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Home , Kovilan, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Natwar Singh, Navarasa (web series), Virendra Dayal, Viswanathan Anand

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 Abbas K.A: Khwaja Ahmed Abbas was a well known  Ahalya Bai, : She was the widowed Indian journalist, writer and film director. He wrote daughter-in-law of Malhar Rao Holkar. On the latter’s more than seventy books of which Tomorrow is death, Ahalya Bai became the ruler for thirty years Ours, Invitation to Immorality, Outside , In- till her death in 1795. dian Look at America, Defeat for Death, I am Not  Ahluwalia, Montek Singh: an Island and The Walls of Glass are very famous. is the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission.  Abdul Gaffar Khan : He was a staunch Congress- He played keyrole in financial reforms in the 1990’s. man and a soldier of the Indian freedom struggle. Previously he was Finance Secretary and member He was also called Frontier Gandhi, because he of Planning Commission. organised the people of the North West Frontier  Akilandam, P.V. : P.V. Akilandam, known as Akhilan, Province (NWFP) of undivided India (now merged was a famous Tamil poet. He won Jnanapith Award with ) on Gandhian principles. He was the for his Chithira Pavai. Nengin Alaikal, first foreigner to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, Vazhvininpam and Pavai Velaku are his famous India’s highest civilian award, in 1987. He was the works. founder of the movement known as Khudai  Ali, Aruna Asaf: Indian freedom fighter, Mayor of Khidmatgars (Servants of God) in 1929. , 1958. A devoted socialist, radical in her views, Bharat Ratna’97.  Abdul Khadar Maulavi, Vakkom: He was a social reformer who started the daily Swadeshabhimani  Ali, Salim: Indian ornithologist known as ‘the Bird- with the editorship of K. Ramakrishna Pillai on Janu- man of India.’ ary 19, 1905.  Amarasimhan: Sanskrit lexicographer. He was one  Abdul Kalam, A.P.J. : Avul among the nine jewels in the court of Vikramaditya Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul II. He is the author of the famous Sanskrit dictio- nary Amarakosha. Kalam was elected the 11th on July 18,  Ambani, Anil: The younger of Ambani brother. He 2002. He is the second non-po- now owns Reliance Energy, Reliance capital, Reli- litical person after Dr. S. ance Infocomm, Reliance mutual and Harmony after Radhakrishnan to be elected to the split. the country’s highest post.  Ambani, Dhirubhai: Founder-Chairman of Reliance Low Ambition is a Crime Industries Ltd. (RIL), India’s largest Private Sector  Acharya, Sankara: Born in Company. Succeeded by sons, Mukesh and Anil. Kaladi, , he was a phi- losopher and scholar. He is the founder and propo-  Ambani, Mukesh: The elder Ambani now owns the nent of Advaita philosophy. He established four mother company Reliance industries after split with matts and revived religion. younger brother. Third richest Indian according to Forbes Magazine.  Advani, Lal Kishanchand: India’s Deputy Prime Min- ister from 2002 to 2004. Union Minister for Informa-  Ambati, Balamurali: Indian medical doctor on May tion and Home Minister, 1998-2002. Leader of Op- 19,1995 he graduated from New York’s Mount Sinai position in 14th Lok Sabha. School of Medicine and became the world’s young-  Advani, Pankaj: Only the second cueist who won est (17 years) medical doctor. the both Billiards and Snooker Amateur World titles.  Ambedkar, B.R.:Dr.Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was The 20 year old turned professional in 2003. an eminent jurist, social reformer and a scheduled  Aggarwal, Anil: The President of Cosmos group caste leader. He was the Chairman of the Constitu- was elected the new President of ASSOCHAM. tion Drafting Body and is considered the Architect

85 3 of the Indian Constitution. He was the Minister of USPGA. He is also the first Indian to win a Euro- Law (1946-51) in the Nehru Cabinet, and was pean Tour event when he won the 2002 Caltex Mas- awarded Bharat Ratna in 1990 posthumously. ters.  Amrtraj, Vijay - Captained India in the Davis Cup  Atwal, : The Shiromani Akali Dal leader, Charanjit Singh Atwal, has been unanimously from 1982. Only player to adorn the hall of fame elected as the Deputy Speaker of 14th Lok Sabha. Tennis thrice.  Ayyankali: Leader of Harijans, in Kerala. Mahatma  Amte, (Baba) Muralidhar Devidas: Indian social Gandhi called him, ‘Pulayaraja’. Great organiser. worker known for his work among leprosy patients. Established the Anandvan, a colony for the leprosy  Azmi, Shabana: Indian film actress and social activ- patients, near Nagpur. Founder of Knit India Move- ist. Her debut film was Ankur. Winner of many ment and Varro Maharaoga Seva Samiti, Gokul national and international awards. Workers’ University for orphans. Recipient of the  Bachchan, Amitabh: India’s most popular film star first G.D. Birla International award for outstanding ever. M.P. for a short while. His programme ‘ Kaun contribution to humanity. Returned and Banega Crorepati’ was a big hit in the miniscreen. in 1991 in protest against ill-treat- UNICEF named him as the good will ambassor ment of tribals by the Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat (2005) focusing an polio eradication and educating the public on HIV. He was honored with the Legion Governments during the Save Narmada campaign. of Honor. 2007 by the French Government. Amte got the Gandhi Peace Prize-1999.  Bachchan, Harivansh Rai: Hindi poet. Recipient of  AnandaVardhan: Propounder of ‘Dwani the first Saraswati Samman (1991) for his autobio- Siddhantha’. Author of the famous book Dwanya Loka. graphical work, Dashdwar Se Sopan Tak. Father of the celebrated Hindi film star .  , Mulk Raj: Indian writer in English. Chair- Died in 2002. man of Lalit Kala Akademi (1955-1970). Author of  Bahuguna, Sunderlal: Indian The Untouchable, The Bubble, Confessions of a environmentalist and leader of Lover, Morning Face, Seven Summers, etc. Winner Chipko Movement. He has of Leverhulme Fellowship (1940-42), World Peace been resisting construction of Council Prize (1952), (1968) and many other awards. He died on 2004. Tehri Dam on Bhagirathi river in the Uttarkashi region of the  Anand, Viswanathan: India’s . First In- Himalayas on ecological dian and youngest Asian to win International grounds. Master’s title (1987) and Oscar (1997). First  Bardhan, A.B: The current Started Chipko recipient of Khel Ratna Award. Won General Secretary of CPI As the Movement (1985), Padma Shri (1998), and K.K. General Secretary of All India Trade Union Con- Birla Foundation Award (1992). He won four , latest being in 2004. gress, he headed All India Federation of Electricity Employees for three decades.  Ananthamurthy, U.R.: Kannada writer. He was the  Basu, Jyoti: Senior communist leader was the chief President of the Kendra . Recipi- ent of the 1994 Bharatiya Jnanpith Award. minister of West Bengal for 23 years from 1977 to 2000. He resigned in 2000 due to health reasons.  Arora, Lt. General Puneeta: Lt. General Puneeta  Bateille, Andre: Renowned Social scientist has Aroa is the first woman in the three services to been appointed the Chairman of Indian Council of reach the second highest rank in the armed forces. Social Science Research (ICSSR). He is also a She has taken over as the new commandant of member of National Knowledge Commission. Armed Force Medical College, Pune. He attained the world No.1 position on March 10, 2007.  Bathew (neé Kharbull), Rose Millian: A Khasi tribal  Athaiya, Bhanu: First Indian to win an Oscar for from Meghalaya and the first woman to become costume design in 1983 biopic ‘Gandhi’. Her recent Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission. works include Lagan and Swadesh.  Bedi, Kiran: India’s first woman IPS officer (1972).  Atwal, Arjun: First Indian golfer to qualify for She was appointed Civilian Police

