People Awarded By Bharat Ratna

1954

Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), informally called Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian politician, independence activist, lawyer, writer, historian and statesman. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India, as India soon became a Republic in 1950. Furthermore,...Read More

1954

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan pronunciation (5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975) was an Indian philosopher, academic, and statesman who served as the first Vice President of India (1952–1962) and the second President of India (1962–1967).One of India’s most distinguished twentieth-century scholars...Read More

1954

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (7 November 1888 – 21 November 1970) was an Indian physicist who made groundbreaking works in the field of light scattering. With his student K. S. Krishnan, he discovered that when light traverses a transparent material, some of the deflected light change wavelength...Read More

1955

Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya FASc, more commonly known as Sir MV (15 September 1860 – 14 April 1962), was an Indian Civil Engineer (he persued his degree from one of the Best Engineering College at that time and 3rd Oldest college in Asia College of Engineering, Pune) and statesman and the 19th...Read More

1955

Bhagwan Das (12 January 1869 – 18 September 1958) was an Indian Theosophist and public figure. For a time he served in the Central Legislative Assembly of British India. He became allied with the Hindustani Culture Society and was active in opposing rioting as a form of protest. As an advocate for national freedom from the British rule, he was often in danger of reprisals from the Colonial government. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1955.

1955

Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian independence activist and, subsequently, the first Prime Minister of India, as well as a central figure in Indian politics both before and after independence. He emerged as an eminent leader of the Indian independence movement, serving...Read More

1957

Govind Ballabh Pant (10 September 1887 – 7 March 1961) was an Indian freedom fighter and one of the architects of modern India. Alongside Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabh Bhai Patel, Pant was a key figure in the movement for India’s Independence and later a pivotal figure in the...Read More

1958

Dhondo Keshav Karve (18 April 1858 – 9 November 1962), popularly known as Maharshi Karve, was a social reformer in India in the field of women’s welfare He advocated widow remarriage and he himself married a widow. In his honour, Queen’s Road in Mumbai (Bombay) was renamed to Maharshi...Read More

1961

Bidhan Chandra Roy MD, DSc, MRCP, FRCS (1 July 1882 – 1 July 1962) was an eminent Indian physician, educationist, philanthropist, freedom fighter and politician who served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1948 until his death in 1962. Bidhan Roy is often considered the Maker of Modern West...Read More

1962

Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, scholar and subsequently, the first President of India, in office from 1950 to 1962. He was an Indian political leader and lawyer by training. Prasad joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian...Read More

1961

Purushottam Das Tandon ( 1 August 1882 – 1 July 1962) was a freedom fighter from Uttar Pradesh, India. He is widely remembered for his opposition to the partition of India, as well as efforts in achieving the Official Language of India status for Hindi. He was customarily given the title Rajarshi (etymology: Raja + Rishi = Royal Saint). He was popularly known as UP Gandhi. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, in 1961.

1963

Zakir Husain Khan (8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was an Indian economist and politician who served as the third President of India, from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969.
He previously served as Governor of Bihar from 1957 to 1962 and as Vice President of India from 1962 to 1967....Read More

1963

Pandurang Vaman Kane (pronounced Kaa-nay) (7 May 1880 – 8 May 1972) was a notable Indologist and Sanskrit scholar. He received India’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna in 1963 for his scholarly work that spanned more than 40 years of active academic research that resulted in 6,500 pages...Read More

1966

Lal Bahadur Shastri (2 October 1904 – 11 January 1966) was an Indian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of India. He promoted the White Revolution – a national campaign to increase the production and supply of milk – by supporting the Amul milk co-operative of Anand, Gujarat...Read More

1971

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi ( 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was the first and, to date, only female Prime Minister of India. Indira Gandhi was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India....Read More

1975

Varahagiri Venkata Giri ( Telugu: వరాహగిరి వేంకటగిరి; 10 August 1894 – 24 June 1980) was the fourth president of India from 24 August 1969 to 24 August 1974. He was the only president to be elected as an independent candidate. He was succeeded by Fakhruddin Ali...Read More

1976

Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975), was the founder and the president of the Indian National Congress (Organisation), widely acknowledged as the “Kingmaker” in Indian politics during the 1960s. He also served as the president of the Indian National Congress for two terms...Read More

1980

Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), honoured in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary. She was born in Skopje (now the capital of North Macedonia), then part of the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire....Read More

1983

Vinayak Narahari “Vinoba” Bhave ( 11 September 1895 – 15 November 1982) was an Indian advocate of nonviolence and human rights. Often called Acharya (Sanskrit for teacher), he is best known for the Bhoodan Movement. He is considered as a National Teacher of India and the spiritual successor of Mohandas Gandhi. He was an eminent philosopher. The Gita has also been translated into Marathi language by him with the name as Geetai means mother Geeta.

