Ex-PMs Chaudhary Charan Singh, PV Narasimha Rao, Agriculturalist MS Swaminathan Conferred With Bharat Ratna

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced that the Government of India decided to confer Bharat Ratna to former prime ministers Chaudhary Charan Singh and PV Narasimha, and revolutionary agriculturalist MS Swaminathan. While taking to microblogging platform X, PM Modi said it is his immense joy to announce the nation's highest civilian award for these great personalities.

Earlier this year, the Government of India conferred the Bharat Ratna to former deputy prime minister and BJP stalwart Lal Krishna Advani, and former Bihar chief minister and socialist leader Karpoori Thakur in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order" in the field of administration and social welfare.

What Is Bharat Ratna and How Govt Decides To Honour This Award?

Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of India and is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order" in ''any field of human endeavour'' by the Centre government. The civilian award which literally translates to ''jewel of India'' was instituted on January 2, 1954, and has been awarded to 53 individuals to date.

List Of Bharat Ratna Recipients

1. PV Narsimha Rao (politician) - Telangana (2023)
2. Chaudhary Charan Singh (politician) - Uttar Pradesh (2023)
3. MS Swaminathan (agriculturalist) - Tamil Nadu (2023)
4. Lal Krishna Advani (politician) - Gujarat (2023)
5. Karpoori Thakur (politician) – Bihar (2023)
6. Nanaji Deshmukh (social activist) – Maharashtra (2019)
7. Bhupen Hazarika (playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet, and film-maker) – Assam (2019)
8. Pranab Mukherjee (politician) – West Bengal (2019)
9. Atal Bihari Vajpayee (politician) – Madhya Pradesh (2015)
10. Madan Mohan Malaviya (Scholar and educational reformer) – Uttar Pradesh (2015)
11. Sachin Tendulkar (cricketer) – Maharashtra (2014)
12. CNR Rao (chemist and professor) – Karnataka (2014)
13. Bhimsen Joshi (Hindustani classical vocalist) – Karnataka (2009)
14. Bismillah Khan (Hindustani classical shehnai player) – Uttar Pradesh (2001)
15. Lata Mangeshkar (playback singer) – Maharashtra (2001)
16. Ravi Shankar (sitar player) – Uttar Pradesh (1999)
17. Gopinath Bordoloi (Independence activist) – Assam (1999)
18. Amartya Sen (economist) – West Bengal (1999)
19. Jayaprakash Narayan (Independence activist, social reformer) – Bihar (1999)
20. Chidambaram Subramaniam (Independence activist) – Tamil Nadu (1998)
21. MS Subbulakshmi (Carnatic classical vocalist) – Tamil Nadu (1998)
22. APJ Abdul Kalam (Aerospace and defence scientist) – Tamil Nadu (1997)
23. Aruna Asaf Ali (Independence activist) – West Bengal (1997)
24. Gulzarilal Nanda (Independence activist) – Punjab (1997)
25. Satyajit Ray (Filmmaker) – West Bengal (1992)
26. JRD Tata (Industrialist) – Maharashtra (1992)
27. Abdul Kalam Azad (Independence activist) – West Bengal (1992)
28. Morarji Desai (Independence activist) – Gujarat (1991)
29. Sadar Vallabhbhai Patel (Independence activist) – Gujarat (1991)
30. Rajiv Gandhi (politician) – Uttar Pradesh (1991)
31. Nelson Mandela (anti-apartheid activist) – South Africa (1990)
32. BR Ambedkar (Social reformer) – Maharashtra (1990)
33. MG Ramachandran (actor turned politician) – Tamil Nadu (1998)
34. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Independence activist) – Pakistan (1987)
35. Vinoba Bhave (Independence activist, social reformer) – Maharashtra (1983)
36. Mother Teresa (Catholic nun) – West Bengal (1980)
37. K Kamaraj (politician) – Tamil Nadu (1976)
38. VV Giri (Independence activist) – Odisha (1975)
39. Indira Gandhi (politician) – Uttar Pradesh (1971)
40. Lal Bahadur Shastri (Independence activist) – Uttar Pradesh (1966)
41. Pandurang Vaman Kane (Indologist and Sanskrit scholar) – Maharashtra (1963)
42. Zakir Husain (Independence activist and education philosopher) – Andhra Pradesh (1963)
43. Rajendra Prasad (Independence activist, lawyer, statesman, and scholar) – Bihar (1962)
44. Purushottam Das Tandon (Independence activist) – Uttar Pradesh (1961)
45. Bidhan Chandra Roy (physician, political leader, philanthropist, educationist, and social worker) – West Bengal (1961)
46. Dhondo Keshav Karve (Social reformer and educator) – Maharashtra (1958)
47. Govind Ballabh Pant (Independence activist) – Uttarakhand (1957)
48. Jawahar Lal Nehru (Independence activist and author) – Uttar Pradesh (1955)
49. M Visvesvaraya (Civil engineer, statesman, and Diwan of Mysore) – Karnataka (1955)
50. Bhagwan Das (Independence activist, philosopher, and educationist) – Uttar Pradesh (1955)
51. CV Raman (physicist) – Tamil Nadu (1955)
52. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (philosopher and politician) – Tamil Nadu (1954) 
53. C Rajagopalachari (statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activist) – Tamil Nadu (1954)