85 4 Adviser. Awarded Magsaysay Award, 1995, UN  Bandopadhyay, Padmavati: On October 2004, medal for outstanding service, 2004. Padmavathy Bandopadhyay took over as Director  Benegal, Shyam: Poineer of parallel cinema in General Medical Service, becoming the Airforce’s Hindi with ‘Ankur’ in 1974. Other films he directed first woman three-star general officer. include Nishant , Manthan Bhumika, Junoon,  Banerjee, Surendranath: One of the first Indians Kalyug, Mandi , Making of Mahatma, Zubeida etc. to qualify the I.C.S. Examination. Held the president-  Besant, Annie: English theosophist was the moving ship of twice. spirit behind theosophical society in India.She  Chand, Nek: Indian sculptor. Creator of the Rock founded central Hindu College at Benaras and Garden in Chandigarh. Indian Home rule League in 1916. She became the first woman president of congress in 1917 at  Chand, Prem: Born in . He wrote in Calcutta. Hindi and Urdu. His real name was Dhanpat Rai. His  Bhagawati, P.N.: Former Chief Justice of India. He famous works are Sevasadan, Rangabhumi, Kafan, was Appointed Chairman of the UN Human Rights Kayakalp, Godan, Nirmala etc. Committee, the first Indian to be given that post.  Chandra, Bipin: Noted historian on modern Indian  Bhatt, Ela (b. 1933): A champion of women’s rights. History. He was appointed as Chairman of National She has done pioneering work with the trade union Book Trust. His major works are India’s Struggle of poor women from the self-employed sector and for Independence, Freedom Struggle, Nationality won the Magsaysay Award in 1977. She started and Empire etc. SEWA in 1974.  Chatterji, Somnath: A  Bhatia, Sabeer: US - based distinguished parliamentarian NRI entrepreneur, Mr. Sabeer in the nine previous Lok Bhatia is credited with Sabhas, the veteran Marxist invention of first free e-mail leader became the speaker of service in the world-hotmail. 14th Lok Sabha of India. Mr. He later sold it to Microsoft for $ 400 million. He runs a Chatterji is the first communist consultancy firm called leader to get the coveted post Founded Hotmail Speaker of ‘Arzu’. of the Lok Sabha speaker. 14th Lok Sabha  Bhattacharya, Kanchan Chawdhary: The 1973  Chaudhuri, Nirad C.: The Indian author who be- batch IPS officer became the first woman to head a came famous for his book The Autobiography of an state police force anywhere in India when she was Unknown Indian, a memoir of his childhood in co- appointed as the Director General of police of lonial India. He died at Oxford, England, at the age Uttaranchal. of 101.  Bhave, Vinoba: Known for ‘Shramadan’ and  Chelliah, Raja: Indian economist. He was Chair- ‘Bhoodan’ movements. He was a Sarvodaya leader. man of National Institute of Public Finance and Pol- His Ashram, Paramdhan, is at Pannar. ity. Headed the Tax Reforms Committee.  Bordoloi, Gopinath: Gopinath Bordoloi was a free-  Choudhary, Bula: Ace long-distance Indian swim- dom fighter and former Chief Minister of Assam. mer. She became the first Asian He was posthumously honoured with the Bharat woman to cross the English Ratna on January 30, 1999. Channel twice on 1999. In 2005 she became first woman to  Bose, Subhash Chandra: He is the founder of Azad cross all five continents. Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) and the Forward  Cariappa, Field Marshal Bloc. He was called ‘Netaji’. K.M.: First Indian commander  Baker, Laurie: British born Indian architect who - in - chief of , 1943- 53. has pioneered innovative low cost, environment- The Second Field friendly housing.  Chand, Dhyan: Hockey Wiz- Marshal of India

