Indian literacy and cultural award (current)

Overview & Fundamental Concept

High-yield cadet preparation guide for Indian Literacy and Cultural Awards under AISSEE Class VI General Knowledge (Syllabus Item 4). Covers Bharat Ratna, Padma awards, Param Vir Chakra, Jnanpith, Dadasaheb Phalke, and Indian Nobel Laureates.

• Constitutional Inception: Instituted on 2 January 1954 by the first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
• 4-Tier Order of Precedence:
  1. Bharat Ratna: Highest Civilian Award of the Republic of India.
  2. Padma Vibhushan: Second highest (for 'exceptional and distinguished service').
  3. Padma Bhushan: Third highest (for 'distinguished service of high order').
  4. Padma Shri: Fourth highest (for 'distinguished service in any field').
• Bharat Ratna Medallion & Protocol:
  • Design: Shaped like a Peepal leaf cast in bronze. On the obverse: an embossed sun burst with the words 'Bharat Ratna' inscribed below in Devanagari script. On the reverse: the State Emblem of India with the motto 'Satyameva Jayate'.
  • Ribbon: Worn around the neck with a white ribbon.
  • Monetary Grant: There is no cash prize or monetary grant associated with the Bharat Ratna.
  • Annual Limit: Conferred by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, conventionally limited to a maximum of 3 recipients in a single calendar year.
• Historic First Recipients (1954 — 3 Luminaries):
  1. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (Distinguished philosopher, India's 1st Vice President & 2nd President).
  2. C. Rajagopalachari ('Rajaji') (Freedom fighter and the last Governor-General of India).
  3. Dr. C. V. Raman (Nobel Laureate in Physics, 1930 for the discovery of Raman Effect).
• Milestone Bharat Ratna Laureates:
  • First Posthumous Recipient: Lal Bahadur Shastri (1966 • 2nd Prime Minister).
  • First Female Recipient: Indira Gandhi (1971 • 1st woman Prime Minister).
  • Foreign / Non-Indian Citizens: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan ('Frontier Gandhi' of Pakistan, 1987) and Nelson Mandela (former President of South Africa, 1990). *(Mother Teresa was a naturalized Indian citizen when awarded in 1980)*.
  • Youngest Recipient & 1st Sportsperson: Sachin Tendulkar (awarded in 2014 at the age of 40).
  • First Musician: M. S. Subbulakshmi (1998 • Carnatic vocalist).
• Recent 2024 Conferments: Conferred upon 5 illustrious nation-builders: Karpoori Thakur (social justice champion), L. K. Advani (statesman), P. V. Narasimha Rao (former PM & economic reformer), Chaudhary Charan Singh (farmer leader & former PM), and Dr. M. S. Swaminathan (architect of India's Green Revolution).

• Jnanpith Award (Gyanpeeth Award) — Highest Literary Honour in India:
  • Instituted in 1961 by Bharatiya Jnanpith (founded by industrialist and philanthropist Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain).
  • Conferred annually for outstanding lifetime contribution to Indian literature in any of the 22 official languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution (English was added in 2013).
  • Prize Components: A bronze statuette replica of Goddess Saraswati (Vagdevi, from the Saraswati temple at Dhar), a citation plaque, and a cash prize of ₹11 Lakh.
  • First Recipient: G. Sankara Kurup (1965) for his anthology of Malayalam poems titled Odakkuzhal (The Bamboo Flute).
  • First Woman Recipient: Ashapoorna Devi (1976) for her celebrated Bengali novel Pratham Pratishruti (The First Promise).
  • First English Recipient: Amitav Ghosh (54th Award, 2018).
  • Recent Joint Conformance (58th Award, 2023): Celebrated poet and filmmaker Gulzar (Sampooran Singh Kalra • Urdu) and Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya (Sanskrit).
• Sahitya Akademi Award:
  • Instituted in 1954 by the National Academy of Letters.
  • Conferred annually for outstanding books of literary merit published in 24 languages: the 22 Eighth Schedule languages plus English and Rajasthani.
  • Award Symbol: A casket containing an engraved copper plaque (originally designed by legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray) and a cash prize of ₹1 Lakh.
  • First English Recipient: R. K. Narayan (1960) for his famous Malgudi novel The Guide.
• Saraswati Samman:
  • Instituted in 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation.
  • Conferred for outstanding prose or poetry in any of the 22 Eighth Schedule languages published within the last 10 years.
  • Cash prize of ₹15 Lakh (highest cash grant in Indian literature).
  • First Recipient: Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan (1991) for his 4-volume autobiography in Hindi.
• Vyas Samman:
  • Instituted in 1991 by K. K. Birla Foundation; exclusively awarded for literary works written in Hindi published in the past 10 years (Cash prize: ₹4 Lakh; 1st recipient: Dr. Ram Vilas Sharma).

• Significance: India's highest and most prestigious award in the field of motion pictures, conferred by the Directorate of Film Festivals at the annual National Film Awards ceremony.
• Inception & Historical Homage: Instituted in 1969 by the Government of India to honor the memory of Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (Dadasaheb Phalke), revered as the 'Father of Indian Cinema', who directed India's first full-length silent feature film, Raja Harishchandra, released on 3 May 1913.
• Prize Components: Conferred personally by the President of India, comprising a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a ceremonial silk shawl, and a cash prize of ₹10 Lakh (upgraded to ₹15 Lakh in recent revisions).
• First Recipient (1969): Legendary actress and producer Devika Rani Chaudhuri, widely acclaimed as the 'First Lady of Indian Cinema'.
• Iconic Laureates Across Decades:
  • Satyajit Ray (1984 • Oscar-winning filmmaker)
  • Raj Kapoor (1987 • Showman of Indian Cinema)
  • Lata Mangeshkar (1989 • Nightingale of India)
  • Amitabh Bachchan (2018)
  • Rajinikanth (2019)
  • Asha Parekh (2020)
  • Waheeda Rehman (2021)
  • Mithun Chakraborty (2022 award, conferred in 2024).

