The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred “in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order”, without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. Total awarded: 53Last Awarded: 2024 The first recipients of the Bharat Ratna were politician C. Rajagopalachari, philosopher Sarvepalli […]