India’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, will be conferred on former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on the X website on Friday (PV Narasimha Rao) and Chaudhary Charan Singh and agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan.

The honor was then conferred by the government on veteran BJP leader LK Advani and former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur. There are five in total, one more than the four announced in 1999, which is the maximum number of Bharat Ratnas announced in a year.

Here are five stalwarts who will be honored with the Bharatnana Medal in 2024:

PV Narasimha Rao:

Rao was born in Karimnagar, Andhra Pradesh in 1921 and studied at Osmania University, Hyderabad, Bombay University and Nagpur University. As leader of the Congress party, he served as prime minister for five full years from 1991-96 and was widely recognized for his economic reforms.

Prime Minister Modi paid high tribute to Rao, who passed away in 2004, saying that he served the country extensively in various capacities as an outstanding scholar and statesman. He said Rao is equally remembered for his work as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, as a Union minister and as a member of the Assembly and Assembly over the years. Modi said: “His visionary leadership played an important role in the progress of India’s economy and laid a solid foundation for the country’s prosperity and growth.” He added: “Narasimha Rao Garu (Narasimha Rao Garu) Narasimha Rao Garu, during his tenure as Prime Minister, took major steps to open India to the global market and ushered in a new era of economic development.”

Rao’s admirers have long argued that Congress did not give him his due due to his less than friendly relations with the Nehru-Gandhi family, a point often raised by BJP leaders. As the country’s first and only full-time prime minister from south India, Rao holds a special place in the region.

Charan Singh:

Charan Singh was born in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh in 1902. He served as Prime Minister from July 28, 1979 to January 14, 1980. He was first elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Chaprauli in 1937. He represented the district in 1946, 1952, 1962 and 1967.

A champion of the farmers’ cause, Singh was a Jat Party leader from western Uttar Pradesh and one of the pioneers of anti-Congress politics at a time when the party was a hegemonic political force. While paying tribute to Singh, Prime Minister Modi said: “It is our government’s good fortune that Singh has been awarded the Bharat Ratna in recognition of his unparalleled contributions to the country. Whether as a MLA, The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh is also the home minister, who always speeds up the process of nation-building and firmly opposes the Emergency.”

Singh’s honor comes at a time when the RLD, led by his grandson Jayant Singh, is believed to be in talks with the BJP for an alliance for the Lok Sabha polls expected to be held in April-May. Singer died in 1987.

Ms Swaminathan:

Swaminathan was born in 1925 and is known as the father of India’s Green Revolution. He received his bachelor’s degree in zoology from Maharaja’s College, Thiruvananthapuram and his bachelor’s degree in agricultural science from Agricultural College, Coimbatore.

Swaminathan played a key role in developing high-yield rice varieties, enabling Indian farmers to increase their yields. His vision was to free the world from hunger and poverty. He is an advocate of sustainable development and biodiversity protection and is hailed as the “Father of Economic Ecology” by the United Nations Environment Program.

Prime Minister Modi said it was a great pleasure that his government conferred the Bharat Ratna Medal on Swaminathan in recognition of his immense contribution to the country in agriculture and farmers’ welfare. matter. “He played a key role in helping India achieve agricultural self-reliance during difficult times and made outstanding efforts to modernize Indian agriculture. We also recognize his valuable work as an innovator and mentor and encourage the learning and development of several students. Research,” he said.

Swaminathan’s visionary leadership not only transformed Indian agriculture but also ensured food security and prosperity for the country, the Prime Minister said, noting that he was close to Swaminathan and always valued his insights and inputs. The agriculturist died last year.

LK Advani:

The architect of the Ram Mandir movement, Advani served as the national president of the BJP in 1986-90, 1993-98 and 2004-05. From 1999 to 2004, he served as Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Advani became the face of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in late 1980, which shaped and continues to define the electoral and political fortunes of the saffron party. Together with Vajpayee, he built the BJP brick by brick and orchestrated its dramatic rise in the 1990s. In the late 1980s and 1990s, he worked to build the BJP into a national political force, the results of which were reflected in the 1989 general election. The BJP rebounded from 2 seats in 1984 to 86 seats in 1989.

A 10-term MP, Advani positioned himself as the prime ministerial candidate in the 2009 elections, although many leaders did not support the move. The Bharatiya Janata Party suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance in the 2009 polls, which affected Advani’s position and status in the party. The 96-year-old leader was appointed as a member of the ‘Margdarshak Mandal’ after the 2014 elections won by the BJP under the leadership of Narendra Modi.

Kapri Thakur:

Kapri Thakur was born in 1924 in Samastipur district of Bihar. He served as the chief minister of the state twice, first from December 1970 to June 1971 and secondly from December 1977 to April 1979. Known as ‘Jan Nayak’ to many in the state, his recognition was widely acknowledged. This has been a long-standing demand of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Janata Dal wing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “delighted” that “the great Jan Nayak Kapuri Thakur Ji” would be conferred with the prestigious award “and as we commemorate him On the occasion of its centenary”. “This prestigious recognition is a testament to his enduring efforts as a champion of marginalized groups and a staunch supporter of equality and empowerment,” PM Modi said in a post on X.