Bharat Ratna
Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian honor conferred for exceptional service towards any field of human endeavor, without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The provision of Bharat Ratna was introduced in 1954.
Bharat Ratna – ‘Jewel of India’ is the highest civilian award in the country. It is conferred for exceptional Service to the nation in various fields such as Science arts, literature, and recognition of public service of the highest order. The award can be granted posthumously and since its establishment, seven awards were granted posthumously.
History Of Bharat Ratna
The award was established by the formal President of India Rajendra Prasad on 2nd January 1954.
The concept of awarding this award posthumously was not there in the original statute declared in January 1954.
Provision to award posthumously was finally added in the January 1966 statute of this prestigious award.
First Bharat Ratna was awarded to Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, Sir C.V. Raman, and Chakravarti Rajagopalachari in 1954.
Sachin Tendulkar is the first sportsperson and the youngest Bharat Ratna Award, the recipient.
Whom Are All Entitled To Get Bharat Ratna?
The award was initially restricted to accomplishments in literature, science, arts, and public services, but the government of India expanded the conditions to comprise “any field of human endeavor” in 2011.
There is no written provision that Bharat Ratna should be awarded to Indian citizens only.
Recently Government of India has altered guidelines for the eligibility of persons from the sports field for the Bharat Ratna.
People Who Received Bharat Ratna
- C. Rajagopalachari 1954: Indian politician, independence activist, lawyer, writer, historian, and statesman. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India
- Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 1954: Indian philosopher and statesman. First Vice President of India.
- C. V. Raman 1954: Indian physicist who carried out ground-breaking work in the field of light scattering. Nobel Laureate (Physics)
- Bhagwan Das 1955: Indian Theosophist and a part of the Central Legislative Assembly of British India.
- M. Visvesvaraya 1955: Civil Engineer & Statesman
