The Story Behind Nehru & Indira Gandhi’s Bharat Ratna
Note: This is a guest piece by IndiaFacts reader, Ashok (Twitter handle: @nationalizer).
It all started with a curiosity. I was going through the list of Bharat Ratna awardees which contains three of the six Nehru-Gandhi family members. Nehru got the award in 1955, Indira in 1971 and Rajiv in 1991.
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In the Government’s Home ministry website there is a note which says that the Bharat Ratna is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour. The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister himself to the President. And so I checked who the Prime Ministers were in 1955, 1971 and 1991 respectively. The PMO website claims that Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister in 1955, and Indira in 1971. That naturally leads to these questions:
- Did Jawaharlal Nehru recommend himself for Bharat Ratna in 1955?
- Did Indira Gandhi recommend herself for Bharat Ratna in 1971?
Although the facts above make it obvious, I sent an RTI to PMO India. It took more than two months for PMO to reply this question. The reply to my RTI has been given at the end of this piece. One of my questions was whether the Prime Minister himself made recommendations of Bharat Ratna. The reply was in the affirmative. Then I asked them who got Bharat Ratna in 1955 and 1971. They said Nehru and Indira got it respectively. I further asked who recommended Bharat Ratna for Nehru and Indira and what were their achievements? To this question, they said there are no records for this. But because replies to questions 2 and 3 lead to the conclusion that Nehru and Indira recommended themselves for Bharat Ratna, I confirmed my doubts. I sent sent another RTI on 23 November 2013 to the President’s Secretariat with these questions.
- What was the exceptional service/performance of the highest order by Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi for which they were awarded Bharat Ratna?
- What was the exceptional service/performance of the highest order by Rajiv Gandhi for which he was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1991?
- How many politicians are awarded Bharat Ratna of which how many belong to the Congress party?
- Which Prime Minister recommended the name of Indira Gandhi in 1971 for Bharat Ratna?
- Which Prime Minister recommended the name of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1955 for Bharat Ratna?
- What are the procedures/criteria for recognizing exceptional service/performance of Bharat Ratna awardees?
Jawaharlal Nehru was associated with freedom struggle. Political differences apart, there is no absurdity in awarding him the Bharat Ratna. But what had Indira Gandhi done till 1971 to be awarded with highest civilian award? The PMO in their RTI reply claimed that they have no information available on record about the achievements of Nehru and Indira. I just looked at the biography to find out the record of public service done by Indira Gandhi till 1971. From Wikipedia:
- Indira was born in 1917.
- In the 1950s, Indira, now Mrs. Indira Gandhi after her marriage, served her father Jawaharlal Nehru (then Prime Minister) unofficially as a personal assistant.
- After her father’s death in 1964, she was appointed as a member of the Rajya Sabha (upper house) and became a member of Lal Bahadur Shastri’s cabinet as Minister of Information and Broadcasting.
- Indira became Prime Minister in 1966; the Congress was split in two factions.
- She nationalized private banks.
- India-Pakistan war in December 1971 (it is unclear whether the Bharat Ratna recommendations were made before or after 1971 December).
In her public life till 1971, I could not find any single notable achievement by Indira Gandhi. If serving as Prime Minister for a five year term qualifies for the Bharat Ratna award, why wasn’t this precedent followed for all the Prime Ministers of India? I am waiting for the reply from President’s Secretariat which I hope will clear all these ambiguities. Till then we can draw our own conclusions.
Additional reading which will support my conclusion:
1. This DNA article says Indira Gandhi awarded herself the Bharat Ratna in 1971.
2. An Outlook Article which says Indira Gandhi gave herself the Bharat Ratna.
3. A TOI Article claims that President V V Giri bypassed all norms to recommend Indira Gandhi for the Bharat Ratna after the Bangladesh war.
4. The Ivarta Blog, which concludes that Nehru and Indira awarded the Bharat Ratna to themselves.
REPLY DATED 20 NOVEMBER 2013 TO THE RTI FILED WITH THE PMO
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Haa…this prioves that RTI is great tool, one who gave to us need to be given bharat ratna for sure..
BTW now, BJP awarded its partymen Atal Bharat ratna…you can file RTI and check what is his achivement
The most depressing thing in this whole thing is getting (or granting yourself) a Bharat Ratna and 6 years later imposing the draconian emergency. This is a comedy of horrors imposed on Indian Democracy. A black period one should never forget.
