The Bharat Ratna Award, introduced in 1954, is the most esteemed civilian honor bestowed upon individuals who have rendered exceptional service in any field of human endeavor, irrespective of their race, occupation, position, or gender. Notable recipients of this distinguished award include Dr. Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, a renowned scientist, C. Rajagopalachari, a lawyer and Indian Independence activist, and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, India’s first Vice-President. Over the years, several eminent personalities, who have excelled in various domains of their careers, have been honored with this prestigious award.
The Prime Minister of India puts forth recommendations for the Bharat Ratna award, which is conferred by the President of India. To date, 48 distinguished individuals have been bestowed with this honor, including 14 posthumously. As per Article 18(1) of the Indian Constitution, no titles or military/academic distinctions may be conferred by the state, and Bharat Ratna awardees cannot use this award as a prefix or suffix to their names.
This award does not carry any monetary grants, and the recipients receive a certificate/sanad signed by the current President of India, along with a medallion shaped like a peepal leaf bearing the state emblem of India and the inscription “Satyamev Jayate”.
Bharat Ratna Award List from 1954 to 2024
The below list of Bharat Ratna Award.
| Recipient of Bharat Ratna Award | Awarded In Year | Brief Description |
|---|---|---|
| C.Rajagopalachari (First recipient of Bharat Ratna Award) | 1954 | C.Rajagopalachari was an Indian independence activist, statesman and lawyer. Rajagopalachari was the only Indian and last Governor-General of independent India. He was Chief Minister of Madras Presidency (1937–39) and Madras State (1952–54) and founder of the Indian political party Swatantra Party. |
| Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (First recipient of Bharat Ratna Award) | 1954 | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan served as India’s 1st Vice-President from 1952 to 1962 and 2nd President of India from 1962 to 1967. Since 1962, his birthday on 5 September is observed as “Teachers’ Day” in India. |
| C. V. Raman (First recipient of Bharat Ratna Award) | 1954 | C. V. Raman is widely known for his work on the scattering of light and the discovery of the effect, better known as “Raman scattering”, Raman mainly worked in the field of atomic physics and electromagnetism and was presented Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930. |
| Bhagwan Das | 1955 | Bhagwan Das was a Independence activist, philosopher, and educationist, and co-founder of Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapithand and worked with Madan Mohan Malaviya for the foundation of Banaras Hindu University. |
| M. Visvesvaraya | 1955 | M. Visvesvaraya was a Civil Engineer, Statesman, and Diwan of Mysore (1912–18), was a Knight Commander of the order of the Indian Empire. His birthday, 15 September, is observed as “Engineer’s Day” in India. |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | 1955 | Jawaharlal Nehru was an Independence activist and author. He was the 1st and the longest-serving Prime Minister of India (1947–64). |
| Govind Ballabh Pant | 1957 | Govind Ballabh Pant was an Independence activist pant was premier of United Provinces (1937–39, 1946–50) and 1st Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (1950–54). He served as Union Home Minister from 1955–61. |
| Dhondo Keshav Karve | 1958 | Dhondo Keshav Karve was a social reformer and educator. He is widely known for his works related to woman education and remarriage of Hindu widows. He established the Widow Marriage Association (1883), Hindu Widows Home (1896), and started Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women’s University in 1916. |
| Bidhan Chandra Roy | 1961 | Bidhan Chandra Roy was a physician, political leader, philanthropist, educationist, and social worker, He is often considered as “Maker of Modern West Bengal”. He was second Chief Minister of West Bengal (1948–62) and his birthday on 1 July is observed as “National Doctors’ Day” in India. |
| Purushottam Das Tandon | 1961 | Purushottam Das Tandon is often titled as “Rajarshi”. He was an independence activist and served as speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly (1937–50). He was actively involved in a campaign to get official language status to Hindi. |
| Rajendra Prasad | 1962 | Rajendra Prasad was an Independence activist, lawyer, statesman, and scholar, Prasad was closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi in the non-cooperation movement for Indian independence. He was later elected as the 1st President of India (1950–62). |
| Zakir Husain | 1963 | Zakir Husain was an Independence activist and education philosopher, Zakir Husain served as a Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (1948–56) and the Governor of Bihar (1957–62). Later, he was elected as 2nd Vice-President of India (1962–67) and went on to become the 3rd President of India (1967–69). |
| Pandurang Vaman Kane | 1963 | Pandurang Vaman Kane was an Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, He is best known for his five-volume literary work, history of Dharmasastra: Ancient and Medieval Religious and Civil Law in India; the “monumental” work that extends over nearly 6,500 pages and being published from 1930 to 1962. |
| Lal Bahadur Shastri | 1966 | Lal Bahadur Shastri is known for his slogan “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” (“Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer”). He was an Independence activist Shastri served as second Prime Minister of India (1964–66) and led the country during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. |
