Bharat Ratna Award
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| Bharat Ratna Award |
Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian honour, 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.
The provision of Bharat Ratna was introduced in 1954. The first ever Indian to receive this award was the famous scientist, Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (1954). Since then, many dignitaries, each a whiz in varied aspects of their career has received this coveted award.
The following are the 41 recipients of the Bharat Ratna Award till July, 2011:-
Name of Awardee | Year | Country/state | Field |
| Pt. Bhimsen Joshi | 2008 | Karnataka | Arts |
| Lata Mangeshkar | 2001 | Maharashtra | Arts |
| Late. Ustad Bismillah Khan | 2001 | Uttar Pradesh | Arts |
| Prof. Amartya Sen | 1999 | UK | Lit. & Education |
| Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi (Posth.) | 1999 | Assam | Public Affairs |
| Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan (Posth.) | 1999 | Bihar | Public Affairs |
| Pt. Ravi Shankar | 1999 | United States | Arts |
| Shri Chidambaram Subramaniam | 1998 | Tamil Nadu | Public Affairs |
| Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi | 1998 | Tamil Nadu | Arts |
| Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam | 1997 | Delhi | Science & Eng. |
| Smt. Aruna Asaf Ali (Posth.) | 1997 | Delhi | Public Affairs |
| Shri Gulzari Lal Nanda | 1997 | Gujarat | Public Affairs |
| Shri J. R. D. Tata | 1992 | Maharashtra | Trade & Industry |
| Shri Maulana Abul Kalam Azad | 1992 | West Bengal | Public Affairs |
| Shri Satyajit Ray | 1992 | West Bengal | Arts |
| Shri Morarji Desai | 1991 | Gujarat | Public Affairs |
| Shri Rajiv Gandhi | 1991 | Delhi | Public Affairs |
| Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel | 1991 | Gujarat | Public Affairs |
| Dr. Bhimrao Ambedakr | 1990 | Maharashtra | Public Affairs |
| Dr. Nelson Mandela | 1990 | South Africa | Public Affairs |
| Shri Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran | 1988 | Tamil Nadu | Public Affairs |
| Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan | 1987 | Pakistan | Social Work |
| Shri Acharya Vinoba Bhave | 1983 | Maharashtra | Social Work |
| Mother Teresa | 1980 | West Bengal | Social Work |
| Shri Kumaraswamy Kamraj | 1976 | Tamil Nadu | Public Affairs |
| Shri V.V. Giri | 1975 | Orissa | Public Affairs |
| Smt. Indira Gandhi | 1971 | Uttar Pradesh | Public Affairs |
| Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri | 1966 | Uttar Pradesh | Public Affairs |
| Dr. Pandurang Vaman Kane | 1963 | Maharashtra | Social Work |
| Dr. Zakir Hussain | 1963 | Andhra Pradesh | Public Affairs |
| Dr. Rajendra Prasad | 1962 | Bihar | Public Affairs |
| Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy | 1961 | West Bengal | Public Affairs |
| Shri Purushottam Das Tandon | 1961 | Uttar Pradesh | Public Affairs |
| Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve | 1958 | Maharashtra | Social Work |
| Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant | 1957 | Uttar Pradesh | Public Affairs |
| Dr. Bhagwan Das | 1955 | Uttar Pradesh | Lit. & Education |
| Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru | 1955 | Uttar Pradesh | Public Affairs |
| Dr. M. Vishweshwariah | 1955 | Karnataka | Civil Service |
| Shri Chakravarti Rajagopalachari | 1954 | Tamil Nadu | Public Affairs |
| Dr. Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman | 1954 | Tamil Nadu | Science & Eng. |
| Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan | 1954 | Tamil Nadu | Public Affairs |
It is also not mandatory that Bharat Ratna be awarded every year. The last time this award was given was in 2008, to Pt. Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi.
