Bharat Ratna awardees so far:
- Late Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi in 2008 : Karnataka
- Kumari Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar in 2001 : Maharashtra
- Late Ustad Bismillah Khan in 2001 for contribution in the field of Arts : Uttar Pradesh
- Prof. Amartya Sen in1999 for Literature & Education : United Kingdom
- Lokpriya Gopinath (posth.) Bordoloi in1999, for Public Affairs : Assam
- Loknayak Jayprakash (Posth.) Narayan in 1999 for Public Affairs: Bihar
- Pandit Ravi Shankar in 1999 for his contribution in the field of Arts : United States
- Shri Chidambaram Subramaniam in 1998 for Public Affairs : Tamil Nadu
- Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi in 1998 for her contribution in the field of Arts : Tamil Nadu
- Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in 1997 for his contribution in the field of Science and Engineering : Delhi
- Smt. Aruna Asaf (Posth.) Ali in 1997 for her contribution in the field of Public Affairs : Delhi
- Shri Gulzari Lal Nanda in 1997 for his contribution in the field of Public Affairs : Gujarat
- Shri JRD Tata in 1992 for his contribution in the field of Trade & Industry : Maharashtra
- Shri Maulana Abul Kalam Azad in 1992 for his contribution in Public Affairs : West Bengal
- Shri Satyajit Ray in 1992 for his contribution in the field of Arts : West Bengal
- Shri Morarji Ranchhodji Desai in 1991 for his contribution in Public Affairs : Gujarat
- Shri Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 for his contribution in Public Affairs : Delhi
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1991 for his contribution in Public Affairs : Gujarat
- Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedakr in 1990 for his contribution in Public Affairs : Maharashtra
- Dr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela in 1990 for his contribution in Public Affairs : South Africa
- Shri Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran in 1988 for contribution in Public Affairs : Tamil Nadu
- Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan in 1987 for contribution in the field of Social Work : Pakistan
- Shri Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 1983 for contribution in the field of Social Work : Maharashtra
- Mother Teresa in 1980 for contribution in the field of Social Work : West Bengal
- Shri Kumaraswamy Kamraj in 1976 for contribution in the field of Public Affairs : Tamil Nadu
- Shri V.V. Giri in 1975 for contribution in the field of Public Affairs : Orissa
- Smt. Indira Gandhi in 1971 for contribution in the field of Public Affairs : Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1966 for contribution in the field of Public Affairs : Uttar Pradesh
- Dr. Pandurang Vaman Kane in 1963 for contribution in the field of Social Work : Maharashtra
- Dr. Zakir Hussain in 1963 for contribution in the field of Public Affairs : Andhra Pradesh
- Dr. Rajendra Prasad in 1962 for contribution in the field of Public Affairs : Bihar
- Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy in 1961 for contribution in the Field of Public Affairs: West Bengal
- Shri Purushottam Tandon in 1961 for contribution in the field of Public Affairs : Uttar Pradesh
- Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve in 1958 for contribution in the field of Social Work : Maharashtra
- Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant in 1957 for contribution in the field of Public Affairs : Uttar Pradesh
- Dr. Bhagwan Das in 1955 for contribution in Literature & Education : Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Jawaharlal Nehru in 1955 for contribution in the field of Public Affairs : Uttar Pradesh
- Dr. M. Vishweshwariah in 1955 for contribution in the field of Civil Service : Karnataka
- Shri Chakravarti Rajagopalachari in 1954 for contribution in Public Affairs : Tamil Nadu
- Dr. Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman in 1954 in Science & Engineering: Tamil Nadu
- Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan in 1954 for contribution in Public Affairs : Tamil Nadu