85 5 ard. Olympic gold in Amsterdam 1928, Los Angeles 2005. He was then the Union Minister for Sports 1932, Berlin 1936. Padmabhushan. and Youth Affairs.  Chawla, Kalpana: The first Indian American Space  , Meera Sahib: First woman judge of woman. Travelled aboard space shuttle Columbia in the (1989). Appointed Gov- Nov’97.Died on her second space mission aboard ernor of on January 25, 1997 and re- Colombia. signed from the post in 2001.  Dalmia, : He was the President of the  Gandhi, Indira: First woman Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI); was the (1966-77, 1980-84). She was Prime Minister of India head of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in for 15 years. Mrs. Gandhi is the recipient of the 1971 mid-June 1997. He is credited with globalising and Bharat Ratna, and 1984 Jawaharlal Nehru Award for commercialising the appeal of the cricket. International Understanding. She was shot dead by  Damodaran, D: Chairman of Securities Exchange her own security men. Board of India. He was previously the Chairman of  Gandhi, M.K.: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Fa- Unit Trust of India. ther of the Indian Nation, was also known as Ma-  Dayal,Virendra: Former UN Under secretary Gen- hatma Gandhi. He was trained as a lawyer in England and went to South Africa to practise law in 1893. It eral has been appointed to head the was there that he became active in defending the commission of Inquiry into reference of Natwar rights of Asians against their white oppressors. He Singh in report. returned to India in 1914 and, after a brief spell as an  Dev, Kapil : Ramlal ambulance volunteer in World War I, led India to in- Nikhanj is the only cricketer in dependence. He was assassinated by a Hindu fa- the world to have scored over natic on January 30, 1948. His auto-biographical work 5000 runs and taken more than is titled My Experiments with Truth. 400 wickets in test cricket. In  Gandhi, Rajiv: Prime Minister of India 1984-89. He 2002, he was named ‘Wisden was assassinated on May 21, 1991. Rajiv Gandhi Indian Cricketer of the Cen- was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in tury.’ He is nicknamed 1991. Indian Cricket of the Haryana Hurricane. Centuary  Gandhi, Sonia: Chairperson of United Progressive  Devi, Kunjarani: The ace Indian weightlifter Alliance and also heading National Advisory Coun- earned the distinction of being listed among the cil. Widow of former Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv top 100 lifters of the century in the magazine Gandhi. President of the Congress and opposi- World Weightlifting, published by the Interna- tion leader in the 13th Lok Sabha. tional Federation of Weightlifting.  Ganesan, Sivaji: The versatile and legendary actor of Tamil films who won the coveted Dada Saheb  Devi, Mahasweta: The renowned Bengali writer is Phalke Award for 1996 for his outstanding contribu- the winner of the 32nd Jnanapith Award for 1996 for tion to the growth of Indian cinema. He is popularly her outstanding contribution to the enrichment of known as ‘Natikar Tilakam’ (Star Among Stars). through her creative writing in Bengali between 1976 and 1995. She has worked for  Gavaskar, Sunil: Popularly known as ‘Little Mas- the development of Shabar Tribe. ter’, Gavaskar was captain of the Indian cricket team. Won Arjuna Award in 1977, Padma Bhushan in 1979  Dolma, Dicky (b. 1974): She became the youngest and Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1980. He is the woman to scale Mount Everest, she hails from first cricketer in the world to score 10,000 runs in Himachal Pradesh. Tests; He holds 34 test centuries. Sunny days,  Dutt, Nargis (1929-81): The greatest Hindi film ac- Idols are his books. He is currently the chairman of tress of her time. Paired in several immortal films the I.C.C. Cricket Committee. with Raj Kapoor. Married actor Sunil Dutt; she had  George, Anju Bobby: The Kerala athlete who won won Best Actress National award and Padma Shri. the silver medal in IAAF World Athletics Meet, 2005 Sanjay Dutt, a leading Hindi film actor, is her son. and Bronze Medal at World Athletic Championship,  Dutt, Sunil: The actor-turned politician, who was , 2003 in the long jump event. She is the first Member of Parliament three times. Passed away in Indian to win a medal in a world championship in

85 6 athletics. Bengal headed the empowered committee of the Fi-  Ghosh, Aurobindo: Indian freedom fighter, poet and nance Ministers of States for the implementation of Value Added Tax. a saint. He renounced politics and set up an ashram in Pondicherry. His philosophy is called ‘Integral  Gupta, Modaduga V.: The Indian scientist who was Yoga’. Author of the well-known book, Essays on awarded the World Food Prize 2005. His achieve- Gita. Wrote the epic poem Savitri. ments are mainly in fresh water aquaculture.  Gill, K.P.S: The President of Indian Hockey Fed-  Habibullah, Wajahat: The former Secretary of Min- eration. He was formerly the police chief of Punjab. istry of Panchayat Raj was appointed the Chief In- He was instrumental in wiping out terrorist and sepa- formation Commissioner under the new right to in- ratist activities in Punjab. formation act.  Giri, V.V. : Varshagiri Venkita Giri, the fourth Presi-  Harikrishna P :The 1996 World Under-10 cham- dent of India, (1969-1974), was the Governor of Kerala pion and widely regarded as the country’s best chess (1960-1965). Won Bharat Ratna in 1975. talent after . He is the young- est Indian to become a Grand Master (15 years, 3  Gokhale, Gopalakrishna: Gokhale founded the Ser- months). vants of India Society in 1905. He was an outstand- ing Indian statesman and political guru of Mahatma  Harsha, Indira: India’s first scientifically docu- Gandhi. He was the Congress president in 1905. Led mented test-tube baby born at King Edward Memo- the Moderate faction of the Indian National Con- rial Hospital in Mumbai on August 6, 1987. gress.  Hazare, Vijay: The legendary cricketer and former  Gopalakrishnan, Adoor: After Indian captain. He was the first Indian to score , his name repre- centuries in both innings of a test. He was the sented Indian cinema in most captain to lead India to its first test win. of the major world film festi-  Hazarika, Bhupen: Indian film producer-director, vals. His film Swayamvaram composer, lyricist, folksinger and actor from Assam. stands along with Ray’s Pather Panchali. His other President of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. Won the works are Kodiyettam, Dada Saheb Phalke Award, 1992. Kathapurushan, Vidheyan, Dada Saheb Phalke  Hrishikesh Yadav: Leader of first Indian civilian ex- Nizhalkuthu and 2005 pedition to Mt. Everest sponsored by the Tatas. Elippathayam. In 2005 he won the Dada Saheb Phalke Award. He was honored by the French Gov-  Husain, M.F.: Indian artist and a former nominated ernment with the ‘‘Commander of Arts and letters’ member of Parliament. His paintings, which were on the highest cultural honour. sale by the Chester Davida Herwitz Charitable Trust  Goswami, Indira: Assamese writer who writes un- in New York, in June 1995, included Lighting Horses, der the pen-name Mamoni Raisom Goswami. She Shiva Nataraja and Mother Teresa. was given Jnanpith Award in 2000. She has been  Hussain, Zakir: is an Indian tabla mediator in talks with extremist organisation ULFA. maestro. He is among the 13 artists and craftspeople Her major books are Daantal Hatir Une Khoa to receive the 1999 National Heritage Fellowship, Houdah, Nilkanthi Broja, Ahiron, Adha Lekha USA’s most prestigious honour in folk and tradi- Dastabej. tional arts.  Gowda, H.D. Deve: Former Karnataka Chief Minis-  Ilayaraja: Exponent of Carnatic music and well- ter. He was the 11th Prime Minister of India from known music director of Tamil films. He conducted June 1, 1996 to April 21, 1997. a symphony (1993) with the Royal Philharmonic Or-  Gujral, I.K.: Inder Kumar Gujral, the ace diplomat, chestra. He conducted another symphony(2005) ‘ ‘Thiruvasayam’. was the 12th Prime Minister of India (April 21, 1997 – March 18, 1998) succeeding Deve Gowda, in whose  Jafri, Ali Sardar: The renowned Urdu poet was the Cabinet he was the Minister for External Affairs. recipient of 33rd Jnanpith Award. His outstanding works include Parwaz (1943), Khoon Ki Lakeer  Gupta, Asim Das: The Finance Minister of West (1942), Asia Jag Utha (1951) and Lalu Pakarta Hai

