The Narendra Modi government on Wednesday took the decision to confer India's highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna on former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and BHU founder 'Mahamana' Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya.

Forty-three people have been honoured with the award since its inception in 1954. There have been demands from different quarters for conferring Bharat Ratna on various personalities including political figures such as Jyoti Basu, Kanshi Ram, Charan Singh and NT Rama Rao.

However, there have been clamour for Bharat Ratna for many other non-political personalities too.

Here are eight such names all of us familiar with:

1. Major Dhyan Chand: The hockey wizard was considered as the greatest ever hockey player. Chand helped India win three Olympic gold medals in 1928, 1932, and 1936 Olympics. He passed away in 1979.


2. Dilip Kumar: The thespian has worked over six decades in the Hindi cinema. Pakistan has already awarded Kumar with the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, the highest civilian award of that country.


3. Viswanathan Anand: The five-time World chess champion too deserved the highest civilian award. He was the undisputed World Champion from 2007 to 2013. He was also the first recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1991-92.


4. Vikram Sarabhai: The doyen of Indian science, who led the country's nuclear research, is one of the perennial contenders for the Bharat Ratna. He is also known as the father of India's space programme. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1972. He died in 1971.


5. Asha Bhosle: The legendary playback singer has sung in over 20 Indian and foreign languages. The sister of Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle was honoured with Padma Vibhushan in 2008 for her six decade-long contribution.


6. Verghese Kurien: Kurien, who brought about the milk revolution in the country, is another contender for the Bharat Ratna. He had served as the head of the National Dairy Development Board for many decades and was the architect of the White Revolution of the 1970s which catapulted India amongst the top milk producers in the world. He died in 2012.


7. Baba Amte: The social activist and Magsaysay Award winner has devoted his life to the care and rehabilitation of leprosy patients. His community development project at Anandwan near Nagpur is recognised and respected around the world. Amte also launched the 'Bharat Jodo' movements from Kanyakumari to Kashmir in 1985 and Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh in 1988. He passed away in 2008.


8. MS Swaminathan: The eminent agricultural scientist and one of the founders of the Green Revolution is also one of the strongest contenders for the country's top civilian award. From 1972 to 1979 he was director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

Source: IN