| Indira Gandhi | 1971 | She is known as the “Iron Lady of India”. Indra Gandhi was the 1st female Prime Minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 to 1984. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, her government supported Bangladesh Liberation War which led to the formation of a new country, Bangladesh. |
| V. V. Giri | 1975 | While studying at the University College Dublin, V.V. Giri was involved in the Irish Sinn Fein movement. Returning to India, he organized labour unions and brought them to take active participation in Indian freedom struggle. He was elected as the first President of the All India Trade Union Congress in 1926. Post-independence, V.V. Giri held positions of Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Mysore and various other cabinet ministries. He became the first acting President and was eventually elected as the fourth President of India (1969–74). |
| K. Kamaraj | 1976 | K. Kamaraj was an Independence activist and statesman. He was a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for three terms; (1954–57), (1957–62), and (1962–63). |
| Mother Teresa | 1980 | “Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta” was a catholic nun and the founder of the Missionaries of Charity. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work in 1979 and was beatified on 19 October 2003 by Pope John Paul II and canonized on 4 September 2016 by Pope Francis. |
| Vinoba Bhave | 1983 | He was an Independence activist, social reformer, and a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, Vinoba Bhave is best known for his “Bhoodan Movement”, “Land-Gift Movement”. He was given the honorific title “Acharya” (“teacher”) and was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1958) for his humanitarian work. |
| Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan | 1987 | Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan is widely known as “Frontier Gandhi”, independence activist and Pashtun leader Khan was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. He joined Khilafat Movement in 1920 and founded Khudai Khidmatgar (“Red Shirt movement”) in 1929. |
| M. G. Ramachandran | 1988 | Actor turned politician Ramachandran served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for three terms; (1977–80), (1980–84), and (1985–87). |
| B. R. Ambedkar | 1990 | B. R. Ambedkar was a social reformer and leader of the Dalits (Untouchables), B.R. Ambedkar was the Chief Architect of the Indian Constitution and also served as the first Law Minister of India. Ambedkar predominantly campaigned against the social discrimination with Dalits, the Hindu varna system. He was associated with the Dalit Buddhist movement and accepted Buddhism as a religion along with his close to half a million followers on 14 October 1956. |
| Nelson Mandela | 1990 | Nelson Mandela was a leader of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa, Mandela was the President of South Africa (1994–99). He is often called as the “Gandhi of South Africa”, Mandela’s African National Congress movement was influenced by Gandhian philosophy. In 1993, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. |
| Rajiv Gandhi | 1991 | Rajiv Gandhi was the 9th Prime Minister of India serving from 1984 to 1989. |
| Vallabhbhai Patel | 1991 | Vallabhbhai Patel is widely known as the “Iron Man of India”, He was an independence activist and first Deputy Prime Minister of India (1947–50). Post-independence, Sardar Patel (Leader) worked with V. P. Menon towards dissolving 555 princely states into the Indian Union. |
| Morarji Desai | 1991 | Morarji Desai was an Independence activist. Hei was the 6th Prime Minister of India (1977–79). He is the only Indian national to be awarded the Nishan-e-Pakistan, highest civilian award given by the Government of Pakistan. |
| Abul Kalam Azad | 1992 | Abul Kalam Azad was an Independence activist. He was India’s 1st Minister of Education and worked towards free primary education. He is widely known as “Maulana Azad” and his birthday on 11 November is observed as National Education Day in India. |
| J. R. D. Tata | 1992 | J. R. D. Tata was an industrialist, philanthropist, and aviation pioneer, Tata founded India’s first airline Air India. He is the founder of various institutes including Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Tata Memorial Hospital, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tata Motors, TCS, National Institute of Advanced Studies, and National Centre for the Performing Arts. |
| Satyajit Ray | 1992 | Satyajit Ray was having debuted as a director with Pather Panchali in 1955, Film-Maker Ray is credited with bringing world recognition to Indian cinema. In 1984, Ray was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest award in cinema. |
| Gulzarilal Nanda | 1997 | Gulzarilal Nanda was an Independence activist. He was two times Interim Prime Minister of India (1964, 1966) and two times deputy chairman of the Planning Commission. |
| Aruna Asaf Ali | 1997 | Aruna Asaf Ali was an Independence activist. He is better known for hoisting the Indian flag in Bombay during the Quit India Movement in 1942. Post-Independence, Ali was elected as Delhi’s 1st Mayor in 1958. |
| A. P. J. Abdul Kalam | 1997 | Aerospace and Defense Scientist, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was involved in the development of India’s first satellite launch vehicle SLV III and was the architect of Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. He worked for Indian National Committee for Space Research, Indian Space Research Organization, Defense Research and Development Laboratory and was appointed as the Scientific Advisor to the Defense Minister, Secretary to Department of Defense Research and Development and Director General of Defense Research and Development Organization. Later, he served as the 11th President of India from 2002 till 2007. |
