Lovers of history, this blast of the past is for you. Starting January 1, Firstpost Explainers has begun a series titled ‘History Today’ in which we shall time travel and bring you the most important events that occurred on this day in the years gone by. On January 2, several important historical events took place.
In 1492, Spain reclaimed Granada after centuries of Muslim rule. In 1954, India’s highest civilian awards, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan were established. And in 1981, one of the UK’s largest manhunts came to an end with the arrest of Peter Sutcliffe, the “Yorkshire Ripper”.
On this day, in 1953, Guccio Gucci, the man who founded the famous Gucci fashion house died. Famous author Isaac Asimov, and actors Cuba Gooding Jr and Kate Bosworth were also born on this day. On this day (January 2), in 1954, the Bharat Ratna award — the highest civilian award of the country — was instituted.
The idea behind this award was to honour “exceptional service” or “performance of the highest order” in “any field of human endeavour.” Each year, the Bharat Ratna is limited to a maximum of three people. However, in 2024 , five people were honoured with the award.
Notably, the Bharat Ratna was temporarily suspended between mid-1977 and early 1980 owing to a change in the national government. It was once again suspended between August 1992 to December 1995, when several public-interest litigations challenged the constitutional validity of the awards.