Former president Pranab Mukherjee, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leader Nanaji Deshmukh and singer Bhupen Hazarika will be conferred with the Bharat Ratna — the country's highest civilian award, the government announced on Friday.

The Bharat Ratna will be conferred after a gap of four years. Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and founder of Banaras Hindu University Madan Mohan Malviya were given the award by the Narendra Modi government in 2015.

A Rashtrapati Bhavan communique, on the eve of the 70th Republic Day, said the President was pleased to award Bharat Ratna to Nanaji Deshmukh (posthumously), Dr Bhupen Hazarika (posthumously) and Pranab Mukherjee.

Mukherjee, fondly known as 'Pranab Da', will be the sixth president to be receive this award. He was the president between 2012 and 2017.

The government also announced names of 112 persons, including one transgender, who have been selected for Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri in the fields of art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service etc.

Among the Padma Vibhushan — the country's second highest civilian award — and Padma Bhushan awardees are President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh, L&T chairman AM Naik, veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar, former CAG VK Shanglu and former union ministers Kariya Munda and SS Dhindsa. The award ceremony will be held in March or April this year.

Late actor Kadar Khan, former diplomat S Jaishankar and cricketer Gautam Ghambir were among the prominent personalities named on Friday for conferment of this year's Padma awards.

On the announcement of Mukherjee's name for the Bharat Ratna, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the former president is an outstanding statesman of present times who has served the nation selflessly and tirelessly for decades, leaving a strong imprint on the nation's growth trajectory.

"His (Mukherjee) wisdom and intellect have few parallels. Delighted that he has been conferred the Bharat Ratna," Modi tweeted.

Referring to Deshmukh, Modi said his stellar contribution towards rural development showed the way for a new paradigm of empowering those living in our villages.

"He (Deshmukh) personifies humility, compassion and service to the downtrodden. He is a Bharat Ratna in the truest sense!" he said in another tweet.

Praising Hazarika, Modi said his songs and music are admired by people across generations.

"From them radiates the message of justice, harmony and brotherhood," he said.

"He (Hazarika) popularised India's musical traditions globally. Happy that the Bharat Ratna has been conferred on Bhupen Da," he added.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi also congratulated Mukherjee on being named for the Bharat Ratna.

Mukherjee (83), who was also known as the quintessential Man Friday of the Congress, joins the elite club of former presidents Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Rajendra Prasad, Zakir Hussain and VV Giri, who were also awarded the nation's highest civilian honour.

Expressing gratitude over the honour, Mukherjee said, "I have got more from the people of our great country than I have given to them".

"It is with a deep sense of humility and gratitude to the people of India that I accept this great honour #BharatRatna bestowed upon me," he said in a tweet.

Mukherjee became India's youngest finance minister in 1982 at the age of 47. From 2004, he went on to head three crucial ministries — external affairs, defence and finance — and became the first occupant of the Rashtrapati Bhavan to have this distinction.

Last year, Mukherjee had drawn flak from certain quarters for attending a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) function in Nagpur.

Deshmukh was associated with the RSS from 1928 till his death in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, in 2010 at the age of 94 and was known for starting a chain of RSS-inspired schools throughout India.

He was one of the founder members of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, which later evolved as Bharatiya Janta Party.

He was considered to be one of the architects of the Jai Prakash Narayan movement against Emergency in 1975 and among the key persons in the formation of Janata Party government in 1977.

Born in 1926, Hazarika was a playback singer, lyricist, musician, singer, poet and filmmaker from Assam.

He was awarded Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987), Padma Shri (1977), Dada Saheb Phalke Award (1992), Padma Bhushan (2001) and Padma Vibhushan (2012-posthumously).

Hazarika did his PhD from Columbia University in 1952. He died in 2011.

The cultural icon also had a brush with politics and had unsuccessfully contested the Guwahati Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket in 2004. He was an independent MLA in Assam during 1967-72.

Hazarika gave music in acclaimed Bollywood movies Rudaali, Darmiyaan, Gaja Gamini, Daman and many Assamese hits, including the award winning film 'Sameli Memsaab'.

