The most prestigious Bharat Ratna (Jewel of India) is the highest civilian award of the India. It was introduced by the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad, on January 2, 1954. Bharat Ratna was first awarded in the same year to C. Rajagopalachari, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and C. V. Raman
Till now 48 members have won this highest civilian award.
Madan Mohan Malaviya and Atal Bihari Vajpayee are the last civilians who won this award in 2015.
UPDATE Jan 26 2019
On the Eve of Republic day 2019, President Ramnath Kovind announced Bharat Ratna awards. Former President Pranab Mukherjee, Nanaji Deshmukh (posthumously), and singer Bhupen Hazarika (posthumously) are awarded Bharat Ratna
Before we see the full list of people who were honored with this award, let me give you some short notes on the Bhrarat Ratna.
Who are eligible are Bharat Ratna Award?
This is India’s highest civilian award, awarded for the highest degrees of national service.
Initially the award was limited to the achievements in the arts, literature, science, and public services. Later in December 2011, the government expanded the criteria to include “any field of human endeavour”.
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).
Who can recommend for this award?
It is the Prime Minister of India who can send the recommendations for the Bharat Ratna to the President, with a maximum of three nominees being awarded per year.
About the Bharat Ratna award design:
Originally, the specifications for the award called for a circular gold medal carrying the state emblem and motto, among other things. It is uncertain if a design in accordance with the original specifications was ever made. The actual award is designed in the shape of a peepul leaf and carries with the words “Bharat Ratna”, inscribed in Devanagari script. The reverse side of the medal carries the state emblem and motto. The award is attached to a two-inch wide ribbon, and was designed to be worn around the recipient’s neck.
Also read:
List of the People who won Bharat Ratna Award
Now lets go to list.The honour has been awarded to forty five persons, which includes two non-Indians and a naturalized Indian citizen. Tamil Nadu is the state with the highest number of awardees (8) followed closely by Uttar Pradesh (7).
| S.No | Name | Birth / death | Awarded | Notes |
| 1 | Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | 1888–1975 | 1954 | Second President, First Vice President, Philosopher. |
| 2 | Chakravarti Rajagopalachari | 1878–1972 | 1954 | Last Governor-General, Freedom Fighter. |
| 3 | Sir C. V. Raman | 1888–1970 | 1954 | Nobel-prize winning Physicist |
| 4 | Bhagwan Das | 1869–1958 | 1955 | Literature, Freedom Fighter |
| 5 | Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya | 1861–1962 | 1955 | Civil Engineer, Dam Architect, Diwan of Princely state of Mysore |
| 6 | Jawaharlal Nehru | 1889–1964 | 1955 | First Prime Minister, Freedom Fighter, Author. |
| 7 | Govind Ballabh Pant | 1887–1961 | 1957 | Freedom Fighter, Home Minister |
| 8 | Dhondo Keshav Karve | 1858–1962 | 1958 | Educationist, Social Reformer, Awarded in his birth centenary year. |
| 9 | Dr. B. C. Roy | 1882–1962 | 1961 | Physician, Politician, Former Chief Minister of West Bengal |
| 10 | Purushottam Das Tandon | 1882–1962 | 1961 | Freedom Fighter, Educationist |
| 11 | Dr. Rajendra Prasad | 1884–1963 | 1962 | First President, Freedom Fighter, Jurist |
| 12 | Dr. Zakir Hussain | 1897–1969 | 1963 | Former President, Scholar. |
| 13 | Pandurang Vaman Kane | 1880–1972 | 1963 | Indologist and Sanskrit scholar |
| 14 | Lal Bahadur Shastri | 1904–1966 | 1966 | Posthumous, Second Prime Minister, Freedom Fighter |
| 15 | Indira Gandhi | 1917–1984 | 1971 | Former Prime Minister |
| 16 | V. V. Giri | 1894–1980 | 1975 | Former President, Trade Unionist. |
