INDIA

Abbas K.A: Khwaja Ahmed Abbas was a well known Indian journalist, writer and film director. He wrote more than seventy books of which Tomorrow is Ours, Invitation to Immorality, Outside India, Indian Look at America, Defeat for Death, I am Not an Island and The Walls of Glass are very famous. Abdul Gaffar Khan : He was a staunch Congressman and a soldier of the Indian freedom struggle. He was also called Frontier Gandhi, because he organised the people of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of undivided India (now merged with Pakistan) on Gandhian principles. He was the first foreigner to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, Indias highest civilian award, in 1987. He was the founder of the movement known as Khudai Khidmatgars (Servants of God) in 1929. Abdul Khadar Maulavi, Vakkom: He was a social reformer who started the daily Swadeshabhimani with the editorship of K. Ramakrishna Pillai on January 19, 1905. Abdul Kalam, A.P.J. : Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was elected the 11th President of India on July 18, 2002. He is the second non-political person after Dr. S. Radhakrishnan to be elected to the countrys highest post. Ahalya Bai, Rani: She was the widowed daughter-in-law of Malhar Rao Holkar. On the latters death, Ahalya Bai became the ruler for thirty years till her death in 1795. Ahluwalia, Montek Singh: Montek Singh Ahluwalia is the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission. He played keyrole in financial reforms in the 1990s. Previously he was Finance Secretary and member of Planning Commission. Akilandam, P.V. : P.V. Akilandam, known as Akhilan, was a famous Tamil poet. He won Jnanapith Award for h is Chit hira Pav ai. Nengin A laik al, Vazhvininpam and Pavai Velaku are his famous works. Ali, Aruna Asaf: Indian freedom fighter, Mayor of Delhi, 1958. A devoted socialist, radical in her views, Bharat Ratna97. Ali, Salim: Indian ornithologist known as the Birdman of India. Amarasimhan: Sanskrit lexicographer. He was one among the nine jewels in the court of Vikramaditya II. He is the author of the famous Sanskrit dictionary Amarakosha. Ambani, Anil: The younger of Ambani brother. He now owns Reliance Energy, Reliance capital, Reliance Infocomm, Reliance mutual and Harmony after the split.
Low Ambition is a Crime

Acharya, Sankara: Born in Kaladi, Kerala, he was a philosopher and scholar. He is the founder and proponent of Advaita philosophy. He established four matts and revived the Hindu religion. Advani, Lal Kishanchand: Indias Deputy Prime Minister from 2002 to 2004. Union Minister for Information and Home Minister, 1998-2002. Leader of Opposition in 14th Lok Sabha. Advani, Pankaj: Only the second cueist who won the both Billiards and Snooker Amateur World titles. The 20 year old turned professional in 2003. Aggarwal, Anil: The President of Cosmos group was elected the new President of ASSOCHAM.

Ambani, Dhirubhai: Founder-Chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), Indias largest Private Sector Company. Succeeded by sons, Mukesh and Anil. Ambani, Mukesh: The elder Ambani now owns the mother company Reliance industries after split with younger brother. Third richest Indian according to Forbes Magazine. Ambati, Balamurali: Indian medical doctor on May 19,1995 he graduated from New Yorks Mount Sinai School of Medicine and became the worlds youngest (17 years) medical doctor. Ambedkar, B.R.:Dr.Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was an eminent jurist, social reformer and a scheduled caste leader. He was the Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Body and is considered the Architect

