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Bharat Ratna Award Winners List (1954-2026)
Bharat Ratna Award Winners List (1954-2026)
The Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian award, established on January 2, 1954. It is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order" without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex.
As of February 2026, there have been a total of 53 recipients. Notably, 2024 saw a record-breaking five awards conferred in a single year.
Key Facts & Trivia
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The Design: The award is shaped like a peepal leaf, made of toned bronze, with a replica of the sun and the words "Bharat Ratna" embossed in Devanagari script.
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Youngest & Oldest: Sachin Tendulkar is the youngest recipient (awarded at age 40), while Dhondo Keshav Karve was the oldest living recipient (awarded on his 100th birthday).
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Non-Citizens: Only two non-Indians have received the award: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987) and Nelson Mandela (1990). Mother Teresa was a naturalized citizen.
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Posthumous Awards: Originally not allowed, the statutes were amended in 1966. Lal Bahadur Shastri was the first to be honored posthumously.
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Maximum Awards: Usually, a maximum of three Bharat Ratnas are awarded in a year, but an exception was made in 1999 (four awards) and 2024 (five awards).
|
Year
|
Recipient
|
Field / Notable Contribution
|
|
1954
|
C. Rajagopalachari
|
Last Governor-General of India, Freedom Fighter
|
|
1954
|
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
|
1st Vice-President & 2nd President of India
|
|
1954
|
C. V. Raman
|
Nobel Laureate Physicist (Raman Effect)
|
|
1955
|
Bhagwan Das
|
Independence Activist, Philosopher
|
|
1955
|
M. Visvesvaraya
|
Civil Engineer, Diwan of Mysore
|
|
1955
|
Jawaharlal Nehru
|
1st Prime Minister of India
|
|
1957
|
Govind Ballabh Pant
|
Freedom Fighter, 1st CM of Uttar Pradesh
|
|
1958
|
Dhondo Keshav Karve
|
Social Reformer (Women's Education)
|
|
1961
|
Bidhan Chandra Roy
|
Physician, "Maker of Modern West Bengal"
|
|
1961
|
Purushottam Das Tandon
|
Independence Activist, "Rajarshi"
|
|
1962
|
Rajendra Prasad
|
1st President of India
|
|
1963
|
Zakir Husain
|
3rd President of India, Educationist
|
|
1963
|
Pandurang Vaman Kane
|
Indologist and Sanskrit Scholar
|
|
1966
|
Lal Bahadur Shastri
|
2nd PM (Posthumous), "Jai Jawan Jai Kisan"
|
|
1971
|
Indira Gandhi
|
3rd Prime Minister of India
|
|
1975
|
V. V. Giri
|
4th President of India, Trade Union Leader
|
|
1976
|
K. Kamaraj
|
Freedom Fighter, CM of Tamil Nadu (Posthumous)
|
|
1980
|
Mother Teresa
|
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Saint
|
|
1983
|
Vinoba Bhave
|
Bhoodan Movement Leader (Posthumous)
|
|
1987
|
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
|
"Frontier Gandhi" (Non-Citizen, Pakistan)
|
|
1988
|
M. G. Ramachandran
|
Actor and CM of Tamil Nadu (Posthumous)
|
|
1990
|
B. R. Ambedkar
|
Architect of Indian Constitution (Posthumous)
|
|
1990
|
Nelson Mandela
|
Anti-Apartheid Leader (Non-Citizen, S. Africa)
|
|
1991
|
Rajiv Gandhi
|
6th Prime Minister of India (Posthumous)
|
|
1991
|
Vallabhbhai Patel
|
"Iron Man of India" (Posthumous)
|
|
1991
|
Morarji Desai
|
4th Prime Minister of India
|
|
1992
|
Abul Kalam Azad
|
1st Education Minister (Posthumous)
|
|
1992
|
J. R. D. Tata
|
Industrialist and Aviation Pioneer
|
|
1992
|
Satyajit Ray
|
Legendary Filmmaker
|
|
1997
|
Gulzarilal Nanda
|
Interim Prime Minister (Posthumous)
|
|
1997
|
Aruna Asaf Ali
|
Independence Activist (Posthumous)
|
|
1997
|
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
|
"Missile Man", 11th President of India
|
|
1998
|
M. S. Subbulakshmi
|
Carnatic Classical Vocalist
|
|
1998
|
C. Subramaniam
|
Architect of India's Green Revolution
|
|
1999
|
Jayaprakash Narayan
|
"Lok Nayak", Social Reformer (Posthumous)
|
|
1999
|
Amartya Sen
|
Nobel Laureate Economist
|
|
1999
|
Gopinath Bordoloi
|
1st CM of Assam (Posthumous)
|
|
1999
|
Ravi Shankar
|
Sitar Maestro
|
|
2001
|
Lata Mangeshkar
|
"Nightingale of India", Playback Singer
|
|
2001
|
Bismillah Khan
|
Shehnai Virtuoso
|
|
2009
|
Bhimsen Joshi
|
Hindustani Classical Vocalist
|
|
2014
|
C. N. R. Rao
|
Eminent Chemist
|
|
2014
|
Sachin Tendulkar
|
Legendary Cricketer (Youngest Recipient)
|
|
2015
|
Madan Mohan Malaviya
|
Founder of BHU, Educationist (Posthumous)
|
|
2015
|
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
|
10th Prime Minister of India
|
|
2019
|
Pranab Mukherjee
|
13th President of India
|
|
2019
|
Nanaji Deshmukh
|
Social Activist (Posthumous)
|
|
2019
|
Bhupen Hazarika
|
Musician and Filmmaker (Posthumous)
|
|
2024
|
Karpoori Thakur
|
Socialist Leader, Former CM of Bihar (Posthumous)
|
|
2024
|
Lal Krishna Advani
|
Former Deputy Prime Minister of India
|
|
2024
|
Chaudhary Charan Singh
|
5th PM, "Champion of Peasants" (Posthumous)
|
|
2024
|
P. V. Narasimha Rao
|
9th PM, Economic Reformer (Posthumous)
|
|
2024
|
M. S. Swaminathan
|
"Father of Green Revolution" (Posthumous)
|
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