BREAKING NEWS
The President of India Ramnath Kovind has chosen following personalities for Bharat Ratna:
1. Shri Nanaji Deshmukh (posthumously)
2. Dr Bhupen Hazarika (posthumously)
3. Shri Pranab Mukherjee
In what appeared to be a masterstroke ahead of forthcoming general elections – the Narendra Modi government on Friday decided to confer country’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna to music maestro Bhupen Hazarika, noted social activist Nanaji Deshmukh and former President Pranab Mukherjee.
Hazarika and Nanaji Deshmukh would be given the prestigious award posthumously, a Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said here.
The move clearly has Sanghparivar imprint and reflection of ‘political wisdom’ on the part of BJP-led NDA regime with BJP insiders saying the opposition will find little scope to attack the government on its decision to select this year’s Bharat Ratna awards.
In general, the decision on Bharat Ratna awardees are taken by the incumbent Prime Minister, who communicates it to the President informally and the announcement is made by the President.
The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted in 1954, the award is conferred “in recognition of exceptional service, the performance of the highest order”, without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Bharat Ratna Awardees.
PM praised Nanaji Deshmukh for his contribution to the society and said “Nanaji Deshmukh’s stellar contribution towards rural development showed the way for a new paradigm of empowering those living in our villages. He personifies humility, compassion and service to the downtrodden. He is a Bharat Ratna in the truest sense.”
“The songs and music of Bhupen Hazarika are admired by people across generations. From them radiates the message of Justice, harmony and brotherhood. He popularized India’s music traditions globally. Happy that the Bharat Ratna has been conferred on Bhupen Da.” the Prime Minister said.
While speaking on Shri Pranab Mukherjee he said, “Pranab an outstanding statesman of our times. He has served the nation selflessly and tirelessly for decades, leaving a strong imprint on the nation’s growth trajectory. His wisdom and intellect have few parallels. Delighted that he has been conferred Bharat Ratna.”
Pranab Da is an outstanding statesman of our times.
He has served the nation selflessly and tirelessly for decades, leaving a strong imprint on the nation's growth trajectory.
His wisdom and intellect have few parallels. Delighted that he has been conferred the Bharat Ratna.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 25, 2019
Nanaji Deshmukh -Chandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh also known as Nanaji Deshmukh (11 October 1916 – 27 February 2010) was a social activist from India. He worked in the fields of education, health, and rural self-reliance. He was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 1999 and Bharat Ratna in 2019 by the Government of India. He was a leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, RSS and also a member of the Rajya Sabha.
Bhupen Hazarika (8 September 1926 – 5 November 2011) was a well Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, singer, poet and film-maker from Assam, widely known as Sudhakantha. His songs, written and sung mainly in the Assamese language by himself, are marked by humanity and universal brotherhood and have been translated and sung in many languages, most notably in Bengali and Hindi. His songs, based on the themes of communal amity, universal justice and empathy, have become popular among the people of Assam, besides West Bengal and Bangladesh.
Pranab Kumar Mukherjee (born 11 December 1935) served as the 13th President of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee has been a senior leader in the Indian National Congress and has occupied several ministerial portfolios in the Government of India. Prior to his election as President, Mukherjee was Union Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012.
.