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of the Indian Constitution. He was the Minister of Law (1946-51) in the Nehru Cabinet, and was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1990 posthumously. Amrtraj, Vijay - Captained India in the Davis Cup from 1982. Only player to adorn the hall of fame Tennis thrice. Amte, (Baba) Muralidhar Devidas: Indian social worker known for his work among leprosy patients. Established the Anandvan, a colony for the leprosy patients, near Nagpur. Founder of Knit India Movement and Varro Maharaoga Seva Samiti, Gokul Workers University for orphans. Recipient of the first G.D. Birla International award for outstanding contribution to humanity. Returned Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan in 1991 in protest against ill-treatment of tribals by the Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat Governments during the Save Narmada campaign. Amte got the Gandhi Peace Prize-1999. AnandaVardhan: Propounder of Dwani Siddhantha. Author of the famous book Dwanya Loka. Anand, Mulk Raj: Indian writer in English. Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi (1955-1970). Author of The Untouchable, The Bubble, Confessions of a Lover, Morning Face, Seven Summers, etc. Winner of Leverhulme Fellowship (1940-42), World Peace Council Prize (1952), Padma Bhushan (1968) and many other awards. He died on 2004. Anand, Viswanathan: Indias Grandmaster. First Indian and youngest Asian to win International Masters title (1987) and Chess Oscar (1997). First recipient of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. Won Arjuna Award (1985), Padma Shri (1998), and K.K. Birla Foundation Award (1992). He won four Chess Oscar, latest being in 2004. Ananthamurthy, U.R.: Kannada writer. He was the President of the Kendra Sahitya Akademi. Recipient of the 1994 Bharatiya Jnanpith Award. Arora, Lt. General Puneeta: Lt. General Puneeta Aroa is the first woman in the three services to reach the second highest rank in the armed forces. She has taken over as the new commandant of Armed Force Medical College, Pune. He attained the world No.1 position on March 10, 2007. Athaiya, Bhanu: First Indian to win an Oscar for costume design in 1983 biopic Gandhi. Her recent works include Lagan and Swadesh. Atwal, Arjun: First Indian golfer to qualify for

USPGA. He is also the first Indian to win a European Tour event when he won the 2002 Caltex Masters. Atwal, Charanjit Singh: The Shiromani Akali Dal leader, Charanjit Singh Atwal, has been unanimously elected as the Deputy Speaker of 14th Lok Sabha. Ayyankali: Leader of Harijans, in Kerala. Mahatma Gandhi called him, Pulayaraja. Great organiser. Azmi, Shabana: Indian film actress and social activist. Her debut film was Ankur. Winner of many national and international awards. Bachchan, Amitabh: Indias most popular film star ever. M.P. for a short while. His programme Kaun Banega Crorepati was a big hit in the miniscreen. UNICEF named him as the good will ambassor (2005) focusing an polio eradication and educating the public on HIV. He was honored with the Legion of Honor. 2007 by the French Government. Bachchan, Harivansh Rai: Hindi poet. Recipient of the first Saraswati Samman (1991) for his autobiographical work, Dashdwar Se Sopan Tak. Father of the celebrated Hindi film star Amitabh Bachchan. Died in 2002. Bahuguna, Sunderlal: Indian environmentalist and leader of Chipko Movement. He has been resisting construction of Tehri Dam on Bhagirathi river in the Uttarkashi region of the Himalayas on ecological grounds. Bardhan, A.B: The current Started Chipko Movement General Secretary of CPI As the General Secretary of All India Trade Union Congress, he headed All India Federation of Electricity Employees for three decades. Basu, Jyoti: Senior communist leader was the chief minister of West Bengal for 23 years from 1977 to 2000. He resigned in 2000 due to health reasons. Bateille, Andre: Renowned Social scientist has been appointed the Chairman of Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). He is also a member of National Knowledge Commission. Bathew (ne Kharbull), Rose Millian: A Khasi tribal from Meghalaya and the first woman to become Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission. Bedi, Kiran: Indias first woman IPS officer (1972). She was appointed United Nations Civilian Police

