Awards & Honours
The Medal That Was Returned
In 1915, the British Crown knighted a Bengali poet. Four years later, after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919, that same poet wrote a furious letter to the Viceroy and gave the knighthood back. That poet was Rabindranath Tagore — the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize (Literature, 1913).
Why start here? Because awards are never just metal and certificates. They carry politics, history, and national emotion — and examiners know it. Every year, SSC, Banking, and State PCS papers quietly slip in questions from awards: *Who was the first? Which award came first? Who returned which honour?* This chapter makes sure those marks are yours.
🎯 Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- List India's highest civilian awards in correct order of precedence.
- Recall the "firsts" — first recipient, first woman, first foreigner — for every major award.
- Distinguish between easily confused pairs (Bharat Ratna vs Padma, Arjuna vs Dronacharya, Jnanpith vs Sahitya Akademi).
- Spot the examiner's favourite traps: similar names, wrong years, and "NOT" questions.
Part 1: India's Civilian Awards — The Big Four
Instituted in 1954, India's civilian awards are announced every year on Republic Day (26 January). In order of precedence:
| Rank | Award | Limit / Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bharat Ratna | Maximum 3 per year |
| 2 | Padma Vibhushan | For exceptional and distinguished service |
| 3 | Padma Bhushan | Distinguished service of a high order |
| 4 | Padma Shri | Distinguished service in any field |
Key facts about the Bharat Ratna:
- First awarded in 1954 to three people: C. Rajagopalachari, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, and Dr. C.V. Raman.
- First woman: Indira Gandhi (1971).
- Youngest recipient: Sachin Tendulkar (2014, age 40).
- First non-citizen of India: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987); Nelson Mandela received it in 1990.
- It can be awarded posthumously — and since 2011 it is open to "any field of human endeavour" (the change allowed sportspersons like Tendulkar).
🧠 Active Recall: Close the book. Name the three first Bharat Ratna winners. Who was the first foreigner? What is the annual cap?
Part 2: Gallantry Awards — For Bravery
Divided into wartime and peacetime categories:
Wartime (in order): Param Vir Chakra → Maha Vir Chakra → Vir Chakra
Peacetime (in order): Ashoka Chakra → Kirti Chakra → Shaurya Chakra
- Param Vir Chakra (PVC): India's highest wartime gallantry award. Designed by Savitri Khanolkar. First awarded to Major Somnath Sharma (posthumous, 1947 Indo-Pak war).
- Ashoka Chakra: Highest peacetime gallantry award. Instituted in 1952 (as Ashoka Chakra Class I, renamed in 1967).
🧠 Active Recall: Which is higher — Vir Chakra or Ashoka Chakra? (Trick question: they belong to different categories — wartime vs peacetime. Examiners love this confusion.)
Part 3: Sports Awards
| Award | For | Started |
|---|---|---|
| Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna | Highest sporting honour (spectacular performance) | 1991–92 (as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna; renamed in 2021) |
| Arjuna Award | Consistent outstanding performance | 1961 |
| Dronacharya Award | Coaches | 1985 |
| Dhyan Chand Award | Lifetime contribution to sports | 2002 |
- First Khel Ratna: chess legend Viswanathan Anand (1991–92).
- The first Arjuna Awards (1961) went to 20 sportspersons, including footballer P.K. Banerjee and athlete Makhan Singh.
Mnemonic 🪄 — "KADC": Khel Ratna → Arjuna → Dronacharya → Dhyan Chand. Khel Ratna is King; the Coach (Dronacharya) trains the warrior (Arjuna).
Part 4: Literature, Cinema & Arts
- Jnanpith Award: India's highest literary honour, instituted 1961; first awarded 1965 to G. Sankara Kurup (Malayalam) for *Odakkuzhal*. First woman: Ashapurna Devi (Bengali, 1976).
- Sahitya Akademi Award: Since 1955, for books in 24 recognised languages.
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award: Highest honour in Indian cinema, instituted 1969; first recipient: Devika Rani (1969).
- Sangeet Natak Akademi Award: For music, dance, and drama (since 1952).
🧠 Active Recall: Jnanpith was *instituted* in 1961 but *first given* in 1965 — why does this gap matter? Because examiners ask both years separately!