85 7 (1978).  Khurana, Hargobind: Indian-  Jalan, Bimal: The former Governor of RBI. Bimal born scientist. Migrated to Jalan was been elected President of the National USA. Won the 1968 Nobel Council of Applied Economics Research (NCAER). Prize in Physiology/Medicine Jalan is at present a member of the . for interpretation of the ge- netic code and its function in  Jaya Dev: Sanskrit poet. Author of the famous work protein synthesis. Gita Govindam. It is also known as Ashtapadi.  Khusru, Amir: Medieval poet  Joshi, Pandit Bhimsen: Internationally acclaimed Nobel Prize Medicine and musician assumed the title 1968 Hindustani vocalist, who has led the renaissance of ‘Parrot of India’. Intensly Indian classical music. patriotic, he wrote in Persian. Enjoyed the patronage  Kalmadi, Suresh: Congress politician and business- of successive sultans of Delhi from Balban to man. He is the President of Indian Olympic Asso- Ghiyazudhin Tughluq. Tughluq Nama, Tarikh-i alai ciation, Asian Athletics Association, South Asian etc main works. Athletic Federation and Athletic Federation of In-  Khusro, Prof. A.M.: Prof. A.M. Khusro, a noted dia. economist, was the Chairman of the Eleventh Finance  Karat, Brinda: First woman politburo member in the Commission. eighty year old history of communist movement in  Kidwai, Naina Lal: The investment banking expert India. Married to party colleague and General Sec- in HSBC was the first Indian woman to graduate retary Prakash Karat. She has been general secre- from Harward business school in 1982. She was tary of All India Democratic Women’s association selected in the list of influential global business for the last ten years. woman by Time and Forbes Magazines.  Karat, Prakash: Elected as the General Secretary of  Kizhakkemuri, D.C.: Dominic Chacko Kizhakkemuri the CPI (M). He was politburo member from 1992. is known as the Father of Modern pub- Plays important role in United Progressive Alliance. lishing industry.  Karnad, Girish: Indian playwright, actor and di-  Kovilan: Kovilan is a Malayalam writer. He started rector. Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi, New his writing career with his military stories. He is con- Delhi (1988-93) and recipient of the 34th Bharatiya sidered as the Grand Old man of Malayalam Litera- Jnanpith Award in January 1999. ture.  Karthikeyan, Narain: First In-  Krishnan, R.S: A disciple of C.V. Raman, Professor dian to drive in formula-one R.S. Krishnan was the discoverer of a new optical circuit by driving for Team Jor- effect called ‘Krishnan Effect’. dan. He is often given the title ‘The fastest Indian in the  Kumar, Dilip: The versatile actor who is the recipi- ent of the 1994 Dada Saheb Phalke Award for his world’. outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. The first  Khan, Alauddin: He is superstar of the Hindi film world. an eminent sarod player and First Indian to drive Formula one car  Kumble, Anil: Indian leg spinner. Became the sec- instrumentalist of senia ond bowler in cricket history to bag all the ten wick- Gharana. He established Mahiar Hand (1924) and ets in an innings (against Pa- received Padma Bhushan and Disikottana (Viswa kistan in Delhi on February 7, Bharati). 1999) after England’s Jim Laker  Khan, Amjad Ali: Indian classical musician. Sarod (1956). First Indian to take 400 maestro. On October 23, 1996 he was appointed test wickets. He became the UNICEF Ambassador for Children from the sphere highest test wicket taker for of culture and creative art. India by surpassing Kapil Dev’s 434 test wickets.  Khan, Bismillah: Indian shehnai maestro from Varanasi. Awarded Bharat Ratna, India’s highest  Kurien, Varghese: Former Father of Indian White civilian award on January 26, 2001. He died in 2006. Chairman of the National Dairy Revolution