• Instituted on 26 January 1950 (with retroactive effect from 15 August 1947) to honor acts of bravery, self-sacrifice, and conspicuous gallantry by armed forces personnel and civilians.
• Wartime Gallantry Awards (Facing the Enemy):
  • 1. Param Vir Chakra (PVC): Highest military decoration in India for most conspicuous bravery or daring or pre-eminent act of valour in the presence of the enemy on land, sea, or air. Medal designed by Savitri Khanolkar (born Eve Yvonne Linda Maday-de-Maros); features four replicas of Indra's Vajra (fashioned from Sage Dadhichi's bones) around the State Emblem. Suspended on a plain purple ribbon.
  • 2. Maha Vir Chakra (MVC): Second highest wartime decoration; circular silver medal with a five-pointed star.
  • 3. Vir Chakra (VrC): Third highest wartime decoration; circular silver medal.
• Key Param Vir Chakra Milestones:
  • First Recipient: Major Somnath Sharma (4th Battalion, Kumaon Regiment), awarded posthumously for his heroics at the Battle of Badgam during the 1947–48 Kashmir Operations.
  • Youngest Recipient: Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal (17 Poona Horse), posthumously awarded in the 1971 Battle of Basantar at age 21.
  • Sole Indian Air Force Recipient: Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon (posthumously awarded for defending Srinagar Airfield in a Gnat aircraft in 1971).
  • Kargil War (Operation Vijay, 1999) PVC Heroes (4): Captain Vikram Batra (13 JAK RIF, *'Yeh Dil Maange More!'*), Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey (1/11 Gorkha Rifles), Grenadier Yogendra Singh Yadav (18 Grenadiers), and Rifleman Sanjay Kumar (13 JAK RIF).
  • Total Conferred: Exactly 21 PVCs (14 awarded posthumously).
• Peacetime Gallantry Awards (Counter-Insurgency & Civilian Valor):
  • 1. Ashok Chakra (AC): Highest peacetime gallantry award (equivalent in status to the Param Vir Chakra). Conferred for most conspicuous bravery otherwise than in the face of the enemy. Worn with a green ribbon divided into two equal segments by an orange vertical line. First female recipient: flight attendant Neerja Bhanot (posthumously in 1987 for saving passengers during the Pan Am Flight 73 hijacking).
  • 2. Kirti Chakra: Second highest peacetime gallantry award.
  • 3. Shaurya Chakra: Third highest peacetime gallantry award.

• Nobel Prize: The world's most prestigious international award, instituted by Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel (the inventor of dynamite) in 1895, first awarded in 1901.
• Chronological Roll of Indian / Indian-Origin Nobel Laureates:
  1. Rabindranath Tagore (1913 — Literature): First Asian and first non-European to win a Nobel Prize. Awarded for his poetic masterpiece Gitanjali (Song Offerings).
  2. Sir C. V. Raman (1930 — Physics): First Asian scientist to receive a science Nobel Prize. Awarded for discovering the inelastic scattering of light, known as the Raman Effect (announced on 28 February 1928, now commemorated annually as National Science Day).
  3. Dr. Har Gobind Khorana (1968 — Physiology / Medicine): Awarded for deciphering the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis.
  4. Mother Teresa (1979 — Peace): Awarded for her humanitarian mission serving the poorest of the poor through the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata.
  5. Dr. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1983 — Physics): Awarded for theoretical studies on the physical processes of star evolution, discovering the Chandrasekhar Limit (maximum mass of a stable white dwarf star $approx 1.44$ solar masses).
  6. Dr. Amartya Sen (1998 — Economic Sciences): Awarded for his pioneering contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, and poverty/famine analysis.
  7. Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (2009 — Chemistry): Awarded for groundbreaking 3D mapping of the ribosome structure.
  8. Kailash Satyarthi (2014 — Peace): Awarded for his crusade against child labor and exploitation through Bachpan Bachao Andolan (shared with Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan).
  9. Abhijit Banerjee (2019 — Economic Sciences): Awarded for experimental approaches to alleviating global poverty.
• Ramon Magsaysay Award ('Nobel Prize of Asia'):
  • Instituted in 1957 in honor of the 7th President of the Philippines.
  • First Indian Recipient: Acharya Vinoba Bhave (1958) for Community Leadership (spearheaded the Bhoodan Movement / Land Gift movement).

• Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award (Highest Sports Honour):
  • Formerly known as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna; renamed in August 2021 after hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand.
  • Conferred for spectacular and most outstanding performance in sports over a period of 4 years.
  • Prize: A medallion, certificate of honor, and a cash prize of ₹25 Lakh.
  • First Recipient (1991–92): Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand (5-time World Chess Champion).
• Arjuna Award:
  • Instituted in 1961 for consistent good performance in sports over 4 years with qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, and discipline. Cash prize: ₹15 Lakh with a bronze statuette of Arjuna with bow.
• Dronacharya Award:
  • Instituted in 1985 for outstanding sports coaches who produce medalists at Olympic/World levels. Cash prize: ₹15 Lakh (Lifetime) / ₹10 Lakh (Regular) with a bronze statuette of Guru Dronacharya.