All about Bharat Ratna: 5 people nominated for the award this year

The Bharat Ratna, established in 1954, stands as India's highest civilian award. Conferred upon individuals for outstanding service or performance across various fields, it has been bestowed upon 53 individuals, 18 of whom posthumously. Recipients are presented with a certificate bearing the President of India's signature and a distinctive peepal leaf-shaped medallion. Notably, the award carries no monetary grant. Those honored with the Bharat Ratna hold the esteemed seventh position in the Indian order of precedence.

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The idea of a national honour for eminent citizens was first proposed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1954, who suggested that such an award should be limited to three per year and should not be conferred posthumously. The first recipients of the Bharat Ratna were scientist C. V. Raman, philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and politician Rajagopalachari, who were awarded on January 26, 1955. The award was suspended from 1977 to 1980, during the Janata Party regime, and was revived in 1980 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The award was also briefly abolished in 1992, following a Supreme Court case that challenged its constitutional validity, but was restored in 1995 after the court upheld its legality.

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The recommendations for the Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President, with a maximum of three nominees being awarded per year. The award is open to every person, regardless of race, occupation, position, or gender. The original statutes of 1954 did not allow posthumous awards, but this provision was changed in 1966 to honour former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. The criteria for the award were also expanded in 2011 to include “any field of human endeavour”, thus allowing recognition of achievements in arts, literature, science, sports, social work, and public service.

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On February 9, 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that five eminent personalities will be honoured with the Bharat Ratna for their contributions to the nation. They are:

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Karpoori Thakur was the first backward class leader to become the chief minister of Bihar, and the first to implement reservation for the backward classes in government jobs and education. He served two terms as the chief minister of Bihar. He was also the first to introduce the anti-liquor law in Bihar. A disciple of Ram Manohar Lohia, he was a follower of the socialist ideology. He was also a prominent leader of the JP Movement, which opposed the Emergency and fought for civil liberties and democracy. The veteran politician was also a pioneer of the Bihar Movement, which aimed to bring social and economic justice to the oppressed and exploited sections of the society. Apart from his political work he was also a writer and a poet, who wrote in Hindi, Maithili, and Bhojpuri. He published several books, including Apna Samay, which is a collection of his speeches and writings.

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A veteran politician and one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Advani is credited with shaping the party’s ideology and strategy. He was the longest-serving president of the BJP, and the architect of its rise to power in the 1990s. He was the chief organiser of the Ram Rath Yatra in 1990, which mobilised millions of Hindus for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. He was a vocal critic of the Congress and its allies, and exposed several scams and scandals during his tenure as the Leader of the Opposition. He also advocated for the abrogation of Article 370, the enactment of the Uniform Civil Code, and the implementation of the National Register of Citizens. He was also a champion of the India-US nuclear deal, and the Pokhran-II nuclear tests. Mr Advani was also a prolific writer and blogger, who wrote several books, including My Country My Life, which is an autobiography. He continues to be active in politics at the age of 96.

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A farmer leader and former Prime Minister of India, Singh is revered as the messiah of the peasants. He was the only prime minister to have resigned without facing a parliamentary vote of confidence. He was a staunch opponent of the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi in 1975, and was jailed along with other opposition leaders. He was instrumental in forming the Janata Party, which defeated the Congress in the 1977 general elections. He was also the founder of the Bharatiya Lok Dal, which later merged with other parties to form the Rashtriya Lok Dal. He was a champion of the cooperative movement and the Jai Jawan Jai Kisan slogan. He also introduced the Land Holding Act, the Abolition of Zamindari and Land Reforms Act, which aimed to redistribute land among the landless farmers.

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A scholar, statesman, and former Prime Minister of India, Rao is widely regarded as the father of economic reforms in India. He was the first prime minister from South India and the first from the Congress party to govern without a majority in the Lok Sabha. He also led the Congress to a record victory in the 1991 general elections, despite the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. He steered the country through a critical phase of balance of payments crisis, political instability, and social unrest and initiated several bold measures to liberalize and globalize the Indian economy. PV Narasimha Rao was a pioneer of the Look East policy, which strengthened India’s relations with Southeast Asia and China. He also handled the 1991 Gulf War crisis, the 1993 Bombay blasts, and the 1995 Punjab insurgency with tact and diplomacy.

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A renowned agricultural scientist and the chief architect of the Green Revolution in India, Swaminathan is hailed as the “Father of Indian Agriculture” for his role in introducing high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice and improving irrigation and fertiliser use. The United Nations Environment Program hailed him as the 'Father of Economic Ecology'. He also established the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF). He was a pioneer of the Evergreen Revolution, which aimed to achieve productivity and sustainability in agriculture, without harming the environment. He also advocated for the rights and welfare of women and tribal farmers, and promoted organic farming, biofortification, and agroforestry. He was honoured with the Padma Shri, the Padma Vibhushan, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, and the World Food Prize, among others.

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