Bharat Ratna

The Bharat Ratna is the Republic of India’s highest civilian award. The Bharat Ratna , Starting on 2nd January 1954, the award is given in recognition of “exceptional service/performance of the highest order”, without considering their race, position, occupation or sex. Since its inception, earlier it was given to limited achievements such as arts, literature, science and public services, but in December 2011, the Government of India expanded the criteria and made it “any field of human endeavor”. The recipients of the Bharat Ratna award receive a Sanad (similar to a certificate) signed by the President of India and a peepal leaf-shaped medallion. Understanding Bharat Ratna history is very important to fully grasp the topic. 

History 

In 1954 2nd January, a press statement was released from the office of the secretary to the President announcing two new civilian awards – Bharat Ratna, which will be considered the highest civilian award, and tier-three Padma Vibhushan, which is classified as the “Pahela Warg” (Class I), “Dusra Warg” (Class II), “Tisra Warg” (Class III), which are the ranks below the Bharat Ratna. 

Bharat Ratna History of Recipients

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, popularly known as the C. R. or Rajaji and also India’s last Governor-General, Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, India’s greatest teacher and Sir Chandrasekhar Venkat Raman, popularly known as C. V. Raman, are the first Bharat Ratna winners. Bharat Ratna  does not signify any formal provision which says Bharat Ratna recipients should be Indian Citizens. It has been given to a naturalized Indian Citizen, such as Mother Teresa in 1980, to also non-Indians, Pakistan’s Abdul Ghaffar Khan in 1987 and the former South African president Nelson Mandela in 1990. Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi, popularly known as M. S. Subbulakshmi from Tamil Nadu became the first-ever musician to receive this prestigious honor. Not only that, Sachin Tendulkar, at the age of 40, became not only the youngest person but also the first and only sportsperson ever to receive the honor. On 18 April 1958, Dhondo Keshav Karve, popularly known as Maharshi Karve, was awarded on his 100th birthday. As of 2022, Bharat Ratna  has witnessed a total of 48 recipients with 12 posthumous declarations.

Controversies 

The award was suspended briefly twice in its history. The first incident occurred right after Morarji Desai was sworn in as the fourth Prime Minister in 1977. On 13 July 1977, his government withdrew all personal civil honors. On 25th January 1980, the suspension was rescinded after Indira Gandhi became the prime minister. 

The second incident happened again in mid-1992 when the Kerala High Court and the Madhya Pradesh High Court filed two public-interest litigations against it challenging the “constitutional validity” of the award. In December 1995, the awards were again reintroduced by the Supreme Court in December 1995, following the conclusion of the litigation.

There have been various controversies and the first example can be Jawaharlal Nehru who awarded the honor himself while he was the prime minister of India in 1955. The claim was proved partly as there has been found a record where the President of India, Rajendra Prasad himself confessed that he bestowed this award to him “unconstitutionally”. Similar claims have been made about the third Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi who succeeded Nehru. Although the facts proved to be incorrect when President V.V. Giri conferred this award to her for steering India to victory in the 1971 war with Pakistan over East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

Benefits of Bharat Ratna

Any of the winners of the Bharat Ratna got the award worrying about the benefits. The benefits of Bharat Ratna are a nominal hat tip to them by the people of India.

• Bharat Ratna recipients are considered state guests while traveling anywhere in India.
• Awardees are awarded a VIP lounge at the airport, a separate immigration counter. Moreover, they are provided with all support during their foreign visits.
• On Air India, they can enjoy a free lifetime of first-class flight travel.
• Recipients can be given Z category protection whenever required.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs publishes the Table of Precedence where Bharat Ratna winners are placed at the 7A position.
• Bharat Ratna winners get a pension of 50 per cent of the Prime Minister of India’s salary.
• As mentioned before as well, all the recipients of the Bharat Ratna award get a certificate called Sanad and a peepal leaf-shaped medallion. The certificate is signed by the President of India.

Some Prominent Personalities Received Bharat Ratna: 

• Dr Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman [1954]
• Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan [1954]
• Jawaharlal Nehru [1955]
• Dr Zakir Hussain [1963]
• Mother Teresa [1980]
• Rajiv Gandhi [1991]
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel [1991]
• Dr Bhimrao Ambedakr [1990]
• Dr Abul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam [1997]
• Prof Amartya Sen [1999]
• Lata Mangeshkar [2001]
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee [2015]
• Sachin Tendulkar [2014]
• Indira Gandhi [1971]

Conclusion

From Bharat Ratna’s first winners to date, There have been various controversies and discussions around many of the recipients and many of the deserving candidates who haven’t got it. The first example can be Jawaharlal Nehru who awarded the honor to himself while he was the prime minister of India in 1955. Similarly, a PIL was filed in favor of Vikram Sarabhai and Dr Homi Bhabha for their immense scientific contribution. We know there’s always another side of the coin and we should focus on the positives of the matter and learn from our past mistakes. And we also should be aware of each recipient’s contribution to making our country a better place.