These two are great self serving politicians wrongly called as leaders of India.
There is a factual error in Wikipedia’s news item. Then Indian National Congress was split in 1969 when Mr Sanjeevi Reddy was nominated as a Presidential candidate, to which proposal Indira Gandhi did not accept and supported then Vice president Mr V V Giri and Mr Giri won the election. After Presidential election the party was split into two factions one led by Indira Gandhi called Cong (R) and the other one as Cong (O) led by Mr Nijalingappa. In 1979, a section of Congress MP s of Cong (R) split as Cong(S) and supported Charan singh as Prime Minister and joined his cabinet. The left over was called Cong (I). From then on wards it is Cong(I). The original Cong (O) merged with Janatha Party in 1977 before elections.
Indira gandhi headed the war campaign against pakistan in 1971 and india won back then.India also succesfully conducted its first nuclear bomb test under the supervision of Indira gandhi.If not anything these two facts are more than sufficient for her to be nominated for bharat ratna. Read more about india’s first nuclear bomb test here :http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiling_Buddha
if so, why not Vajpayee ji whose handling of the Kargil crisis has been praised by one and all and under whom, the Pokhran tests were carried out…by your measures, Atal ji’s speech in the parliament after the tests, giving a strong message to the developed countries asserting that India will not be pressurised by them and that all political parties should unite for that purpose, makes him eligible for the bharat ratna…I dont want bharat ratna for him…just sayin that by your logic, he too should get it…!!
Yes she leaded the Blue star operation in 1984 and declared the emergency 70s. I think she should be awarded for that too for which we are still having the after effects. Prasad do checks your fact before blabbering and blindly supporting congress. Read about Sam Manekshaw if you haven’t before and then see what Indira Gandhi’s role was in the war. Gandhi family is still ruling the country because of people like you supporting them.
Mr. Prasad…Nuclear bomb test done in…1974..and more over Sardar Patel ji unified all the 565 unions and princely states together after a long time…what the nehru…did…what about others who participated in Freedom struggle?
What Nehru did? Just to start with, he was jailed for nine years for India’s freedom. IITs, AIIMs, Dams, Industries etc. You can read and write, go through his contribution.
Contributions… He was jailed following Gandhi. Brought Kashmir Issue, Lost chance to assimilate Balochistan and Sindh in India, China’s Laddakh and Arunachal issue, Gave Tibet to China and got it’s culture crushed by Chinkis in the gurb of ‘Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai, Ousted Sardaar Patel because he couldn’t compare to him in politics. He was just a boot licker of Gandhi and a Jealous sex maniac. Just name one achievement in his name, being jailed is not an achievement.
Some lessons for you. Not a single leader from Hindu Mahasabha and Muslim League were jailed. Because all of them were boot lickers of Britishers. Balochistan? Influenced by sanghi propaganda? One Muslim majority state like Kashmir, can’t be managed, this genius is talking about Balochistan too. Sardar Patel gave us the menace of ICS or modern corrupt bureaucracy, despite his massive contribution. Nehru was the tallest leader, who even selected ministers from communal sanghi party. Guy chose a dalit to lead as constitutional architect. He might be a boot licker of Gandhi but Sanghis were boot lickers of British. Heard about IIT? ISRO? DRDO? SAIL? AIIMS? India is largest developing democracy because of Nehru’s foundation of India, otherwise look towards Pakistan. Like I told you, despite your semi literacy, you have the potential to be literate. Nehru does not need certificate from some tuchcha bhakts. He is globally known. His success is far more than failures of Kashmir and 1962. Go and read boy.
Your reasoning has enlightened me. Now I think whatever problems I’m facing in life is because of my mother because she brought me in this world.
In today’s scenario India has only two issue or conflicts with its neighbour …And unfortunately both, kashmir issue and indo- china conflict,came due to Nehru…
Jo log kachha dhoto he vo bhi congress ka… unko detail kam hi pata hoti he…
Sir, absolutely agree that she deserves, still the question will remain, how she nominated her own self for Bharat Ratna ?
But buddy … N test was conducted after Indira gandhi nominated herself and received Bharat Ratna…
Till 1971, victory in indo pak war was only her achievement
And to think that Nehru did not have the humility to award Sardar Patel the Bharata Ratna even even 8 years after he awarded himself!