Bharat Ratna Award Winners List: Since it was established in 1954, the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, has been given to deserving people. It pays tribute to those who have made a lasting impact on India’s cultural, political, scientific, or social landscape by honoring contributions that have excelled in a variety of sectors. Recipients come from a wide range of fields, including visionary leaders, social reformers, masters of the arts, and scientific innovators.
This distinguished award is a testament to their tremendous perseverance and accomplishments, which have improved Indian society and had a long-lasting effect on the rest of the globe. Thus, it’s very important for the candidates to have brief information regarding the Bharat Ratna Award Winners List from 1954 to 2024.Â
Bharat Ratna Award Winners List
The Bharat Ratna, which is India’s top honor for special achievements, is suggested by the Prime Minister and given by the President. So far, 48 amazing people have received it, with 14 getting it even after they passed away. It’s interesting that, according to our rules, they can’t officially add it to their names. It’s more like a special recognition than a formal title. The award doesn’t come with money, but the recipients get a special certificate signed by the President and a unique medal that looks like a peepal leaf. On this medal, there’s a picture of India’s emblem and the powerful words “Satyamev Jayate”.
Bharat Ratna Award Winners List From 1954 to 2024
Candidates can go through the Bharat Ratna Award Winners List from the below table:-
| Bharat Ratna Award Winners List From 1954 to 2024 | ||
| Recipients (State/UT) | Year | Key Notes |
| C. Rajagopalachari/ Rajaji (Tamil Nadu) | 1954 | Last Governor General of India, founder of the Swatantra Party, conscience keeper of MK Gandhi. |
| Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan (Tamil Nadu) | 1954 | First Vice President and Second President of India. |
| C. V. Raman (Tamil Nadu) | 1954 | First Asian scientist to win a Nobel Prize in any branch of science, known for Raman Scattering. |
| Bhagwan Das (Uttar Pradesh) | 1955 | Co-founder of Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, contributed to the foundation of Banaras Hindu University. |
| M. Visvesvaraya (Karnataka) | 1955 | Celebrated as Engineer’s Day, contributed to dam development in India. |
| Jawaharlal Nehru (Uttar Pradesh) | 1955 | First and longest-tenured Prime Minister of India. |
| Govind Ballabh Pant (Uttarakhand) | 1957 | First chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, supported making Hindi a national language. |
| Dhondo Keshav Karve (Maharashtra) | 1958 | Great social reformer, known for women’s education and widow remarriage, founded the Widow Marriage Association. |
| Bidhan Chandra Roy (West Bengal) | 1961 | Recognized as the Maker of Modern West Bengal, National Doctors’ Day celebrated on his birth anniversary. |
| Purushottam Das Tandon (Uttar Pradesh) | 1961 | Titled Rajarshi, became the speaker in Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, supported making Hindi the official language. |
| Rajendra Prasad (Bihar) | 1962 | Sworn in as the first President of India, actively involved in the non-cooperation movement with Mahatma Gandhi. |
| Zakir Husain (Andhra Pradesh) | 1963 | Elected as the second Vice President and third President of India, Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University. |
| Pandurang Vaman Kane (Maharashtra) | 1963 | Eminent Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, known for ‘History of Dharmasastra: Ancient and Medieval Religious and Civil Laws in India’. |
| Lal Bahadur Shastri (Uttar Pradesh) | 1966 | First posthumous recipient, second Prime Minister of India, known for the slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’. |
| Indira Gandhi (Uttar Pradesh) | 1971 | First female recipient, Prime Minister during the Indo-Pak War of 1971. |
| V. V. Giri (Odisha) | 1975 | First acting President, fourth President of India, organized trade unions for the freedom struggle. |
| K. Kamaraj (Tamil Nadu) | 1976 | Recognized as the King Maker, played a significant role in making Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi Prime Ministers. |
| Mother Teresa (West Bengal, born in North Macedonia) | 1980 | First naturalized citizen of India to receive the award, founder of Catholics Missionaries of Charity, Nobel Laureate for humanitarian works. |
