Who was the first woman to receive the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award?

Introduction / Context:
The Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian award, given for exceptional service in any field of human endeavour. Several distinguished women have received this honour, and exam questions often ask about the first woman recipient. Knowing the chronological order of awards is a common general knowledge requirement, especially for civil services and other competitive exams.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The question asks specifically for the first woman to receive the Bharat Ratna.
• Options include Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa, M S Subbulakshmi, Lata Mangeshkar and Sarojini Naidu.
• We assume basic awareness of when these personalities were honoured.

Concept / Approach:
The approach is to recall the years in which women were awarded the Bharat Ratna. Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India, received the award in 1971. Later, Mother Teresa received it in 1980, M S Subbulakshmi in 1998, and Lata Mangeshkar in 2001. Sarojini Naidu, while an important national leader, did not receive the Bharat Ratna. Therefore, the first woman recipient, in chronological order, is Indira Gandhi.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: List the years associated with the possible recipients: Indira Gandhi (1971), Mother Teresa (1980), M S Subbulakshmi (1998), Lata Mangeshkar (2001).Step 2: Note that Indira Gandhi's award year comes before all the others in the list.Step 3: Recognise that Sarojini Naidu, though a major freedom fighter and poet, was never awarded the Bharat Ratna.Step 4: Therefore, the first woman to receive the award must be Indira Gandhi in 1971.Step 5: Select Indira Gandhi as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Mother Teresa is incorrect not because she did not receive the award, but because her award came later, in 1980.M S Subbulakshmi is wrong because she was honoured in 1998, much after Indira Gandhi.Lata Mangeshkar is also incorrect because she received the Bharat Ratna in 2001.Sarojini Naidu never received the Bharat Ratna, so that option is factually wrong even without considering chronology.

Common Pitfalls:
Many candidates remember that Mother Teresa and celebrated artists like M S Subbulakshmi and Lata Mangeshkar received the Bharat Ratna, but forget the exact years, leading to incorrect guesses. Others wrongly assume that a cultural figure must have been honoured earlier than a political leader. Carefully revising the official recipient list avoids these errors.

Final Answer:
The correct answer is Indira Gandhi, who was the first woman to receive the Bharat Ratna in 1971.