The Presidential Medal of Freedom is one of the two highest civilian awards of the US. T.S. Eliot and John Steinbeck were Kennedy’s picks, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong featured in Nixon’s list and Mother Teresa was awarded during Reagan’s tenure. Obama gave away 117 medals and among the recipients were, Stephen Hawking, Desmond Tutu, Sidney Poitier, Angela Merkel, Bob Dylan, Toni Morrison, Bill Clinton, Gloria Steinem, Tom Hanks, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jordan and also his own deputy Joe Biden. And though Trump made news for awarding those who supported him and his campaign, the Medal of Freedom has been bestowed on people from across professions and skills --- architects, pianists, artists, naturalists, philosophers. Biden conferred the medal on a critical care nurse who was the first American to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

Cross to bear

The highest award in France is the Legion of Honour. When it was instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte as far back as 1802, it was opposed by those who felt it should be a purely military award. The Legion of Honour has categories to it. The most basic being knight followed by officer, commander, grand officer and grand cross. Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala was conferred the Grand Cross in the early 20th century. A Francophile, he spent a lot of time in Paris, gifted a baby elephant to a French princess, and built his Chateau Kapurthala in Mussoorie. Francois Mitterand made Satyajit Ray commander of the order in 1987 and about a decade later Jacques Chirac ordained Sivaji Ganesan a knight. And last year, Emmanuel Macron conferred the highest civilian honour of France, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

And the award goes to…

Dilip Kumar is the only Indian to have been given the Nishan-e-Imtiaz of Pakistan. Bangladesh gave away its highest state award to Indira Gandhi in 2011. Last year, when the Rishi Sunak-led UK government put out the Birthday Honours List on behalf of King Charles III, it had names of 40 Indian-origin individuals. And no matter what you say about this year’s Bharat Ratnas, too little, too soon or too late, there’ll always be Swaminathan.