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Journalism of Courage
As controversy continues over Home Minister Amit Shah “insulting” Dr BR Ambedkar in Parliament, the BJP and its supporters have repeatedly cited one fact to claim that the Congress “did not respect” Babasaheb — that he was not awarded the Bharat Ratna by successive Congress governments.
How is the Bharat Ratna awarded, how many politicians have received it so far, and under which governments? We explain.
Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the country, instituted in 1954. It is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field. The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President.
No formal recommendations for this are necessary. The Prime Minister is free to consult or obtain advice from any one he chooses. However, as per practice, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) receives several recommendations, which are forwarded to the Prime Minister’s Office. The MHA is the nodal ministry for these awards.
The number of awards is normally restricted to a maximum of three in a year. The recipient or (if posthumously) someone on his/her behalf receives a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a medallion. It does not carry any monetary grant.
Who have been awarded so far?
There are 53 awardees so far. These include all three Prime Ministers from the Nehru-Gandhi family (Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi). Rajiv Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shashtri were given the award posthumously.
Politicians dominate the list of awardees — former governor general Chakravarti Rajgopalachari (in 1954 when he was Chief Minister of Madras, he later quit Congress and founded Swatantra Party); former President S Radhakrishnan (was conferred when he was Vice President); Nehru (when he was PM); former UP CM Govind Ballabh Pant (when he was Union Minister of Home Affairs); BC Roy (when he was CM of West Bengal); Purushottam Das Tandon (former UP Speaker, was conferred when not active in politics); Dr Rajendra Prasad (after his tenure as President ended); former President Dr Zakir Hussain (was conferred as Vice President of India); Indira Gandhi (when she was PM); former President VV Giri (after tenure as President ended).
The Award is normally not conferred posthumously. However, in cases deemed exceptional and highly deserving, the award has been given after the recipient’s death — to 18 people so far.
K Kamaraj, a Congress stalwart who had joined the Congress-O (the non-Indira Gandhi block) after the party split, was awarded posthumously in 1976 during the Emergency. In 1988, the Rajiv Gandhi government conferred the award to MG Ramchandran, AIADMK founder, posthumously.
Other politicians, like Lal Bahadur Shashtri, Morarji Desai, PV Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary Charan Singh, Karpoori Thakur — and Dr BR Ambedkar — have been conferred the award posthumously.
Much has been written about why Dr Ambedkar became important to all political factions years after his demise.
With the foundation of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in 1984, the DS-4 (Dalit Shosit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti) in 1983, and Kanshiram’s book Chamcha Yug (Era of Stooges) published in 1982, things started changing in favour of Dr Ambedkar. The BSP started criticising Mahatma Gandhi and presenting Ambedkar as real hero of deprived sections. The BSP gradually started getting nearly 10 per cent votes in many seats it contested, sending a clear signal that Scheduled Caste voters were solidly backing the new party. This alarmed other established players, who now celebrated Ambedkar more to win over SC/ST votes.
When the Janata Dal government under VP Singh was formed in December 1989, influenced by leaders like Ram Vilas Paswan, Sharad Yadav, and Nitish Kumar, it conferred the Bharat Ratna on Dr Ambedkar in 1990. The BJP was supporting this government from outside until its president LK Advani was arrested in Samastipur (Bihar) on September 24, 1990.
Congressmen awarded by non-Congress governments
Morarji Desai, who quit Congress and became PM in 1977, was conferred in 1991 by then Janata Dal (S) government headed by Chandra Shekhar. Gulzarilal Nanda was conferred the award by the United Front government in 1997. Two prominent Congressmen, former President Pranab Mukherjee and former PM PV Narasimha Rao, were given the Bharat Ratna by the Narendra Modi government.
The Modi government has given 10 Bharat Ratna awards in its more than 10 years of tenure. The winners include Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Madan Mohan Malviya in 2015; and Nanaji Deshmukh, among the founders of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, in 2019.
Last year, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, BJP leader LK Advani, former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh, socialist leader Karpoor Thakur, and agriculture scientist MS Swaminathan were given the awards.
What are the other civilian awards given?
On the eve of Republic Day, the President of India announces Padma Awards. These are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service). They are given on the recommendations of the Padma Awards Committee, constituted by the Prime Minister every year.
In fact, the Government of India had instituted two civilian awards, Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan, in 1954. The latter had three classes, namely Pahela Varg, Dusra Varg and Tisra Varg. These were subsequently renamed as Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri in 1955.
Now there is a dedicated website, which opens for a certain time and receives nominations for these Awards every year.
Can winners use the awards as prefix/suffix?
No. As per Article 18 (1) of the Constitution, the award cannot be used as a prefix or suffix to the recipient’s name. “No title, not being a military or academic distinction, shall be conferred by the State,” the Article states.
However, an award winner can write “Awarded Bharat Ratna by the President” or “Recipient of Bharat Ratna Award,” in their biodata or letterhead, the MHA states. As per the Table of Precedence issued by the MHA, Bharat Ratna awardees find place just behind Union Cabinet Ministers (and their equivalents like Chief Ministers with in their own state, Deputy Chairman of NITI Aayog, former Prime Ministers and Leaders of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha).
