has it ever been criticised?
The decision was criticised for awarding Ramachandran before independence activist B. R. Ambedkar and Vallabhbhai Patel, who were bestowed the honour in 1990 and 1991, respectively.
Bharat Ratna
. The decision was criticised for awarding Ramachandran before independence activist B. R. Ambedkar and Vallabhbhai Patel, who were bestowed the honour in 1990 and 1991, respectively. 
who received the bharat ratna award in 2017 UNANSWERABLE what is bharat ratna? The highest civilian award of the Republic of India. when was it introduced? 2 January 1954
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Bharat Ratna [SEP] Criticism
In 1988, then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (1984–89) conferred the Bharat Ratna posthumously on movie actor and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. G. Ramachandran, in a bid to influence voters prior to the Tamil Nadu assembly elections in 1989. The decision was criticised for awarding Ramachandran before independence activist B. R. Ambedkar and Vallabhbhai Patel, who were bestowed the honour in 1990 and 1991, respectively. While Ravi Shankar was accused of lobbying for the award, the decision by Indira Gandhi to posthumously honour K. Kamaraj was considered to have been aimed at placating Tamil voters for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections in 1977.