With these three recipients, 48 eminent people have been conferred the award so far.

Here is the full list of 112 Padma awardees:
 

Padma Vibhushan

1) Teejan Bai, Art-Vocals-Folk, Chhattisgarh

2) Ismail Omar Guelleh, Public Affairs, Djibouti

3) Anilkumar Manibhai Naik, Trade and Industry

4) Balwant Moreshwar Purandare, Art-Acting-Theatre, Maharashtra


Padma Bhushan

5) John Chambers (Foreigner), Trade and Industry, USA

6) Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, Public Affairs, Punjab

7) Pravin Gordhan (Foreigner), Public Affairs, South Africa

8) Mahashay Dharam Pal Gulati, Industry, Delhi

9) Darshan Lal Jain, Social Work, Haryana

10) Ashok Laxmanrao Kukade, Affordable Healthcare, Maharashtra

11) Kariya Munda, Public Affairs, Jharkhand

12) Budhaditya Mukherjee, Art-Music-Sitar, West Bengal

13) Mohanlal Viswanathan Nair, Art-Acting-Film, Kerala

14) S Nambi Narayan, Science, Kerala

15) Kuldip Nayar (Posthumous), Journalism, Delhi

16) Bachendri Pal, Mountaineering, Uttarakhand

17) V K Shunglu, Civil Service, Delhi

18) Hukumdev Narayan Yadav, Public Affairs, Bihar


Padma Shri

19) Rajeshwar Acharya, Art-Vocal-Hindustani, Uttar Pradesh

20) Bangaru Adigalar, Spiritualism, Tamil Nadu

21) Illias Ali, Medicine-Surgery, Assam

22) Manoj Bajpayee, Art-Acting-Films, Maharashtra

23) Uddhab Kumar Bharali, Grassroots Innovation, Assam

24) Omesh Kumar Bharti, Medicine-Rabies, Himachal Pradesh

25) Pritam Bhartwan, Art-Vocals-Folk, Uttarakhand

26) Jyoti Bhatt, Art-Painting, Gujarat

27) Dilip Chakravarty, Archaeology, Delhi

28) Mammen Chandy, Medicine-Hematology, West Bengal

29) Swapan Chaudhuri, Art-Music-Tabla, West Bengal

30) Kanwal Singh Chauhan, Agriculture, Haryana

31) Sunil Chhetri, Sports-Football, Telangana

32) Dinyar Contractor, Art-Acting-Theatre, Maharashtra

33) Muktaben Pankajkumar Dagli, Social Work-Divyang, Gujarat

34) Babulal Dahiya, Agriculture, Madhya Pradesh

35) Thanga Darlong, Art-Music-Flute, Tripura

36) Prabhu Deva, Art-Dance, Karnataka

37) Rajkumari Devi, Agriculture, Bihar

38) Bhagirathi Devi, Public Affairs, Bihar

39) Baldev Singh Dhillon, Science and Engineering, Punjab

40) Harika ,Dronavalli Sports-Chess, Andhra Pradesh

41) Godawari Dutta, Art-Painting, Bihar

42) Gautam Gambhir, Sports-Cricket, Delhi

43) Draupadi Ghimiray, Social Work-Divyang, Sikkim

44) Rohini Godbole, Nuclear-Science, Karnataka

45) Sandeep Guleria, Medicine-Surgery, Delhi

46) Pratap Singh Hardia, Medicine-Ophthmology, Madhya Pradesh

47) Bulu Imam Social, Work-Culture, Jharkhand

48) Friederike Irina (Foreigner), Social Work-Animal, Germany

49) Joravarsinh Jadav, Art-Dance Folk, Gujarat

50) S Jaishankar, Civil Service, Delhi

51) Narsingh Dev Jamwal, Literature, Jammu and Kashmir

52) Fayaz Ahmad Jan, Art-Craft, Jammu and Kashmir

53) K G Jayan, Art-Music-Bhakti, Kerala

54) Subhash Kak (Foreigner), Science, USA

55) Sharath Kamal, Sports-Table Tennis, Tamil Nadu

56) Rajani Kant, Social Work, Uttar Pradesh

