Bharat Ratna 2024

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on 9 February that former Prime Ministers PV Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh, alongside agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan, will be conferred the Bharat Ratna. Earlier, politician and former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur, and politician and former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani were announced to be conferred with India’s highest civilian honour.
• This year’s five recipients surpass the four awarded in 1999, marking the highest number of Bharat Ratnas awarded in a single year.

About Bharat Ratna:

• The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of “exceptional service/performance of the highest order”, without distinction of race, occupation, position or gender.
• The first recipients of the Bharat Ratna were: the former Governor-General of the Union of India C. Rajagopalachari, the former President of the Republic of India Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan; and the Indian physicist C. V. Raman, honoured in 1954. 
• Since then, the award has been bestowed upon 53 individuals, including 18 awarded posthumously. The original statutes did not provide for posthumous awards but amendments were made in January 1966 to permit them to honor former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, the first individual honored posthumously. 
• In 2014, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, then aged 40, became the youngest recipient, while social reformer Dhondo Keshav Karve was the oldest recipient on his 100th birthday. 
• Though usually conferred on India-born citizens, the award has been conferred on one naturalized citizen, Mother Teresa, and on two non-Indians: Abdul Ghaffar Khan (born in British India and later a citizen of Pakistan) and Nelson Mandela, a citizen of South Africa.

Karpoori Thakur (Posthumous): Bihar’s former chief minister and a well-known socialist leader will be posthumously honoured with Bharat Ratna. Popularly known as ‘Jan Nayak’ (people’s leader), Thakur will become the 49th recipient of this prestigious award.

Lal Krishna Advani: Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart and former deputy prime minister, has been associated with the party since its establishment in 1980. Apart from this Advani served as both the home minister and deputy Prime Minister under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee from 1999 to 2004. Henceforth, current PM Narendra Modi disclosed that Advani would be bestowed with India’s highest civilian honour on 3 February, 2024.

Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (Posthumous): Ex-Prime Minister, who passed away in 2004, will be conferred with Bharat Ratna. Evidently, PV Narasimha Rao, a respected Telugu leader, served a full five-year term as prime minister from 1991 to 1996. He is widely lauded for his pivotal role in introducing economic reforms.

Chaudhary Charan Singh (Posthumous): Another former Prime Minister and prominent Jat leader hailing from western Uttar Pradesh will receive Bharat Ratna. He is known for playing a pivotal role in spearheading anti-Congress politics during an era when the party held dominant influence.

Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan (Posthumous): Eminent agronomist will be the fifth person to receive Bharat Ratna. Swaminathan is by and large known for his significant contributions to agriculture and the welfare of farmers. He revolutionized Indian agriculture, ensuring both food security and prosperity for the nation.

Practice Questions for Prelims

Consider the following statements:
1. The Bharat Ratna is the highest gallantry award conferred by the government of India.
2. The foreigners are barred from receiving the Bharat Ratna.

How many of the statements given above is / are correct:
a) Only statement 1 is correct
b) Only statement 2 is correct
c) Both the statements are correct
d) None of the statements is correct

Ans. d)

Mains Practice Question

Discuss the relevance and role of civilian awards in a socio-economically diverse country like India. Suggest reforms.

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