Mnemonic 🪄 — "61-65, Kurup took five": Jnanpith born in '61, but Kurup had to wait till '65.
Part 5: International Awards Indians Must Know
- Nobel Prize: From Alfred Nobel's will (1895); first awarded 1901. Indian/India-linked laureates: Rabindranath Tagore (Literature, 1913), C.V. Raman (Physics, 1930), Hargobind Khorana (Medicine, 1968), Mother Teresa (Peace, 1979), Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (Physics, 1983), Amartya Sen (Economics, 1998), Kailash Satyarthi (Peace, 2014), Abhijit Banerjee (Economics, 2019).
- Gandhi Peace Prize: Instituted by the Government of India in 1995 (125th birth anniversary of Gandhi ji); first recipient: Julius Nyerere (Tanzania).
- Bharat Ratna to foreigners: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987), Nelson Mandela (1990).
Mnemonic 🪄 — "TR-KC-SKS": Tagore → Raman → Khorana → Chandrasekhar → Teresa → Sen → Satyarthi. *"Tagore's Raman Knew Chandrasekhar; Teresa Served Kailash Selflessly."*
🔗 Static-Dynamic Link
Awards are static in structure but dynamic in recipients. The list of winners changes every Republic Day — so for the *latest* Bharat Ratna, Padma, and Khel Ratna winners, check the current-affairs section of the app. What never changes: the order of precedence, the years of institution, and the "firsts" — and those are exactly what this chapter locks in. (One structural change worth remembering: the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna was renamed Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2021.)
📊 High-Yield Facts Table
| Fact | Answer |
|---|---|
| Highest civilian award | Bharat Ratna (1954) |
| Bharat Ratna yearly limit | 3 |
| First Bharat Ratna winners | Rajagopalachari, Radhakrishnan, C.V. Raman |
| First woman Bharat Ratna | Indira Gandhi (1971) |
| Highest wartime gallantry | Param Vir Chakra |
| First PVC | Major Somnath Sharma |
| Highest peacetime gallantry | Ashoka Chakra |
| Highest sports award | Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna |
| Highest literary award | Jnanpith (instituted 1961, first given 1965) |
| Highest cinema award | Dadasaheb Phalke (1969, first: Devika Rani) |
⚠️ Caution: Examiner's Trap
Trap 1 — Chronological Confusion:
"Jnanpith Award was first given in 1961." — *Sounds right, is wrong.* Instituted in 1961, first awarded in 1965. Examiners swap "instituted" and "first awarded" years constantly. Same trick with Arjuna (1961) vs Dronacharya (1985).
Trap 2 — Similar Names:
Dronacharya (for coaches) vs Dhyan Chand (lifetime achievement) vs Khel Ratna (top performance). All three are sports awards with similar-sounding names. Also: Devika Rani (first Phalke) is confused with other early actresses.
Trap 3 — Negative Phrasing:
"Which of the following is NOT a peacetime gallantry award?" — Students see "Vir Chakra" and mark it as correct because it *is* a gallantry award, forgetting the question asked for the odd one out. Always underline NOT/EXCEPT before answering.
🔁 Linguistic Bridge
| In Hindi we say | In English we say |
|---|---|
| भारत रत्न | Bharat Ratna ("Jewel of India") |
| परम वीर चक्र | Param Vir Chakra ("Wheel of the Ultimate Brave") |
| खेल रत्न | Khel Ratna ("Sports Jewel") |
| ज्ञानपीठ पुरस्कार | Jnanpith Award ("Seat of Knowledge") |
| दादा साहेब फालके | Dadasaheb Phalke Award |
| साहित्य अकादमी | Sahitya Akademi (National Academy of Letters) |
📅 Revision Planner
After 2 days (Blurting): Take a blank page. Write the 4 civilian awards in order, the 6 gallantry awards in two columns (war/peace), and all "firsts" from memory. Check against the tables. Mark what you missed.
Weekly: Redo only the marked (missed) items + the High-Yield Facts Table. Attempt one practice set.
Monthly: Full blurt of the entire chapter — awards, years, firsts, traps — in under 10 minutes. If you can reproduce the High-Yield Table from memory, you are exam-ready.
*Review this chapter after 2 days — your memory of it will be strongest if you test yourself before you feel ready.*