Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated today that former Prime Ministers PV Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh, as well as agricultural expert MS Swaminathan, will receive the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.
Typically, three Bharat Ratna awards are granted each year. This year, however, the government has announced five candidates for the Bharat Ratna, including BJP stalwart LK Advani and former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur.
PV Narasimha Rao
PV Narasimha Rao was the prime minister from June 21, 1991 to May 16, 1996.
He was born in Karimnagar, Andhra Pradesh, in 1921. He attended Osmania University in Hyderabad, Bombay University, and Nagpur University.
He was an agriculturist, attorney, and Andhra Pradesh’s chief minister.
Additionally, he was also Minister for External Affairs from 1980 to 1984, the Minister of Home Affairs from July 1984 to December 1984, and the Minister of Defence from December 1984 to September 1985.
Charan Singh
Charan Singh was born in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, in 1902, and served as Prime Minister from July 28, 1979 to January 14, 1980.
He was first elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1937 from Chhaprauli. He represented the seat in 1946, 1952, 1962, and 1967.
He also served as Uttar Pradesh’s chief minister twice, once in 1967 and again in 1970.
MS Swaminathan
MS Swaminathan was born in 1925 and is widely regarded as the founder of India’s Green Revolution. He holds a BSc in Zoology from Maharajas College in Thiruvananthapuram, as well as an Agricultural Sciences degree from Coimbatore Agricultural College.
He also obtained an MSc degree in Agricultural Sciences (specializing in genetics and plant breeding) from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), and PhD degree from Cambridge University, UK.
LK Advani
BJP leader LK Advani served as the BJP’s national president from 1986 to 1990, 1993 to 1998, and 2004 to 2005.
Mr Advani completed a nearly three-decade legislative career by serving as Home Minister and then Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from 1999 to 2004.
Karpoori Thakur
Karpoori Thakur served as Bihar’s chief minister twice in the 1970s, first from December 1970 to June 1971 and secondly from December 1977 to April 1979.
He mentored several of the state’s current leaders, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav.
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