Bharat Ratna 2019

Bharat Ratna 2019

Question: Which of the following personality is announced to be awarded with Bharat Ratna Award?
(a) Pranab Mukherjee
(b) Nanaji Deshmukh
(c) Bhupen Hazarika
(d) Major Dhyanchand
Correct option:
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 1, 3 and 4
(c) 1, 2 and 4
(d) All of the above.
Answer: (a)
Related facts:

  • Government announced the prestigious Bharat Ratna award, India`s Highest Civilian Award. Former President Pranab Mukherjee, Late Singer Bhupen Hazarika and Late Social Activist Nanaji Deshmukh will be awarded the Bharat Ratna.

Pranab Mukherjee:

  • Pranab Mukherjee was born in 1935 Bengal and has been a senior Congress leader. He has held many key posts in Union Cabinet like that of Finance Minister, Defence Minister, Minister of External Affairs as well as various other important offices.
  • He then became the 13th President of Nation in 2012 and was succeeded by Ram Nath Kovind in 2017. He was awarded with Padma Vibhushan in 2008.

Nanaji Deshmukh:

  • Born in October 1916 in Hingoli district of Maharashtra, Nanaji Deshmukh was a renowned social activist and RSS Veteran. He was the founding member of BJP and also was MP from Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh.
  • He did a lot of work in popularising social restructuring programme in over 500 villages of UP and Madhya Pradesh. He passed away in 2010. He was awarded with Padma Vibhushan in 1999.

Bhupen Hazarika:

  • Bhupen Hazarika (1926-2011) was a famous singer, filmmaker and lyricist. He is deeply respected in North East and particularly in Assam for giving nationwide recognition to Assamese songs by penning and singing songs on universal peace and communal harmony.
  • He is known as Bard of Brahmaputra. He was awarded cinema`s Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1992, Padma Bhushan in 2001 and Padma Vibhushan in 2012. He was also associated to BJP and contested 2004 Lok Sabha pools from Guwahati constituency which he lost.

Bharat Ratna Awards:

  • ‘Bharat Ratna’, the highest civilian Award of the country, was instituted in the year 1954. Any person without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex is eligible for these awards.
  • It is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour. The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister himself to the President. No formal recommendations for this are necessary.
  • The number of annual awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year. On conferment of the award, the recipient receives a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a medallion. The Award does not carry any monetary grant.
  • Chandrasekhara Venkat Raman, C. Rajgopalachari and Dr. S. Radhakrishnan were the first recipients of the award in 1954.
  • Only two foreign nationals are awarded Bharat Ratna namely Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (1987) and Nelson Mandela (1990). Lal Bahadur Shastri was the first to receive this award posthumously in 1966.

Links:
https://mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/Scheme-BR_1.pdf
https://presidentofindia.nic.in/press-release-detail.htm?1541
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharat_Ratna
http://knowindia.gov.in/general-information/bharat-ratna.php
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/pranab-mukherjee-bharat-ratna-nanaji-deshmukh-bhupen-hazarika-5555467/