85 8 Development Board, Anand (Gujarat). The brain role in 1971 war between India and Pakistan. behind Operation Flood. Known as the Father of India’s White Revolution.  Mangeshkar, Lata: Melody of India. Re- cipient of the 1989 Dada Saheb Phalke Award for  Kutraleeswaran: A schoolboy from . En- her contribution to Indian film music. The world’s tered the Guinness Book of World Records by swim- most recorded artiste, Lata figures in the ming across six major waterways in a calendar year. Guinness Book of World Records. She was He crossed Palk Strait, the English Channel, two waterways off the Italian coast, Rottnest Channel awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2001. in Western Australia and one more waterway in  Masani, Minoo: Minoo Masani was a renowned na- 1994. tionalist, author and fiery politician and one of the  Kamal Hasan: India’s top film actor who won three members of the Constituent Assembly. national awards and 15 filmfare awards in 37 years,  Mehta, Govardhan: Vice Chancellor of Hyderabad Nayagan, Sadma, 16 Vayathinile, Indian, were University and scientist was appointed as President some of his great movies. of International Council for Science based in Paris.  Kapoor, Raj: Indian film actor, director, producer,  Mehta, Zubin: Indian born musician and conductor one of the greatest entertainers the country has pro- of world famous Philharmonic Orchestra and duced. Shri 420, Awara, Mera Naam Joker, Bobby the 130-member New York Phiharmonic Orchestra. were his major works.  Menon, Vallathol Narayana: Indian (Malayalam)  Krishnamurthy, Jiddu: Indian philosopher of In- poet, patriot, founder of Kerala Kala Mandalam. ternational reputation. At 20, he headed a new sect  Merchant, Ismail: Eminent film maker, Ismail “The order of the star of the East”. The songs of life. Merchant of the famous Merchant Ivory Production house died in May 2005. He was well known for the  Laxman, R.K.: Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman is classic literary adoptions like a Room with a View, an Indian cartoonist, associated with The Times of Howards End, Remains of the day and The Golden India. Author of 50 Years of Independence through Bowl. the Eyes of R.K. Laxman. The famous novelist, R.K. , is his brother.  Mirza, Sania: The teenage tennis player who won the  Madhavankutty, V.K.: Senior journalist, former edi- WTA title at Hyderabad. She tor of and founder director of Asianet also reached third round in US satellite channel passed away. He was and Australian Open in 2005. Padmabhushan and Kerala Sahitya Academy Award She was ranked 32 in the world winner. He died in 2005. and is the most popular woman sports person in India.  Mahopatra, Kalicharan:Trained and produced two Empowering India generations of world - class dancers. Mastered  Mishra, Uma Sankar: CBI Di- Odissi dance form. rector Umasankar Mishra was elected as the Vice Chairman of Interpol. He has one year term.  Maharaj, Birju: The most endearing and highly  Mittal, Sunil: Sunil Bharati Mittal is the CEO of rated Kathak exponent. He is credited with Bharati telephones of ‘Airtel’ brand. He was chosen expanding the reportoire of Kathak with poetry, as the Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2004 Award music and elements such as modern lighting, by Earnst and Young. costumes, stage design etc.  Mohapatra, Sitakanta: Oriya poet. The third Oriya  Malleswari, Karnam: Indian weightlifter from writer to receive Jnanpith Award (1993) after Andhra Pradesh. First Indian woman to win an Olym- and Sachi Raut Roy. pic medal (bronze, Sydney),  Mukherjee, Hrishikesh: The popular Hindi film di- Award. rector was conferred the Dada Saheb Phalke Award  Maneskshaw, Field Marshal Sam: Former Army for 1999. He passed away on 2006. Chief and first Field Marshal of India. Played a key  Mukhopadhyaya, Subhas: Bengali poet. Recipient

85 9 of the 27th Bharatiya Jnanpith Award, 1991. School of Economics, Narayanan was formerly Union Minister and later vice Chancellor of the  Munshi, Priya Ranjan Das: Union Information and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). He had also Broadcasting Minister. He is also head of All India served as India’s Ambassador to the United States. Football Federation. He was awarded 13th Rajeev Gandhi Sadbhavana  Naidu, Sarojini : Known as the ‘Nightingale of In- Award in 2005. He died in 2001. dia’, Naidu was the first Indian woman President of  Narayanan, M.K.: Appointed National Security the Indian National Congress (1925). Advisor to Prime Minister after the demise of J.N.  Nair, M.T. Vasudevan: Noted Malayalam writer . Re- Dixit. He is also deputed to be the Prime Minister’s cipient of the 31st Bharatiya Jnanpith Award in 1995 special representative for talks on the boundary for his outstanding contribution to the enrichment issue with China. of Indian literature.  Narayan, R.K.: Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan  Nair, Mira: Indian film direc- was an Indian writer in English. He was awarded the tor. Her films include Salaam Padmabushan in 2000. His autobiography, Malgudi Bombay, Mississippi Masala, Days, was selected for the 1974 English Speaking Kama Sutra, etc. Won the Union Book Abroad Literary Award. His novel, The Golden Camera Award at Guide, won him the in 1960. Cannes International Film Fes- His other famous works are Swami and Friends, tival in 1988. Her Monsoon The English Teacher, Waiting for the Mahatma, Mr Wedding won the Golden Lion Sampath, The Vendor of Sweets and Under the Ban- Award in 2001 at the Venice Film Director yan Tree. Film Festival.  Narayanamurthy, N.: Chief mentor of Infosys tech-  Nair, Murali : The Indian film director Murali Nair nologies, the software major. He quit the position of received the Golden Camera Award for his head of Banglore International Airport Limited after Malayalam film Marana Simhasanam at the presti- criticism by former PM, Deve Gowda. gious Cannes International Film Festival in Cannes,  Naoroji, Dadabhai: He is known as the “Grand Old France on May 23, 1999. Man of India” and “Father of Indian Politics and  Nanda, Gulzarilal: was twice in- Economics”. He was a freedom fighter and one of terim Prime Minister of India. He died on January 15, the founders of the Indian National Congress. 1998.  Nayanar, E.K.: E.K. Nayanar was the former Chief  Nanjundaswamy: Indian revolutionary agriculturist. Minister of Kerala. He held the record of being the President of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha. Known longest serving Chief Minister of Kerala. for campaigns against multinationals, such as Ameri-  Nayar, Kuldip: Indian journalist. India’s High Com- can Cargil Seeds India Company, American Kentucky Fried Chicken chain, etc. missioner to UK under the National Front Govern- ment. Author of India – The Critical Years, Be-  Narayan, Jayaprakash: Indian freedom fighter, so- tween the Lines, Distant Neighbours, India after cialist and Sarvodaya leader was instrumental in the Nehru and The Judgement. formation of Janata Party which defeated the Con-  Nehru, Jawaharlal: The first Prime Minister of in- gress in 1977 general elections. Popularly known as ‘Loknayak’, Jayaprakash was conferred Rashtra dependent India. Also known as the architect of Bhushan in 1977. His works include Why Social- modern India. The brain behind Non-Alignment Movement and the Panchasheel agreement with ism, Towards Struggle, From Socialism to China. Sarvodaya, etc. won the Bharat Ratna.  Negi, Parimarjan: Twelve year old ,  Narayan, Sunita: The Director of Centre for Science became the youngest international master in chess and Environment published the much controversial during Hastings tournament in UK. study about pesticide residue in soft drinks. She was head of Tiger Task Force 2005 and was awarded  Nooyi, Indra: is the President and CEO 2005 Stockholm Water Prize. of of Pepsico in India. She was ranked as 16th among 50 global business woman list published by  Narayanan, K.R.: India’s 10th President passed Wall Street Journal. She was leading negotiator for away recently. He was a product of the Pepsi in $ 13.9 billion acquisi tion of Quaker Oats.

