Many people in India are known for their good work in a particular field and Indian government shows the respect towards them by honouring them with various national awards. These Indian civilian awards are given away in different categories. Here we are discussing from top to bottom the list of highest civilian awards in India given by Government of India to common people of country such as Bharat Ratna, Padam Shri, Padam Bhushan and Padam Vibhushan.
All these national awards of India are given away by President of India.
Also Read ------> List of Presidents of India from 1947 to 2017
Let us discuss all National civilian awards in India details:
Highest Civilian Award Bharat Ratna
Bharat Ratna is the “highest national Civilian award” given to common people by the government. The award is given to people for their good work in various areas such as Science, Arts, Literature and public services. Sports is the latest category that has been added in the list of fields by making amendments in the year 2013. Sachin Tendulkar was given the award in the sports category after the amendments. Sachin is also the youngest person to receive Bharat Ratna Award.
Structure of Bharat Ratna Award
-Dimensions, shape, metal used, content written
Bharat Ratna award is made like a Peepal Leaf and bronze metal is used to make it. Talking about dimensions of Bharat Ratna Award, it is near about 5.8 cm long, 4.7 cm wide. The thickness of the award is 3.1 mm.
In Bharat Ratna award, replica of Sun with diameter of 1.6 cm is placed at the front side. Just under the replica of Sun “Bharat Ratna” is written in Devnagri Script.On the back side of the award, emblem is placed and state motto “Satayameva Jayte” is written just below it. The emblem, Sun and rim are made of using Platinum.
Important Points to Remember regarding Bharat Ratna:
First reciptents of Bharat Ratna Awards
- C. Rajagopalachari,
- Dr S Radhakrishnan
- Dr. CV Raman.
All these were given the award at the in 1954 at the time of initiation of award.
Satyajit Rey was the only film maker to get this award in 1992. In the same year, Subhash Chndra Bose name was also declared for the award as posthumously but this created a great issue and his family didn’t accepted the award because according to government’s wording as posthumously, Bose was considered to be dead. The first person to get this award posthumously was former Prime Minister of India Sh. Lal Bahadur Shashtri.
Till now only two foreigner nationals have honored with “Bharat Ratna award“. One is Khan Abdul Gaff Khan(1987) and second one is Nelson Mandela(1990).
Earlier Prime Ministers of India Pandit Jawahar lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi were the two only persons who nominated themselves for the Bharat Ratna Award.
Padma Vibhushan – Second Highest Civilian Award of India
After Baharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan is second highest national civilian award of India. The award is presented to people from various fields like Art, science, public services and also to government employees. Padama Vibhushan award was started in 1954 with S N Bose, Nand Lal Bose, Zakir Hussain, B G Kher and VK Menon and J D Wangchuk were the persons who first recipients of this award.
Look, Size, Shape and Structure of Padma Vibhushan Award:
The award is circular in shape with a geometric pattern imposed on the circle. The diameter of the circle is 4.4 cm. Thickness is 0.6 mm. Front side of the Padama Vibhushan award contains a lotus flower embossed and “Padma” is written in the Devnagri script at the top of the lotus and “Vibhushan” in devnagri at the bottom of the lotus emblem.
The back side of the award contains structure of state emblem and at bottom of the emblem “Satya Meva Jayte” is written in devnagri script. It is of toned bronze. The embossing is done with white gold on the both sides of the decoration.
Do you know who is the youngest player to get Padam Vibhushan Award?
Answer: It is former Indian cricket team player and captain Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin got this award back in year 2008.
Third Highest Civilian Award : Padma Bhushan
Padma Bhushan is the third in the list of highest civilian awards in India. The structure and design of Padma Bhushan Award is almost similar to Padma Vibhushan except a few things like its embossing on both sides is done with standard gold.
Padam Bhushan awards were started in 1954. Below are the first recipients of Padma Bhushan Awards:
Homi Jahangir Bhabha, Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, M S SubbaLakshmi, Sukumar Sen, Amar nath Jha, RR Handa, Radha Krishan Gupta.
Padma Shri: Fourth Highest Civilian Award
Padma Shri award is fourth in the list of highest civilian Awards in India. The award is announced on republic day every year. The awards are given in following areas below to distinguished people:
Arts, Education, Industry, Literature, Science, Sports, Medicine, Social Service and Public Affairs.
Like other awards Padma Shri is also given to Indian citizens. However in some cases it has also been awarded to non Indian Citizens for their valuable contribution to India through various ways. Till now this award has been received by total 2913 people.
Look, Shape, Size and Built material of Padma Shri:
Padma Shri award looks similar to Padma Bhushan and Padma Bibhushan with lotus at the center in front side. “Padma” in devnagri is written at the top of lotus and “Shri” is written at bottom(Devnagri). All embossing is of stainless steel.
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