| M. S. Subbulakshmi | 1998 | M. S. Subbulakshmi was carnatic classical vocalist. SHe, often hailed as “Queen of songs”, was the 1st Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award. |
| Chidambaram Subramaniam | 1998 | Chidambaram Subramaniam is an Independence activist and former Minister of Agriculture of India (1964–66), Subramaniam is known for his contribution towards Green Revolution in India. During the late 1970s, he worked for International Rice Research Institute, Manila, and the International Maize and Wheat Research Institute, Mexico. |
| Jayaprakash Narayan | 1999 | Jayaprakash Narayan was an Independence activist, social reformer, and commonly referred as “Lok Nayak” (“People’s Hero”), He is better known for “Total Revolution Movement” or “JP Movement” initiated during the mid-1970s to “overthrow the corrupt and exploitative Congress Government”. |
| Amartya Sen | 1999 | Amartya Sen was winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1998), He has done research over several topics including social choice theory, ethics and political philosophy, welfare economics, decision theory, development economics, public health, and gender studies. |
| Gopinath Bordoloi | 1999 | Gopinath Bordoloi was an Independence activist. He was the 1st Chief Minister of Assam (1946–50). His efforts and association with the Minister of Home Affairs, Vallabhbhai Patel were widely acknowledged while keeping Assam united with India when parts of it were to merge with East Pakistan. |
| Ravi Shankar | 1999 | Ravi Shankar was winner of four Grammy Awards and often considered “the world’s best-known exponent of Hindustani classical music”, sitar player Shankar is known for his collaborative work with Western musicians including Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison. |
| Bhimsen Joshi | 2009 | Bhimsen Joshi was Hindustani Classical Vocalist, He was a disciple of Kirana gharana, an Indian musical school. He is widely known for the Khyal genre of singing with a “mastery over rhythm and accurate notes”. |
| Lata Mangeshkar | 2001 | Lata Mangeshkar is widely credited as the “Nightingale of India”, She started her career in the 1940s and has sung songs in over 36 languages. In 1989, Mangeshkar was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest award in cinema. |
| Bismillah Khan | 2001 | Bismillah Khan was Hindustani Classical Shehnai Player, He played the instrument for more than eight decades and is credited to have brought the instrument to the center stage of Indian music. |
| C. N. R. Rao | 2014 | C. N. R. Rao was the recipient of Honorary Doctorates from 63 Universities including Purdue, IIT Bombay, Oxford, chemist and professor. He has worked prominently in the fields of Solid State and Materials Chemistry, Spectroscopy and Molecular Structure. He has authored around 1600 research papers and 48 books. |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 2014 | Sachin Tendulkar played 664 international cricket matches in a career spanning over two decades. He holds various cricket records including the only player to have scored one hundred international centuries, the first batsman to score a double century in a One Day International and the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in both ODI and Test cricket. |
| Madan Mohan Malaviya | 2015 | Madan Mohan Malaviya was a scholar and educational reformer. He was the founder of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha (1906) and Banaras Hindu University and served as the university’s vice-chancellor from 1919 till 1938. He was the President of Indian National Congress for four terms and was the Chairman of Hindustan Times from 1924 to 1946. |
| Atal Bihari Vajpayee | 2015 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the 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. |
| Pranab Mukherjee | 2019 | Pranab Mukherjee is an Indian politician who served as the 13th President of India from 2012 to 2017. He has been a senior leader in the Indian National Congress and has occupied several ministerial portfolios in the Government of India. Prior to his election as President, he was Union Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012. |
| Nanaji Deshmukh | 2019 | Nanaji Deshmukh was a social activist from India. He worked in the fields of education, health, and rural self-reliance. He was a member of RSS, a leader of the Bhartiya Jana Sangh and also a member of the Rajya Sabha. He was honored with the Padma Vibhushan in 1999. India’s first Saraswati Shishu Mandir was established by him at Gorakhpur in 1950. |
| Bhupen Hazarika | 2019 | Bhupen Hazarika was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, singer, poet and film-maker from Assam. He is widely known as Sudhakantha. Before he got Bharat Ranta (India’s highest civilian award), he received the National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 1975 and recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987), Padmashri (1977), and Padmabhushan (2001), and also awarded with Dada Saheb Phalke Award (1992). |
| Karpoori Thakur | 2024 | Politician and Former Bihar Chief Minister |
| Lal Krishna Advani | 2024 | Former Politician and Deputy Prime Minister |
List of Recipients of Bharat Ratna Award
Download Bharat Ratna Award List PDF from below link.
https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/ListofBRrecepients_09082019.pdf
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