86 0  : The famous Malayalam poet 2000 in recognition of his outstanding performance. Olappamanna won the Kendra Sahitya Academy  Pillai, Thakazhi Sivasankara:Thakazhi Award for 1988-89. Sivasankara Pillai was one of the eminent literary  Padukone, Prakash: is the figures of Kerala. A Jnanpith Award winner (1984), present executive President of the Badminton As- he dominated the Malayalam literary scene for five sociation of India and the first Indian winner of All decades. England Badminton Championship in 1980 and  Popat, Aparna: National Champion in women’s bad- World Cup (1981). Won Arjuna Award (1973) and minton; became the first woman from India to win Padma Shri (1982). an international ranking tournament, French Open  Paes, Leander: Tennis star from . In 1996, Championship in Paris on March, 1998. Paes won a bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympics.  Premji, Azim Hasham: The Chairman of Wipro Cor- After a brief spell of absence from the game due to poration was named by Forbes as the richest Indian some medical ailment Paes is now actively back in in the world ‘Simplicity and Humbleness’ is his motto. action.  Poddar, S.K.: President elect of FICCI. Mr. Poddar is  Pal, Bachendri:The first Indian woman and the fifth the Chairman of Areva T & D India Ltd, Sri Vishnu woman in the world to scale Mount Everest. Cements Ltd and Zuari Cement Ltd.  Pandit, : Sister of Jawaharlal Nehru,  Pritam, Amrita: Punjabi poetess and novelist. Re- first woman in India to become Minister (UP, 1937), cipient of Bharatiya Jnanpith Award. (1981) for her India’s High Commissioner to the U.K. (1956-62); autobiography Kagaz ke Kanvaz. Ambassador to the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. First woman  Pitroda, Sam: Pioneer of India’s telecommunication President of UN General Assembly (1954), Gover- revolution. He headed telecommunication nor, Maharashtra (1962-64). technology mission during Rajiv Gandhi’s  Patel, Sardar Vallabhbhai: The ‘Iron Man of India’, government. In 2005, he was inducted as the leading freedom fighter. Worked closely with Ma- chairman of National Knowledge Commission. hatma Gandhi. Keyrole in the integration of India’s  Rahman, A.R.: Celebrated film music director who princely states with the Union Dy. Prime Minister in Nehru Govt. Bharat Ratna. burst into scene with ‘Roja’ in 1992. Other major works include Bombay, Lagan, Kadhalan etc. He  Pathak, Bindeshwari: Indian social worker. Dedi- collaborated with Andre-Lloyd Webber for Bombay cated to the cause of scavengers’ liberation. Known Dreams. for Sulabh Shauchalayas (‘Pour flush toilets’).  Pathak, R.S: R.S.Pathak was appointed Chairman  Rahman, Indrani: Eminent classical dancer and ex- of Committee enquiring Volcker Committee Report ponent of the Bharatnatyam dance form. Recipient on oil for food programme inducting . of Padma Shri.  Patkar, Medha: Indian envi-  Rai, Aishwarya: Bollywood actress and now an in- ronmentalist and social activ- ternational celebrity. Crowned Miss World at Sun ist. Leader of Narmada Bachao City, Johannesburg, in 1994. Third Indian to win a Andolan (NBA). world beauty contest.  Pawar, Sarad: The Union Ag-  Raj, K.N.: Dr. K.N. Raj, a famous economist, is a riculture Minister and Nation- alist Congress Party Chief. He winner of the Padmabhushan. He took his Ph.D. in was elected as the President of 1947 from the London School of Economics. In 1950, Board of Cricket Control of In- Founded NBA he was selected for the first Finance Commission. dia in 2005.  Raj Kumar, Dr.: The 67 year old, veteran Kannada  Phalke, Dhundiraj Govind: Father of Indian Cin- actor is the recipient of the prestigious Dada Saheb ema. He industrialised Indian film world. He pro- Phalke Award for the year 1995. In 2000 he was duced India’s first feature film Raja Harishchandra kidnapped by the sandalwood smuggler, Veerappan, in 1913. and held for 108 days before being released un-  Pillai, Dhanraj:The star hockey player was con- harmed. He passed away on 2006. ferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for 1999-

