Who was the first sportsperson to receive the Bharat Ratna?
- A.Dhyan Chand
- B.Milkha Singh
- C.Sachin Tendulkar
- D.Vishwanathan Anand
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Sachin Tendulkar, honoured in 2014. He became eligible because the scope of the award had been widened in December 2011 from art, literature, science and public service to any field of human endeavour, and he is also the youngest person to receive the Bharat Ratna.
Option A, Dhyan Chand, the hockey player whose birth anniversary is observed as National Sports Day, has been the subject of long-standing demands for the honour but is not the answer to this question. Option B, Milkha Singh, the athlete called the Flying Sikh, received the Padma Shri and not the Bharat Ratna. Option D, Vishwanathan Anand, the chess grandmaster, was the first recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India's highest sporting award, which is a separate honour altogether. The point being tested is the link between the 2011 change in scope and the award of 2014.
Read the full article: Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards: Rules and Firsts
Practice Questions
View allThe Bharat Ratna and the Padma awards were instituted in which year?
- A.1950
- B.1952
- C.1954
- D.1955
Show answer
Both honours were instituted on 2 January 1954 by President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, and the first Bharat Ratna was conferred in the same year on C. Rajagopalachari, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and C. V. Raman.
Read the full explanation →Which civilian award of India ranks immediately below the Bharat Ratna?
- A.Padma Shri
- B.Padma Vibhushan
- C.Padma Bhushan
- D.Ashoka Chakra
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The order of precedence of the civilian honours runs Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, and the Padma Vibhushan is given for exceptional and distinguished service.
Read the full explanation →Who were the first recipients of the Bharat Ratna in 1954?
- A.Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel and Rajendra Prasad
- B.C. Rajagopalachari, S. Radhakrishnan and C. V. Raman
- C.B. R. Ambedkar, C. V. Raman and Zakir Husain
- D.Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi and C. Rajagopalachari
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All three were honoured in 1954, the first year of the award. Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India, Radhakrishnan was a philosopher who later became President, and Raman was the physicist who discovered the effect that carries his name.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first person to be awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously?
- A.Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
- B.Lal Bahadur Shastri
- C.B. R. Ambedkar
- D.Subhas Chandra Bose
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Until then the honour had been given only to living persons.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first woman to receive the Bharat Ratna?
- A.Mother Teresa
- B.Sarojini Naidu
- C.Indira Gandhi
- D.M. S. Subbulakshmi
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She was Prime Minister at the time, and the award followed the events of that year.
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