57) Sudam Kate, Medicine-Sickle Cell, Maharashtra

58) Waman Kendre, Art-Acting-Theatre, Maharashtra

59) Kader Khan (Posthumous-Foreigner), Art, Canada

60) Abdul Gafur Khatri, Art-Painting, Gujarat

61) Ravindra Kolhe and Smita Kolhe, Medicine, Maharashtra

62) Bombayla Devi Laishram, Sports-Archery, Manipur

63) Kailash Madbaiya, Literature,, Madhya Pradesh

64) Ramesh Babaji Maharaj, Social Work-Animal Welfare, Uttar Pradesh

65) Vallabhbhai Vasrambhai Marvaniya, Agriculture, Gujarat

66) Gita Mehta (Foreigner), Literature, USA

67) Shadab Mohammad, Medicine-Dentistry, Uttar Pradesh

68) K K Muhammed, Archaeology, Kerala

69) Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Medicine, Jharkhand

70) Daitari Naik, Social Work, Odisha

71) Shankar Mahadevan Narayan, Art-Vocals-Films, Maharashtra

72) Shantanu Narayen (Foreigner), Industry, USA

73) Nartaki Natraj, Art-Dance, Tamil Nadu

74) Tsering Norboo, Medicine-Surgery, Jammu and Kashmir

75) Shri Anup Ranjan Pandey Art-Music Chhattisgarh

76) Jagdish Prasad Parikh, Agriculture, Rajasthan

77) Ganpatbhai Patel (Foreigner), Literature, USA

78) Bimal Patel, Architecture, Gujarat

79) Hukumchand Patidar, Agriculture, Rajasthan

80) Harvinder Singh Phoolka, Public Affairs, Punjab

81) Madurai Chinna Pillai, Social Work, Tamil Nadu

82) Tao Porchon-Lynch (Foreigner), Yoga, USA

83) Kamala Pujhari, Agriculture, Odisha

84) Bajrang Punia, Sports-Wrestling, Haryana

85) Jagat Ram Medicine, Ophthalmology, Chandigarh

86) R V Ramani, Medicine-Ophthalmology, Tamil Nadu

87) Devarapalli Prakash Rao Social Work-Affordable Education, Odisha

88) Anup Sah, Art-Photography, Uttarakhand

89) Milena Salvini (Foreigner), Art-Dance-Kathakali, France

90) Nagindas Sanghavi, Journalism, Maharashtra

91) Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry, Art-Lyrics, Telangana

92) Shabbir Sayyad, Social Work-Animal Welfare, Maharashtra

93) Mahesh Sharma, Social Work-Tribal Welfare, Madhya Pradesh

94) Mohammad Hanif Khan Shastri, Literature, Delhi

95) Brijesh Kumar Shukla, Literature, Uttar Pradesh

96) Narendra Singh, Animal Husbandry, Haryana

97) Prashanti Singh, Sports-Basketball, Uttar Pradesh

98) Sultan Singh, Animal Husbandry, Haryana

99) Jyoti Kumar Sinha, Social Work-Affordable, Education, Bihar

100) Anandan Sivamani, Art-Music, Tamil Nadu

101) Sharada Srinivasan, Archaeology, Karnataka

102) Devendra Swarup (Posthumous), Literature, Uttar Pradesh

103) Ajay Thakur Sports-Kabaddi Himachal Pradesh

104) Rajeev Tharanath, Art-Music-Sarod, Karnataka

105) Saalumarada Thimmakka, Social Work-Environment, Karnataka

106) Jamuna Tudu, Social Work-Environment, Jharkhand

107) Bharat Bhushan Tyagi, Agriculture, Uttar Pradesh

108) Ramaswami Venkataswami, Medicine-Surgery, Tamil Nadu

109) Ram Saran Verma, Agriculture, Uttar Pradesh

110) Swami Vishudhananda, Spiritualism, Kerala

111) Hiralal Yadav, Art-Vocals-Folk, Uttar Pradesh

112) Venkateswara Rao Yadlapalli, Agriculture, Andhra Pradesh