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. The award was originally limited to achievements in the arts, literature, science, and public services, but the government expanded the criteria to include "any field of human endeavour" in December 2011. The recommendations for the Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President, with a maximum of three nominees being awarded per year. The recipients receive a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a peepal leaf-shaped medallion. There is no monetary grant associated with the award. Bharat Ratna recipients rank seventh in the Indian order of precedence.
The Padma Vibhushan is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these awards. However, government servants including those working with PSUs, except doctors and scientists, are not eligible for these Awards. As of 2020, the award has been bestowed on 314 individuals, including seventeen posthumous and twenty-one non-citizen recipients.
Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan, popularly known by his nom de plumeAgyeya, was an Indian writer, poet, novelist, literary critic, journalist, translator and revolutionary in Hindi language. He pioneered modern trends in Hindi poetry, as well as in fiction, criticism and journalism. He is regarded as the pioneer of the Prayogavaad (experimentalism) movements in modern Hindi literature.
Vishnu Prabhakar was a Hindi writer. He had several short stories, novels, plays and travelogues to his credit. Prabhakar's works have elements of patriotism, nationalism and messages of social upliftment. He was the First Sahitya Academy Award winner from Haryana.
Rahul Sankrityayan was an Indian independence activist, writer and a polyglot who wrote in Hindi. He played a pivotal role in giving travelogue a 'literary form'. He was one of the most widely travelled scholars of India, spending forty-five years of his life on travels away from his home. Sankrityayan is often called the "father of Indian travelogue".
Shivmangal Singh "Suman" was an Indian poet and academician who wrote in Hindi.
Govind Chandra Pande was a well-known Indian historian of the Vedic and the Buddhist periods. He served as professor of ancient history and vice-chancellor at Jaipur and Allahabad universities. He was also the chairman of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Simla for several years, the Chairman of Allahabad Museum Society and the Chairman of Central Tibetan Society, Sarnath Varanasi.
Haribhau Upadhyaya was an Indian politician and an Indian independence activist. He was the Chief Minister of Ajmer state from 1952 to 1956.
Minati Mishra was an Indian classical dancer and actress, known for her expertise in the Indian classical dance form of Odissi. She was reported in 2011 to be the oldest-living Odissi performer. The Government of India honored Mishra in 2012, with the fourth-highest civilian award of Padma Shri.
Prabhakar Vaidya is an Indian physical educationist, academic and the honorary secretary of Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal, a century old organization and a national institution working towards modernizing the traditional systems of Sports & Games. He was honored by the Government of India, in 2012, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Gokulotsavji Maharaj is a Hindustani classical musician, specializing in Khayal, Dhrupad Dhammar, Prabandh Gayaki and various other ancient indian musical styles. He is also a singer-cum-composer, writer, poet, and musicologist.
Gyan Chaturvedi is an Indian writer and satirist in Hindi language, known for his satirical novels, Baramasi and Narak Yathra. He was honoured by the Government of India in 2015 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.
Prem Dhawan (1923–2001) was an Indian lyricist, music composer, choreographer and actor of Bollywood known for his patriotic songs, especially for the lyrics and compositions for the 1965 Manoj Kumar starrer, Shaheed. He was a winner of the National Film Award for Best Lyrics in 1971 and was honoured by the Government of India in 1970 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.
Yashpal Jain was an Indian writer.
Kanhaiya Lal Nandan (1933–2010) was an Indian poet, lyricist and a former Features Editor of the Navbharat Times. He also edited the Hindi magazines Parag, Sarika and Dinman.
Leeladhar Jagudi is an Indian teacher, journalist and poet of Hindi literature. He is the author of several poetry anthologies including Natak Jari Hai and Shankha Mukhi Shikharon Par and is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award, for his 1997 anthology, Anubhav Ke Aakash Mein Chand. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2004, for his contributions to Hindi literature.
Bal Krishna Sharma, known under the nome de plume Naveen, was an Indian freedom activist, journalist, politician and a poet of Hindi literature. He was a member of the 1st Lok Sabha, representing Kanpur constituency and served the Rajya Sabha as a member from 1957 till his death. He succeeded Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi as the editor of Pratap daily and also served as a member of the Official Languages Commission. His poetry anthologies include Kumkum, Rashmirekha, Apalak, Kwasi, Vinoba Stavan, Urmila and Hum Vishpaee Janam Ke, the last one published posthumously. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1960, for his contributions to literature. India Post issued a commemorative stamp on Sharma in 1989.
Darshan Lal Jain was an Indian social activist, who was awarded Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, in 2019 for his contribution in social work. He was known for educating young girls and financially troubled children.
Tar Saptak or Taar Saptak is an anthology of Hindi language poems written by seven poets, published in 1943. Compiled by Sachchidananda Vatsyayan, it contain poems of Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh, Nemi Chandra Jain, Bharat Bhushan Agrawal, Prabhakar Machwe, Girija Kumar Mathur, Ram Vilas Sharma, and Agyeya himself. The publication of Tar Saptak has been seen as 'historically significant' event, as it influenced later development of modern Hindi poetry.
Surender Sharma is an Indian poet, writer and humorist. He often writes and performs comic sketches of himself and his wife and known for his refrain chaar lainaa suna raha hoon in Haryanavi dialect. He was honoured by the Government of India in 2013, with the award of Padma Shri for his contributions to the field of literature.
