar Pradesh
Dr. M. Vishweshwariah - Civil Service : 1955 : Karnataka
Shri Chakravarti Rajagopalachari - Public Affairs : 1954 : Tamil Nadu
Dr. Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman - Science & Engineering. : 1954 : Tamil Nadu
Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan - Public Affairs : 1954 : Tamil Nadu