the first foreigner to receive bharat ratna was
Bharat Ratna There is no formal provision that recipients of the Bharat Ratna should be Indian citizens. It has been awarded to a naturalised Indian citizen, Mother Teresa in 1980, and to two non-Indians, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan of Pakistan in 1987 and the former South African president Nelson Mandela in 1990.[6] Sachin Tendulkar, at the age of 40, became the youngest person and first athlete to receive the honour.[7] In a special ceremony on 18 April 1958, Dhondo Keshav Karve was awarded on his 100th birthday.[8][a] As of 2015, the award has been conferred upon 45 people with 12 posthumous declarations.[10]