| 17 | K. Kamaraj | 1903–1975 | 1976 | Posthumous, Freedom Fighter, Chief Minister-Tamil Nadu. |
| 18 | Mother Teresa | 1910–1997 | 1980 | Nobel Laureate (Peace, 1979). |
| 19 | Acharya Vinoba Bhave | 1895–1982 | 1983 | Posthumous, Social Reformer, Freedom Fighter. |
| 20 | Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan | 1890–1988 | 1987 | First non-citizen, Freedom Fighter. |
| 21 | M. G. Ramachandran | 1917–1987 | 1988 | Posthumous, Chief Minister-Tamil Nadu, Actor. |
| 22 | B. R. Ambedkar | 1891–1956 | 1990 | Posthumous, Architect-Indian Constitution,Social Reformer, Economist and Scholar |
| 23 | Nelson Mandela | b. 1918 | 1990 | Second non-citizen and first non-Indian, Leader of Anti-Apartheid movement. |
| 24 | Rajiv Gandhi | 1944–1991 | 1991 | Posthumous, Former Prime Minister |
| 25 | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel | 1875–1950 | 1991 | Posthumous, Freedom Fighter, First Home Minister of India. |
| 26 | Morarji Desai | 1896–1995 | 1991 | Former Prime Minister, Freedom Fighter. |
| 27 | Maulana Abul Kalam Azad | 1888–1958 | 1992 | Posthumous, Freedom Fighter, First Education Minister of India |
| 28 | J. R. D. Tata | 1904–1993 | 1992 | Industrialist and philanthropist. |
| 29 | Satyajit Ray | 1922–1992 | 1992 | Film Director ,Oscar winner |
| 30 | A.P.J. Abdul Kalam | 1931 – 2015 | 1997 | Former President, Scientist. |
| 31 | Gulzarilal Nanda | 1898–1998 | 1997 | Freedom Fighter, former Prime Minister. |
| 32 | Aruna Asaf Ali | 1908–1996 | 1997 | Posthumous, Freedom Fighter. |
| 33 | M. S. Subbulakshmi | 1916–2004 | 1998 | Carnatic music vocalist. |
| 34 | Chidambaram Subramaniam | 1910–2000 | 1998 | Freedom Fighter, Minister of Agriculture (Father of Green revolution). |
| 35 | Jayaprakash Narayan | 1902–1979 | 1998 | Posthumous, Freedom Fighter, Social Reformer. |
| 36 | Pandit Ravi Shankar | 1920 – 2012 | 1999 | Classical sitar player. |
| 37 | Amartya Sen | b. 1933 | 1999 | Nobel Laureate (Economics, 1998), Economist. |
| 38 | Gopinath Bordoloi | 1890–1950 | 1999 | Posthumous, freedom fighter |
| 39 | Lata Mangeshkar | b. 1929 | 2001 | Play back singer. |
| 40 | Ustad Bismillah Khan | 1916-2006 | 2001 | Classical Shehnai Maestro |
| 41 | Pandit Bhimsen Joshi | 1922 – 2011 | 2008 | Hindustani classical vocalist |
| 42 | C. N. R. Rao | b. 1934 | 2014 | Professor Rao has worked prominently in the fields of Solid State and Materials Chemistry, Spectroscopy and Molecular Structure. |
| 43 | Sachin Tendulkar | b. 1973 | 2014 | Sports, Cricket Player |
| 44 | Madan Mohan Malaviya | 1861 – 1946 | 2015 | Scholar and educational reformer Malaviya is a founder of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha (1906) and Banaras Hindu University and served as the university’s vice-chancellor from 1919 until 1938. He was the President of Indian National Congress for four terms and was the Chairman of Hindustan Times from 1924 to 1946. |
| 45 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 1924 – 2018 | 2015 | Parliamentarian for over four decades, Vajpayee was elected nine times to the Lok Sabha, twice to the Rajya Sabha and served as the Prime Minister of India for three terms; 1996, 1998, 1999–2004. He was Minister of External Affairs during 1977–79 and was awarded the “Best Parliamentarian” in 1994. |
| 46 | Pranab Mukherjee | b. 1935 | 2019 | Indian politician who served as the 13th President of India from 2012 until 2017. |
| 47 | Bhupen Hazarika | 1926 – 2011 | 2019 | Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, singer, poet and film-maker from Assam, widely known as Sudhakantha. |
| 48 | Nanaji Deshmukh | 1916 – 2010 | 2019 | Social activist from India. He worked in the fields of education, health, and rural self-reliance.. |
Source : WikiPedia
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