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President Droupadi Murmu to Confer Bharat Ratna to Five Eminent Personalities

Kalyani Jha
30 Mar, 2024

On Saturday, President Droupadi Murmu will bestow the prestigious Bharat Ratna award upon five distinguished personalities in a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The recipients include former Prime Ministers Chaudhary Charan Singh and PV Narasimha Rao, former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur, eminent agronomist MS Swaminathan, and BJP veteran LK Advani. Notably, four of the five awards this year are posthumous, with Advani being the sole living recipient at the age of 96.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recommended these eminent figures for the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour. According to reports from ANI news agency, President Murmu will personally visit LK Advani’s residence on Sunday to confer him with the prestigious award. This decision was made considering Advani’s ailing health, as per Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sources.

LK Advani holds a special place in BJP’s history, being a founding member who played a crucial role in shaping the party’s trajectory during the 1990s. With Advani’s inclusion, the total number of Bharat Ratna recipients since its inception in 1954 has reached 53.

Karpoori Thakur, renowned for his advocacy of backward empowerment, and PV Narasimha Rao, a veteran Congress leader who served as Prime Minister from 1991 to 1996, are among the awardees. Chaudhary Charan Singh, a stalwart in anti-Congress politics and a prominent Jat leader from western Uttar Pradesh, also receives this esteemed recognition.

Dr MS Swaminathan’s contributions to India’s agriculture sector are well-celebrated. He played a pivotal role in driving India towards self-reliance in agriculture during challenging times and spearheaded efforts in modernizing Indian agriculture.

The Bharat Ratna is a symbol of exceptional service across various fields of human endeavour, bestowed without any distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. Instituted in 1954, the award comes with a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a medallion, although it does not carry any monetary grant, as clarified by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Notably, no Bharat Ratna was conferred between 2020 and 2023.