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 2022, the award has been bestowed on 325 individuals, including nineteen posthumous and twenty-one non-citizen recipients.
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.
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 or the Third India–Pakistan War was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 to 16 December 1971.
Awards and decorations of the Bangladesh Liberation War were decorations which were bestowed by the major warring parties during the years of the Bangladesh Liberation War. Bangladesh, India and Pakistan all issued awards and decorations during the conflict.
Anisuzzaman was a Bangladeshi academic of Bengali literature.
Bhabatosh Datta was a noted Indian economist, academic and writer. He taught at Chittagong College and later became Professor of Economics, Presidency College, Kolkata, where he later Emeritus Professor.
Bishnupada Mukerjee or Bishnupada Mukhopadhyaya was an Indian pharmacologist and orthopedic surgeon, known for his contributions in the fields of pharmacological research and standardization of drugs in India. The Government of India honoured him in 1962, with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his services to the nation.
Sanjida Khatun is a Bangladeshi musicologist. She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award the Padma Shri in 2021.
Gaan Maharishi Pt. Krishnarao Shankar Pandit (1893–1989) was an Indian musician, considered by many as one of the leading vocalists of the Gwalior gharana. He authored several articles and 8 books on music and was the founder of Shankar Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, a music college based in Gwalior. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1973, for his contributions to music. He was also a recipient of several other honors, including the 1959 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and the 1980 Tansen Award of the Government of Madhya Pradesh.
Pratul Chandra Gupta was an Indian historian, writer and the author of Nana Sahib and the Rising at Cawnpore, a historical account of the siege of Cawnpore. Considered by many as an authority on Maratha history, he translated The Maharashta Purana, an 18th-century Bengali text written by Gangaram into English, Edward C. Dimock, a known Indologist, being his co-translator. One of his books, INA in Military Operation, was commissioned by Jawaharlal Nehru but the book could not be published, reportedly due to political objections. The Last Peshwa and the English Commissioners, 1818-1851 and Shah Alam II and His Court are some of his other notable works. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1975, for his contributions to Literature.
K. Sankaran Nair, known as Colonel Menon among his colleagues, was an Indian civil servant, diplomat and the director of Research and Analysis Wing. He served as the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore from 1986 to 1988 and was the last surviving member of the Indian Imperial Police. He was reported to have played a crucial role in the formation of Bangladesh, through R&AW operations during the Bangladesh Liberation War.
Subodh Chandra Sengupta was an Indian scholar, academic and critic of English literature, known for his scholarship on Shakespearean works. His books on William Shakespeare, which included Aspects of Shakespearian Tragedy, Shakespearian Comedy and Shakespeare's Historical Plays are critically acclaimed for scholarship and academic rigor. He was a professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at Presidency College, Calcutta, and after retirement from Presidency College, became Professor of English Language and Literature at Jadavpur University, Calcutta, as well as a professor of English literature at Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur, an autonomous college in Greater Calcutta under the University of Calcutta. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1983, for his contributions to literature and education.
Barun Mazumder was an Indian journalist, news reader, writer and teacher. He received Padma Shri from the Government of India for his contribution in literature and education.
Rathin Datta was an Indian physician from Tripura. He was a recipient of Padma Shri and Friends of Liberation War Honour.
Lieutenant Colonel (Retd.) Quazi Sazzad Ali Zahir is a veteran of the Bangladesh Liberation War. The Bangladesh government awarded him the Bir Protik gallantary award for his bravery in the war. He was conferred with the Independence Award, Bangladesh's highest civilian in 2013 and India's fourth highest civilian award the Padma Shri on November 9, 2021.
Nepal Nag was a prominent Bengali communist politician. He took active part in Indian independence movement.