86 1  Ram, Kanshi: Indian socialist. A champion of lower examine the issue of Armed Force Special Powers castes and socially backward classes. Founded the Act in Manipur. (1984), which has emerged as a  Roy, Arundhati: Social activ- strong force. Passed away in 2006. ist and internationally re-  Ramanna, Raja: The former Atomic Energy nowned author of the Booker Commission Chairman and former Union Minister Prize winning novel, The God died in 2004. Dr. Ramanna, an early disciple of Homi of Small Things. She donated J. Bhabha, was the brain behind India’s first nuclear the entire proceeds of the test at Pokhran in 1974 when he was the Director of award – approximately Rs. 15 Bhaba Atomic Energy Research Centre (BARC). lakhs – to support the tribals Winner of Booker Prize  Rangarajan, Chakravarthi: The Chairman of who will be displaced by the the 12th Finance Commission C. Rangarajan has Sardar Sarovar Dam in the Narmada Valley. been appointed as the chairman of economic advi-  Roy, Prannoy: Chairman of NDTV made psephology sory committee to the prime minister. popular in television media. The one time economic  Rao, P. V. Narasimha: Former Indian Prime Minister analyst in Ministry of Finance was later popular TV and architect of economic reforms of 1991 passed host of ‘The World This Week’. away on December, 2004. Mr Rao was the Chief  Roy, Raja Rammohan: Founder of the Brahma Samaj, Minister of Andra Pradesh from 1971 to 1973. Rao Roy worked for eradicating evils like Sati, child mar- has the distinction of leading first minority riage and purdah. He published Samvad Kaumudi, government at centre and being the first prime minister from the south. He wrote a novel called Mirathul Akbar, Percepts of Jesus etc. Insider.  Radhakrishnan, Dr. Sarvepalli: Indian scholar, phi-  Rao, UR: Mr Rao the former chairman of the losopher, writer and statesman. Second President Indian Space Research Organisation has been of India (1962-67), Chairman of UNESCO, Bharat ranked by the US magazine, Space News, among Ratna, Templeton Award. The Hindu View of Life, the top 10 international personalities who have Indian Philosophy. made a difference in civil, commerce and military  Raman, Dr. C.V.: Indian Physicist who won Nobel space in the world since 1989. prize for ‘Raman effect’ 1930. Founded Indian Insti-  Rathode Rajyawardhan Singh: tute of Science, Bangalore. Lenin Peace Prize, Bharat Ace shooter of the country, Ratna. Major Rajyawardhan Singh Rathode won the double trap  Saki, Motilal: Motilal Saki was a noted Kashmiri event silver medal in Athens poet and writer. He was also a scholar in Kashmiri, Olympics (2004). Urdu and English.  Ratnam, Mani: Indian film di-  Sanghvi, Vir: Indian journalist. Editor of Sunday Weekly. rector, best known for his con- First journalist to be selected as one of ‘100 Global Lead- troversial blockbuster Bombay Silver Medal in Athens ers of Tomorrow’ by the World Economic Forum. (produced in Hindi, Tamil and Olympics 2004 Telugu). His film was selected among the  Sen, Amartya: Amartya Kumar 100 great films by Time Magazine. Other films in- Sen is the Indian economist clude Dalapathi, Roja, Alaipayuthe and Dil se. who won the 1998 Nobel Prize for Economics. His well known  Ray, Satyajit: Renowned film director who won book is Poverty and Famine. world fame through his film Pather Panchali (1955). Other books are Collective Aparajita, Apoor Sansar, and Pather Panchali are Choice and Social Welfare and considered as Apu Trilogy. He received lifetime On Economic Inequality. achievement Oscar in 1992. Nobel Prize for  Sayeed, Padanatha Economics 1998  Reddy, Justice Jeevan: The former judge of Supreme Muhammad: Senior Congress Leader and Union Court is the head of the five member committee to

86 2 Energy Minister passed away in 2005. Though he  Sharma, Rakesh: Patiala-born Indian test pilot. was defeated in last Lok Sabha election, he repre- World’s 138th and India’s first cosmonaut to go to sented Laksha dweep nine times before. space.  Sen, Aparna: Bengali actress and director. The di-  Shaw, Kiran Majumdar: Chairperson of Biocon In- rectorial ventures include 36 Chauranghee line, Mr dia, the biotech firm. Awarded Padmashri in 1989. & Mrs Iyer, Paromitar Ek din. She has been ranked the wealtheist woman entre- preneur in India.  Sen Gupta, Arjun: Economist Arjun Sen Gupta, a former member of the Planning Commission is the  Shyamalan, Manoj Night : Acclaimed Indian born Chairman of the National Commission for promo- Hollywood film director. The Signs, The Sixth Sense, tion of enterprises in unorganised / informal sector. Unbreakable, The Village. He hold the rank of a Cabinet Minister.  Srinivas, Uppalapu: Mandolin player of India who  Sen, Mihir: First Indian to swim the English Chan- began playing it at the age of six. The youngest to nel, world record in long distance swimming. receive the title ‘ Asthana Vidwan’. (1990)  Setalvad, Teesta: Indian social worker in 2004 was  Sreedharan, E: Man behind two of India’s accused of pressuring Zahira Sheikh, the key wit- milestones in Railway history – Konkan railway and ness in Best Bakery Case. She started an NGO Nirant Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. He was named Asian and has programme of parallel education called Khoj. hero by Time magazine in 2003.  Seth, Roshan: Indian actor Roshan Seth, portrayed  Singh, Rajnath: The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Jawaharlal Nehru in ’s film Minister was elected new President of BJP replac- Gandhi. ing Advani.  Seth, Vikram: Indian writer of the twentieth century’s longest English novel, A Suitable Boy,  Singh, Natwar: Congress politician and currently a An Equal music, Two lives etc. Minister without portfolio was forced to resign the office of Minister of External affairs after allegation  Sethi, Geet: He was second Indian after Micheal Ferrera to win the World Billiards title. He played of payoffs in Iraqi oil scam. He was formerly Foreign crucial role in popularising cue sports in India. Secretary and high profile diplomat.  Sethi, Pramod Karan: A much decorated Indian pio-  Singh, V.P.: Indian politician. Leader of the Janata neer. His ‘ Foot’ is most suited to the lifestyle Dal. Seventh Prime Minister of India (1989-90). of the handicapped rural Indian. Winner of the  Sivan, Santosh: Ace cinematographer and Film Guinness Award, Ramon Magsaysay Award (1981), Padma Shri (1981) and Dr. B.C. Roy National Award maker. His films include Terrorist, Hello, Ashoka, (1979). Navarasa and Anantha bhadram.  Seshan, T.N.: India’s controversial yet inspiring  Subbulakshmi, M.S.: ‘Emperess of Carnatic music’ Chief Election Commissioner 1990-96. Former De- according to Nehru. She passed away in 2005.Won fence Secretary (1998) and Cabinet Secretary (1989). many awards including the Magsaysay, Padma Received Magsay say Award for public service. Bhushan, Kalidas Samman, Puraskar  Sequiera, Stephie: Stephie Sequiera was the first and the Bharat Ratna. woman Arjuna awardee.  Subramanian, C.: The veteran Gandhian and free-  Shanta,Dr. V: Dr. V. Shanta, Chairperson of cancer dom fighter, member of the Constituent Assembly institute, Adyar in Chennai, has won the Ramon and former Union Minister for Finance, Defence, Magsaysay Award for public service for 2005. Dr. Steel and Heavy Industry and Agriculture who Shanta has poineered the research and treatment played a key role in bringing about agricultural pros- of cancer, especially cervival cancer. perity during the late 1960s. Recipient of Bharat Ratna, 1998.  Shankar, Pandit Ravi: The internationally acclaimed sitar maestro was honoured with the Bharat Ratna  Swaminathan, M.S.: Indian agricultural scientist and on 1999. His autobiography My Music, My life. He Chairman of National Farmers Commission. He was is father to musicians Norah Jones and Anoushka. Director-General of International Rice Research In-

