The Bharat Ratna was formally instituted on 2 January 1954, when a communique from the President’s office announced that a medal was to be awarded for exceptional services towards the advancement of Art, Literature, and Science, and in recognition of public service of the highest order.
The Bharat Ratna is India’s highest civilian award which is conferred to people in recognition of their exceptional service in any field without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The recommendations are made by the Prime Minister of India to the President.
It was first awarded in 1964 to Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, Dr. CV Raman, and Chakravarti Rajagopalachari.
The physical award is designed in the shape of a peepal leaf with ‘Bharat Ratna’ inscribed in the Devanagri script under a sunburst figure.
The reverse side of the award figurine features ‘Satyameva Jayate’ written in Hindi under an inscription of the state emblem. The emblem, the sun, and the rim of the Bharat Ratna award are made of platinum while the inscriptions are in burnished bronze.
It is approximately 59 mm long, 48 mm wide, and 3.2 mm thick and has a white ribbon attached to it, so it can be worn as a medal.
The awards are created at Kolkata’s Alipore Mint, along with other prestigious national awards such as Padma Vibushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, and Param Veer Chakra.
It is approximately 59 mm long, 48 mm wide, and, 3.2 mm thick and has a white ribbon attached to it, so it can be worn as a medal.
The awards are created at Kolkata’s Alipore Mint, along with other prestigious national awards such as Padma Vibushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, and Param Veer Chakra.
The award was started by former President Dr. Rajendra Prasad on January 2, 1954. The Bharat Ratna can also be awarded to non-Indians as there is no written rule against the same. Mother Teresa, a naturalized Indian citizen was conferred with the award in 1980. Non-Indians, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Nelson Mandela have also been awarded with the Bharat Ratna.
As per Article 18(1) of the Indian Constitution, awardees cannot use ‘Bharat Ratna’ as a prefix or suffix to their name. However, they can add ‘Awarded Bharat Ratna by the President or ‘Recipient of Bharat Ratna Award’ in their biodata, visiting card, letterhead, etc.
The award was not conferred posthumously at first. That criterion was changed in 1966. The youngest Bharat Ratna awardee and the first sportsperson to win the award was Sachin Tendulkar in 2014. A maximum of three Bharat Ratna can be given each year. It was awarded to four people in the same year only once — in 1999.
