---
title: "Which Indian Prime Minister was the first to be awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously?"  
description: "Which Indian Prime Minister was the first to be awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously?"  
author: "Ana Paulson"  
published: 2018-02-27  
canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/35111/which-indian-prime-minister-was-the-first-to-be-awarded-the-bharat-ratna-posthumously  
category: "history, politics & society"  
tags: ["prime minister"]  
reading_time: 2 minutes  

---

# Which Indian Prime Minister was the first to be awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously?

Which [Indian](https://www.mindstick.com/news/2471/wazirx-received-828-requests-from-indian-international-law-enforcement-agencies) [Prime Minister](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/32052/what-is-the-minimum-age-required-to-become-the-prime-minister-of-india) was the first to be awarded the [Bharat](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/view/85398/kothari-bandhu-the-unsung-heroes-of-bharat-mata-at-the-time-of-ayodhya-disputes) [Ratna posthumously](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/40274/which-indian-prime-minister-was-the-first-to-be-awarded-the-bharat-ratna-posthumously)?

## Answers

### Answer by akriti kashyap

## Bharat Ratna!

![Which Indian Prime Minister was the first to be awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously?](https://answers.mindstick.com/questionanswer/39d0303e-19f1-401d-a183-15694e33b603/images/7c47fe2b-cbbf-4032-b306-650ae86c5c8d.png)\

**Bharat Ratna** which is recognized to be the most **prestigious award** and the **highest civilian award of India**, which is been awarded to the remarkable performers despite their field, although it was originally was awarded for the achievements in the field of **Literature**, **public services**, **art**, and **science**.

Well, this award was recommended by the Prime Minister to the President of India. The medal is been in the shape of a sacred fig leaf with a Devanagari script mentioning “**Bharat Ratna**”. It is proud to mention this that two of the Non-Indian have been honored with this medal; **Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan** and **Nelson Mandela**. This award was restricted to be awarded to the living personalities which were later changed to be awarded posthumously in the year of **1966**.

![Which Indian Prime Minister was the first to be awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously?](https://answers.mindstick.com/questionanswer/39d0303e-19f1-401d-a183-15694e33b603/images/63a45ce9-eb3e-4021-9725-99a2d7f61555.png)\

Thus, it was awarded to **Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri (1904-1966)**, former Prime Minister of the nation. He popularized the slogan of “**Jai Jawan Jai Kisan**” and also had a great belief in self-reliance and self-sustenance which was the foundation of the strong nation.

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## Cheers!


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