86 3 stitute, , Director of the decline of Mauryas, Ancient Indian Social History, Centre for Research on Sus- Early India etc. She rejected Padmabhushan in 2005. tainable Agriculture and Rural  Thapar, Amrita: In the Miss India pagaent held in Development, Chennai. Had Mumbai, Amrita Thapar was elected as the Miss established M.S.Swaminathan India, 2005 and represents the country in Miss. Research Foundation, Chennai Universe. for promoting sustainable ag-  Tharoor, Shashi: Acclaimed ricultural practices. Father of Indian Green author. Executive Assistant to  Tagore, Rabindranath: Poet, Revolution UN Secretary General, Kofi novelist, dramatist, philoso- Annan – was recently ap- pher, educationalist short story writer. Tagore was pointed UN Director of Commu- born in Bengal. In 1913 he became the first Indian nication (Public Relations) with (Asian) to win the Nobel Prize (for Literature). He the responsibility of co- wrote the National Anthems of India and ordinating messages that it puts Missed UN Secretary Bangladesh. out to the public. Riot is his General Post  Tagore, Sharmila: Yester year bollywood star and latest book. character actress was selected as goodwill  Thyagaraja: South Indian ambassador of UNICEF in 2005. She also heads the saint and exponent of Carnatic Central Board of Film Certification. (2005) music. One among the ‘trini-  Tata, Ratan: The chairman of Tata group of ties’ of Carnatic music- companies. He was heading committee on hydrogen Thyagaraja, Muthuswamy energy and the Chairman of Investment Commission Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri. set up by the central government last year.  Tilak, Balagangadhar: Popu- larly known as‘Lokamanya’,  Tendulkar, Vijay: Marathi screenplay writer and jour- Famous nalist. Doyen of Avant Garde Indian theatre. Re- Tilak was an extremist during Carnatic Musician cipient of K.K. Birla Foundation’s Saraswati Samman India’s freedom struggle. He for his play Kanyadaan. was also called the ‘Father of Indian Unrest”.  Tendulkar, Sachin: Indian Cricketer, former captain.  Usha, P.T.: Named sport person of the century by At 16 played his first Test in Karachi. The fist Indian Olympic Association. Four golds in Seoul bastsman to score 10,000 runs in one day cricket Asiad, 1986. Arjuna Award (1983), Padma shree and only player in the world, to repeat the same in (1985). Autobiography Golden Girl. Test cricket too. Arjuna Award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel  Vallabhbhai Patel, Sardar: Known as the ‘Iron Man Ratna Award-98. He currently the holds the record of India’, Patel was Minister of Home Affairs, Infor- for highest number of test centuries (35) surpassing mation and Broadcasting in the interim Government. ’s 34 Test Centuries. He was also the first Deputy Prime Minister of In- dia.  Teresa, Mother: Albanian born Indian settled Chris- tian saint, won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979.  Vajpayee, Atal Behari: Former Prime Minister of She came to India in 1929 as a member of Lauretto India and senior BJP leader. He became Prime Minis- Missionary. She founded the ter twice (1996; 1998-2004). A poet and orator, he Missionaries of Charity for addressed UN General assembly in Hindi as Foreign down-trodden children. She Minister. also founded ‘Nirmal Hriday’  Varma, Raja Ravi: One of the greatest early Indian for orphaned children. artists, from the royal family of Kilimanoor, Kerala.  Thapar, Romila: Famous his- torian on ancient India. Major  Vasudevan Nair, P.K.: Veteran CPI leader and former works include Asoka and the Chief Minister of Kerala passed away in 2005. Elected Famous Historian 4 times as member of Lok Sabha.

86 4  Venkataraman, R: President of India 1987-92. Was mous for the speech he delivered at the World Par- Vice-President from 1984 to 1987. Author of the book liament of Religions at Chicago in USA in 1893. My Presidential Years. Venkataraman was the old-  Vyas, Girija: Congress politician and current chair- est to become the President of India (at 78) person of National Commis-  Vijayan, I.M: I.M. Vijayan was declared ‘Footballer sion for Women. of the Year 1999’ by the All India Football Federa-  Yadav,Santosh: Deputy Super- tion (AIFF). Winner of the 2002 Arjuna Award; intendent in Indo-Tibetan Vijayan retired from the game recently. He started a Border Police; only woman in firm selling sports goods with brandname ‘boxer’. the world to climb Mount  Visvesvaraya M: Mysore engineer, who built the Everest (8,848 metres high)

dam across Cauveri in Mysore. Won the Bharat twice. Only woman in the Ratna in 1955. world to climb mount  Zakaria, Rafeeq: Freedom everest twice  Vivekananda, Swami: A saint- fighter and Gandhian. He re- philosopher who made India’s ceived National Integration Award. Fared Zakaria, greatness known to the world. the editor Newsweek International is his son. He was the disciple of Saint Rafeeq books include The Price of Partition, Com- Ramakrishna Paramahams and munal Rage in Secular India, Sardar Patel and founder of the Ramakrishna Secular India. Mission. Vivekananda is fa- Founder of Ramakrishna Mission

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