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 Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service of a high order...without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex." The award criteria include "service in any field including service rendered by Government servants" including doctors and scientists, but exclude those working with the public sector undertakings. As of 2020, the award has been bestowed on 1270 individuals, including twenty-four posthumous and ninety-seven non-citizen recipients.
Jagjit Singh, born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman, popularly known as "The Ghazal King" or "King of Ghazals", was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in numerous languages and is credited for the revival and popularity of ghazal, an Indian classical art form, by choosing poetry that was relevant to the masses and composing them in a way that laid more emphasis on the meaning of words and melody evoked by them. In terms of Indian Classical music, his style of composing and Gayaki (singing) is considered as Bol-pradhan, one that lays emphasis on words. He highlighted this in his music for films such as Prem Geet (1981), Arth (1982), and Saath Saath (1982), and TV serials Mirza Ghalib (1988) and Kahkashan (1991). Singh is considered to be the most successful ghazal singer and composer of all time in terms of critical acclaim and commercial success. With a career spanning five decades and many albums, the range and breadth of his work has been regarded as genre-defining.
Ratan Naval Tata GBE is an Indian industrialist, philanthropist, and a former chairman of Tata Sons. He was also chairman of Tata Group, from 1990 to 2012, and again, as interim chairman, from October 2016 through February 2017, and continues to head its charitable trusts. He is the recipient of two of the highest civilian awards of India, the Padma Vibhushan (2008) and Padma Bhushan (2000).
Ratnasimha was a ruler of the Medapata (Mewar) kingdom in present-day Rajasthan, India. He belonged to the Rawal branch of the Guhila dynasty, which ruled from the Chitrakuta fort. The last ruler of this branch, he was defeated by Alauddin Khalji in 1303 CE.
Komal Kothari was an Indian folk artist and classical singer.
Hadi Rani was a Queen of Rajasthan in India. She was a daughter of Hada Chauhan Rajput married to Ratan Singh, a Chundawat chieftain of Salumbar in Mewar who sacrificed herself to motivate her husband to go to a battle.
Lakshmi Kumari Chundawat was an Indian author and politician from Rajasthan.
Ratan Thiyam is an Indian playwright and theatre director, and the winner of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987, one of leading figures of the "theatre of roots" movement in Indian theatre, which started in the 1970s. Also known as Thiyam Nemai, Ratan Thiyam is known for writing and staging plays that use ancient Indian theatre traditions and forms in a contemporary context. A former painter, and proficient in direction, design, script and music, Thiyam is often considered one of leading contemporary theatre gurus.
Krishna Mohan Bhatt is a sitar player, teacher and scholar from Jaipur, India.
Vijaydan Detha, also known as Bijji, was a noted Indian writer of Rajasthani literature. He was a recipient of several awards including the Padma Shri and the Sahitya Akademi Award.
Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar was an exponent of Dagar vani Dhrupad of Indian classical music. He represented the 19th generation of Dagar Tradition. His cousins Nasir Moinuddin Dagar and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar were known as the Senior Dagar Brothers. Similarly, Nasir Zahiruddin and Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar were known as the Junior Dagar Brothers. His other cousins were Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, Fariduddin Dagar, and H. Sayeeduddin Dagar.
Kavikalanidhi Devarshi Shrikrishna Bhatt (1675–1761), a contemporary of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur, was an 18th-century Sanskrit poet, historian, scholar, and grammarian. He was an immensely accomplished and venerated poet of Sanskrit and Brajbhasha at the courts of the Kings of Bundi and Jaipur. He belonged to a reputed Sanskrit family of Vellanadu Brahmins from Andhra Pradesh in South India who migrated to North India in the 15th century on invitation from various erstwhile princely States. His father's name was Laxman Bhatt.
Ratan Singh was the founder of Ratlam, governor of 16 parganas in northern Malwa and a renowned warrior of his time. He gained fame under the patronage of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
Gavri Devi was an Indian folk singer from Rajasthan, India, known for her Mand, a singing style of folk music. In addition to Mand singing, she used to sing Thumri, Bhajan and Ghazal. She was also known as Rajasthan's Maru Kokila. The Government of Rajasthan honored her posthumously with Rajasthan Ratna, the highest civilian award of Rajasthan in 2013 for her contribution to art and music.