1988

Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 – 24 December 1987), popularly known as M. G. R., was an Indian politician and film actor who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for ten years between 1977 and 1987. He was also a philanthropist and a humanitarian icon. In 1988, M.G.R. was awarded...Read More

1987

Abdul Ghaffār Khān ( 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bādshāh Khān (بادشاه خان‎, ‘King Khan’) or Bāchā Khān (باچا خان‎, ‘King of Chiefs’) and honourably addressed as Fakhr-e-Afghan (فخرِ افغان‎, ‘Pride of Afghans’),...Read More

1990

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956), also known as Babasaheb Ambedkar, was an Indian scholar, jurist, economist, politician and social reformer, who inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement and campaigned against social discrimination towards the untouchables (Dalits), while also...Read More

1990

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country’s first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative...Read More

1991

Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), popularly known as Sardar Patel, was an Indian politician. He served as the first Deputy Prime Minister of India. He was an Indian barrister, and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress who played a leading role in the country’s...Read More

1991

Rajiv Ratna Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the 6th Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to become the youngest Indian Prime Minister at the age of 40.
Gandhi...Read More

1991

Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian independence activist and served between 1977 and 1979 as the 4th Prime Minister of India and led the government formed by the Janata Party. During his long career in politics, he held many important posts in government such...Read More

1992

Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Hussaini Azad pronunciation (11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958) was an Indian scholar, Islamic theologian, independence activist, and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress during the Indian independence movement. Following India’s...Read More

1992

Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (29 July 1904 – 29 November 1993) was an Indian aviator, industrialist, entrepreneur and chairman of Tata Group.
Born into the Tata family of India, he was the son of noted businessman Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata and his wife Suzanne Brière. His mother was the first...Read More

1992

Satyajit Ray (2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, writer, illustrator and music composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, celebrated for works such as The Apu Trilogy (1955–59), The Music Room (1958), The Big City (1963) and...Read More

1997

Gulzarilal Nanda (4 July 1898 – 15 January 1998) was an Indian politician and economist who specialized in labour issues. He was the Acting Prime Minister of India for two short periods following the deaths of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1964 and Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966. Both his terms ended after the ruling Indian National Congress’s parliamentary party elected a new prime minister. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, in 1997.

1997

Aruna Asaf Ali ( Ganguly ) (16 July 1909 – 29 July 1996 ) was an Indian educator, political activist, and publisher. An active participant in the Indian independence movement, she is widely remembered for hoisting the Indian National flag at the Gowalia Tank maidan, Bombay during a Quit India Movement in 1942. Post-independence, she remained active in politics, becoming Delhi’s first Mayor.

1997

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (15 October 1931 – 27 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and politician who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied physics and aerospace engineering. He spent the next four...Read More

1998

Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour. She is the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay...Read More

1998

Chidambaram Subramaniam (commonly known as CS) (30 January 1910 – 7 November 2000), was an Indian politician and Independence activist. He served as Minister of Finance and Minister of Defence in the union cabinet. He later served as the Governor of Maharashtra. As the Minister for Food and Agriculture,...Read More

1999

Jayaprakash Narayan ( 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), popularly referred to as JP or Lok Nayak (Hindi for The People’s Leader), was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. He is also known as the “Hero of Quit India Movement” and he is remembered...Read More

1999

Amartya Kumar Sen (born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, economic and social justice, economic theories of famines, decision theory, development...Read More

1999

Gopinath Bordoloi (6 June 1890 – 5 August 1950) was a politician and Indian independence activist who served as the first Chief Minister of Assam. He was a follower of the Gandhian principle of non-violence as a political tool. Due to his unselfish dedication towards Assam and its people, the then Governor of Assam Jayram Das Doulatram conferred him with the title “Lokapriya” (loved by all).

1999

Ravi Shankar (born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, spelled Ravindra Shankar Chowdhury 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012), whose name is often preceded by the title Pandit (Master), was an Indian sitar virtuoso and a composer. He was the best-known proponent of the sitar in the second half of the 20th...Read More

2001

Lata Mangeshkar (born as Hema Mangeshkar on 28 September 1929) is an Indian playback singer and music director. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. She has recorded songs in over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional Indian languages...Read More

2001

Ustad Qamruddin “Bismillah” Khan (21 March 1916 – 21 August 2006) (born as Qamaruddin Khan), often referred to by the title Ustad, was an Indian musician credited with popularizing the shehnai, a subcontinental wind instrument of the oboe class. While the shehnai had long held importance...Read More

2009

Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi ( 4 February 1922 – 24 January 2011) was an Indian vocalist from Karnataka, in the Hindustani classical tradition. He is known for the khayal form of singing, as well as for his popular renditions of devotional music (bhajans and abhangs). Bhimsen Joshi belongs to the...Read More

2014

Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao FRS, also known as C. N. R. Rao (born 30 June 1934), is an Indian chemist who has worked mainly in solid-state and structural chemistry. He has honorary doctorates from 60 universities from around the world, and has authored around 1,600 research publications and...Read More

2014

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar ( born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who served as captain of the Indian national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the highest run scorer of all time in International cricket. Considered...Read More

2015

Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (25 December 1861 – 12 November 1946) was an Indian scholar, educational reformer and politician notable for his role in the Indian independence movement, as the four times president of Indian National Congress and the founder of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha. He was...Read More

2015

Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian statesman who served three terms as the Prime Minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 to 1999, followed by a full term from 1999 to 2004. A member of the Bharatiya Janata...Read More

2019

Pranab Kumar Mukherjee (Bengali pronunciation: [prɔnɔb kuːmaːr mukʰardʒi̯]; 11 December 1935 – 31 August 2020) was an Indian politician who served as the 13th President of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the Indian...Read More

2019

Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh also known as Nanaji Deshmukh (11 October 1916 – 27 February 2010) was a social reformer and politician from India. He worked in the fields of education, health, and rural self-reliance. He was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 1999. He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award in 2019 by Government of India. He was a leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and also a member of the Rajya Sabha.

2019

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika (8 September 1926 – 5 November 2011) was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet and filmmaker from Assam, widely known as Xudha kontho (सुधाकण्ठ, meaning cuckoo, literally “nectar-throated”). His songs, written and sung mainly in the Assamese...Read More