| Vinoba Bhave (Maharashtra) * | 1983 | Great follower of Gandhism, known for Bhoodan Movement, received Ramon Magsaysay Award for humanitarian works. |
| Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Pakistan) | 1987 | First non-citizen recipient, known as Frontier Gandhi, founder of the Red Shirt Movement (Khudai Khidmatgar). |
| M. G. Ramachandran (Tamil Nadu) * | 1988 | First actor to receive the award, first actor to become Chief Minister of a state, founder of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. |
| B.R. Ambedkar (Maharashtra) | 1990 | Chief architect of the Indian Constitution, first Law Minister, criticized the caste system in Hinduism. |
| B.R. Ambedkar (South Africa) | 1990 | Recognized as the Gandhi of South Africa, second non-citizen recipient, Nobel Peace Prize recipient. |
| Rajiv Gandhi (Uttar Pradesh) | 1991 | Sixth Prime Minister of India, youngest Prime Minister in 1984 at age 40, landmark laws passed during his tenure. |
| Vallabhbhai Patel (Gujarat) | 1991 | Recognized as the Iron Man of India, first Deputy Prime Minister, played an important role in Bardoli Satyagraha and modern-based All India Services. |
| Morarji Desai (Gujarat) | 1991 | Sole national to be awarded the highest civilian honor of Pakistan (Nishan-e-Pakistan), first non-Congress Prime Minister, oldest Prime Minister of India. |
| Abul Kalam Azad (West Bengal) | 1992 | First Education Minister of India, popularly known as Maulana Azad, birth anniversary celebrated as National Education Day. |
| J. R. D. Tata (Maharashtra) | 1992 | Industrialist and aviation pioneer, started Air India, established institutes like Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, TCS, Tata Motors, etc. |
| Satyajit Ray (West Bengal) | 1992 | Brought Indian Cinema to world recognition, first film as director was ‘Pather Panchali’ in 1955, awarded Dadasaheb Phalke Award. |
| Gulzarilal Nanda (Punjab) | 1997 | Served as interim Prime Minister twice, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, raised labor issues on a national platform. |
| Aruna Asaf Ali (West Bengal) | 1997 | First Mayor of Delhi in the post-independence period, actively involved in the Quit India Movement in 1942. |
| A.P.J Abdul Kalam (Tamil Nadu) | 1997 | Recognized as the Missile Man of India, contributed to the development of launch vehicle technology, ballistic missiles, etc., 11th President of India, author of ‘Wings of Fire’, ‘Ignited Minds’, ‘India 2020’, etc. |
| M. S. Subbulakshmi (Tamil Nadu) | 1998 | Classical vocalist in Carnatic music, known as the Queen of Songs, first musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award for public charity works. |
| Chidambaram Subramaniam (Tamil Nadu) | 1998 | Contributed to the Green Revolution in India, contributed to the International Rice Research Institute of Manila, Philippines. |
| Jayaprakash Narayan (Bihar) | 1999 | Recognized as the Loknayak (People’s Leader), launched the Total Revolution Movement against the Congress government. |
| Amartya Sen (West Bengal) | 1999 | Nobel Laureate in Economic Science, contributions to welfare economics, social justice, social choice theory, etc. |
| Gopinath Bordoloi (Assam) | 1999 | First Chief Minister of Assam, recognized as the Lokapriya for his dedication to Assam’s development. |
| Ravi Shankar (Uttar Pradesh) | 1999 | World’s best exponent of Hindustani Classical Music, Grammy Award recipient. |
| Lata Mangeshkar (Maharashtra) | 2001 | Recognized as the Nightingale of India, Voice of Millennium, Queen of Melody, Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipient. |
| Bismillah Khan (Uttar Pradesh) | 2001 | Celebrated classical shehnai player, credited for highlighting the shehnai instrument in Indian music, third classical musician to receive the Bharat Ratna. |
| Bhimsen Joshi (Karnataka) | 2009 | Great exponent of Hindustani classical music, disciple of recognized Kirana Gharana, known for Khyal genre of singing style. |
| C. N. R. Rao (Karnataka) | 2014 | Eminent chemist, contributions to solid-state and structural chemistry, recipient of Marlow Medal, Hughes Medal, Royal Medal, India Science Award, etc. |
| Sachin Tendulkar (Maharashtra) | 2014 | Recognized as the Master Blaster in cricket history, youngest international debutant at age 16, only batsman to score more than 30,000 runs in all forms of international cricket. |
