Tracing the genesis of India’s highest civilian award, Nandini Rao also looks at the other civilian awards and points out that Bharat Ratna is awarded to a person in ‘any field of human endeavour’ to encompass all the areas and ways by which men and women serve their country. She also cites instances of foreign individuals who were recognised and conferred with the top award.
The highest civilian award conferred by the Republic of India is the Bharat Ratna. The award was instituted on 2 January 1954 by the Government of India. In the same year, in addition to the Bharat Ratna, the Indian government had instituted another civilian award, which were the Padma Awards, and these had three categories.
Bharat Ratna is awarded in recognition of exceptional service or performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour and is treated on a different footing from the Padma Awards. It is the President and the Prime Minister of India who make the recommendations for the Bharat Ratna and there is no mandatory requirement of a formal recommendation process.
In one year, a maximum of three persons can be given the Bharat Ratna award. From its inception till now, 48 persons have been conferred the prestigious Bharat Ratna award, of which, 14 were awarded posthumously. Upon translation, Bharat Ratna means the Jewel of India.
The Bharat Ratna recipients are given a certificate, which is also known as the Sanad. The certificate is signed by the President of India. The recipients are also given a medallion which is designed in the shape of a leaf (peepal) rimmed in platinum and ‘Bharat Ratna’ inscribed in Devanagri script. On the other side of the medallion, ‘Satyamev Jayate’ is inscribed under an emblem. The inscriptions are made in bronze. The Bharat Ratna does not carry any monetary grant or award.
The evolution
The Bharat Ratna, in its early editions, was limited to accomplishments in a few fields that included public service, literature, science and arts. Later, in 2011, more fields were included to broaden the criteria of the award. Today, Bharat Ratna may be awarded to a person in ‘any field of human endeavour’ to encompass all the areas and ways by which men and women serve their country.
It must be noted that there is no citizenship restriction when it comes to nomination and reception of the award. The first person who was not an Indian citizen to receive the Bharat Ratna was Pashtun leader and politician Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. He was born in the Peshawar Valley and was conferred the award in 1987. He was born in British India and was later a citizen of Pakistan.
Khan was popularly known as Frontier Gandhi as he was also a believer of non-violence. He was an active member of the Indian Independence movement and participated in the Khilafat movement. He was an advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity.
Another non-Indian to receive the Bharat Ratna was President of South Africa Nelson Mandela in 1990. He was the leader of the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa. Mandela was highly inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and his ideals. He was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
In 1980, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu aka Mother Teresa was conferred the Bharat Ratna for her humanitarian work for the upliftment of the poor and the destitute. She was a naturalised Indian citizen. Born in Skopje (now the capital of North Macedonia) she lived most of her life in India. She was a Catholic nun and was the founder of a Catholic religious congregation called Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata. Till date, she remains the only naturalised Indian citizen to receive the Bharat Ratna.
The firsts
In 1954, for the first time Bharat Ratna awards were given and the recipients were the last Governor-General of the Dominion of India and the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu – C. Rajagopalachari, the second President and the first Vice President of India – Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Nobel Prize Laureate and Physicist C. V. Raman.
Bharat Ratna initially didn’t include awards in the posthumous category. It was only in 1955 that amendments were made in the statute, and posthumous Bharat Ratna awards were being conferred. The first individual to be honoured with the Bharat Ratna posthumously was Former Prime Minister of India, Lal Bahadur Shastri, in 1966.
The first singer to receive Bharat Ratna was classical vocalist M. S. Subbulakshmi (1998) and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and actor M. G. Ramachandran (1988) was the first actor. Sachin Tendulkar was the youngest recipient of the award when he received it in 2014, at the age of 40 years. He was also the first sportsperson to be bestowed this honour and, till now, remains the only sportsman to have received it.
On his 100th birthday, social reformer Dhondo Keshav Karve aka Maharshi Karve was awarded the Bharat Ratna in a special ceremony organised on 18 April 1958. Born in 1858 in Ratnagiri district, Karve was a staunch advocate of women welfare and promoted widow education. In 1916, he founded the SNDT Women’s University, the first women’s university in India. He passed away in 1962 at the age of 104 years.
Controversies
Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of India, has been the subject of several controversies over the years. One of the first that dominated national discourse was regarding the conferral of the award to sitting Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1955. At this time, the appropriateness of the action of awarding to an individual who was still in the top office was questioned.
On many occasions, allegations of political influence on the entire process and on the selection of the recipients have been levelled as well. Also, when the decision to confer the Bharat Ratna posthumously was made, there were a few sections that opposed the move vehemently.
The Bharat Ratna award was suspended on at least two occasions in its history. The first time, from July 1977 till January 1980 and on the second instance from August 1992 till December 1995. On the first instance, the suspension was a result of the change in the government at the centre while the second suspension was a result of litigatory roadblocks as a few PILs had questioned the constitutionality of the highest civilian awards of India.
Apart from these, the conferral on several recipients was opposed or criticised for various reasons. These include the posthumous bestowals of Iron Man of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1991 and of freedom fighter and scholar Madan Mohan Malaviya in 2015.
Equivalents around the world
Many countries around the world have their own highest civilian awards which are similar to the Bharat Ratna in India. Here are a few examples:
- United States: The Presidential Medal of Freedom
- United Kingdom: The Order of Merit and the Order of the Companions of Honour
- France: The Legion of Honour
- Japan: The Order of the Chrysanthemum
- Germany: The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Canada: The Order of Canada
- Australia: The Order of Australia
- Brazil: The Order of the Southern Cross
- Russia: The Order of St. Andrew
These awards are given in recognition of a variety of achievements that include contributions made in the fields of arts, sciences, politics and humanitarian causes. These awards are an expression to honour the individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the country and / or humanity.
Nandini Rao is a media researcher with The History and Heritage Project – A DraftCraft International Initiative to document details, analyse facts and plug lacunae generated by oversight or to further national or foreign agenda in History and Heritage Across India and Beyond Borders.