| Madan Mohan Malaviya (Uttar Pradesh) | 2015 | Founder of Banaras Hindu University and Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, recognized as Mahamana. |
| Atal Bihari Bajpayee (Madhya Pradesh) | 2015 | Elected Prime Minister three times, awarded Best Parliamentarian in 1994, also a poet. |
| Pranab Mukherjee (West Bengal) | 2019 | 13th President of India, Leader of the Lok Sabha, passed away in 2020 due to COVID-19. |
| Nanaji Deshmukh (Maharashtra) | 2019 | Real name Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh, contributions to education, rural self-reliance, and health, leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. |
| Bhupen Hazarika (Assam) | 2019 | Recognized as Sudhakantha (Nectar-throated), eminent filmmaker, poet, lyricist, playback singer, and musician. |
| Karpoori Thakur | 2024 | Karpoori Thakur (24 January 1924 – 17 February 1988) was an Indian politician who served two terms as the 11th Chief Minister of Bihar, first from December 1970 to June 1971, and then from June 1977 to April 1979. He was popularly known as Jan Nayak (transl. people’s hero). On 26 January 2024, he was posthumously awarded India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, by the Government of India. This was announced by the President of India Draupadi Murmu on 23 January 2024 First Bharat Ratna Award Winners |
- Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan: He was not only India’s second President but also a brilliant philosopher and teacher. Imagine having a teacher so wise and respected that the whole country decided to honor him in such a grand way!
- C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji): He was like a super important leader in India. Think of him as a really wise and caring elder in our country’s family. He did so much for India’s freedom and development.
- Dr. C.V. Raman: Picture a scientist who was so incredibly smart that he won a Nobel Prize for his amazing work in physics. He showed the world that India had some of the brightest minds in science.
Recent Bharat Ratna Award Winners
- Pranab Mukherjee (posthumously): He was given this special honor in 2019. Pranab Mukherjee was a very important leader in Indian politics and even served as the President of India.
- Nanaji Deshmukh (posthumously): Also in 2019, Nanaji Deshmukh was recognized. He was a very active person in social work and played a big role in making positive changes in society.
- Bhupen Hazarika (posthumously): Another person honored in 2019 was Bhupen Hazarika. He was a hugely influential musician, especially in the culture of Assam.
Bharat Ratna Award Winners List Important Facts
- The Bharat Ratna is India’s highest civilian award, recognizing exceptional contributions to the nation.
- It was established in 1954 and is presented by the President of India.
- The award has been given to over 50 individuals as of September 2021.
- Notable recipients include Jawaharlal Nehru, Mother Teresa, and Sachin Tendulkar.
- The Bharat Ratna can also be awarded posthumously after a person has passed away.
- It covers a wide range of fields, including art, science, public service, and sports.
- The award is a symbol of gratitude and recognition for the recipient’s outstanding achievements.
- Some foreign nationals have received the Bharat Ratna for their exceptional contributions to India.
- There is no specific limit on the number of recipients in a given year.
- The Bharat Ratna is a prestigious honor that celebrates the significant impact made by its recipients on Indian society.
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Bharat Ratna Award Winners List FAQs
Q1. Who gives the Bharat Ratna Award?
Ans. The Bharat Ratna is given by the President of India. The President is like the highest leader in our country.
Q2. When was the Bharat Ratna Award started?
Ans. Bharat Ratna Award started in 1954.Â
Q3. What kinds of things do people get the Bharat Ratna for?
Ans. People get the Bharat Ratna for doing extraordinary things in areas like art, politics, science, and lots of other important fields.
Q4. Can anyone get the Bharat Ratna?
Ans. Not just anyone. It's only given to people who have done truly special things for India.
Q5. What is the Bharat Ratna Award?
Ans. The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award in India. It's like a super special honor given to people who have done amazing things for our country.