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Adviser. Awarded Magsaysay Award, 1995, UN medal for outstanding service, 2004. Benegal, Shyam: Poineer of parallel cinema in Hindi with Ankur in 1974. Other films he directed include Nishant , Manthan Bhumika, Junoon, Kalyug, Mandi , Making of Mahatma, Zubeida etc. Besant, Annie: English theosophist was the moving spirit behind theosophical society in India.She founded central Hindu College at Benaras and Indian Home rule League in 1916. She became the first woman president of congress in 1917 at Calcutta. Bhagawati, P.N.: Former Chief Justice of India. He was Appointed Chairman of the UN Human Rights Committee, the first Indian to be given that post. Bhatt, Ela (b. 1933): A champion of womens rights. She has done pioneering work with the trade union of poor women from the self-employed sector and won the Magsaysay Award in 1977. She started SEWA in 1974. Bhatia, Sabeer: US - based NRI entrepreneur, Mr. Sabeer Bhatia is credited with invention of first free e-mail service in the world-hotmail. He later sold it to Microsoft for $ 400 million. He runs a consultancy firm called Arzu.

Bandopadhyay, Padmavati: On October 2004, Padmavathy Bandopadhyay took over as Director General Medical Service, becoming the Airforces first woman three-star general officer. Banerjee, Surendranath: One of the first Indians to qualify the I.C.S. Examination. Held the presidentship of Indian National Congress twice. Chand, Nek: Indian sculptor. Creator of the Rock Garden in Chandigarh. Chand, Prem: Born in Uttar Pradesh. He wrote in Hindi and Urdu. His real name was Dhanpat Rai. His famous works are Sevasadan, Rangabhumi, Kafan, Kayakalp, Godan, Nirmala etc. Chandra, Bipin: Noted historian on modern Indian History. He was appointed as Chairman of National Book Trust. His major works are Indias Struggle for Independence, Freedom Struggle, Nationality and Empire etc. Chatterji, Somnath: A distinguished parliamentarian in the nine previous Lok Sabhas, the veteran Marxist leader became the speaker of 14th Lok Sabha of India. Mr. Chatterji is the first communist leader to get the coveted post of the Lok Sabha speaker.

Founded Hotmail

Speaker of 14th Lok Sabha

Bhattacharya, Kanchan Chawdhary: The 1973 batch IPS officer became the first woman to head a state police force anywhere in India when she was appointed as the Director General of police of Uttaranchal. Bhave, Vinoba: Known for Shramadan and Bhoodan movements. He was a Sarvodaya leader. His Ashram, Paramdhan, is at Pannar. Bordoloi, Gopinath: Gopinath Bordoloi was a freedom fighter and former Chief Minister of Assam. He was posthumously honoured with the Bharat Ratna on January 30, 1999. Bose, Subhash Chandra: He is the founder of Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) and the Forward Bloc. He was called Netaji. Baker, Laurie: British born Indian architect who has pioneered innovative low cost, environmentfriendly housing.

Chaudhuri, Nirad C.: The Indian author who became famous for his book The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian, a memoir of his childhood in colonial India. He died at Oxford, England, at the age of 101. Chelliah, Raja: Indian economist. He was Chairman of National Institute of Public Finance and Polity. Headed the Tax Reforms Committee. Choudhary, Bula: Ace long-distance Indian swimmer. She became the first Asian woman to cross the English Channel twice on 1999. In 2005 she became first woman to cross all five continents. Cariappa, Field Marshal K.M.: First Indian commander - in - chief of Indian Army, 194353. Chand, Dhyan: Hockey Wiz-

The Second Field Marshal of India

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ard. Olympic gold in Amsterdam 1928, Los Angeles 1932, Berlin 1936. Padmabhushan. Chawla, Kalpana: The first Indian American Space woman. Travelled aboard space shuttle Columbia in Nov97.Died on her second space mission aboard Colombia. Dalmia, Jagmohan: He was the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI); was the head of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in mid-June 1997. He is credited with globalising and commercialising the appeal of the cricket. Damodaran, D: Chairman of Securities Exchange Board of India. He was previously the Chairman of Unit Trust of India. Dayal,Virendra: Former UN Under secretary General Virendra Dayal has been appointed to head the commission of Inquiry into reference of Natwar Singh in Paul Volcker report. Dev, Kapil :Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj is the only cricketer in the world to have scored over 5000 runs and taken more than 400 wickets in test cricket. In 2002, he was named Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century. He is nicknamed Indian Cricket of the Haryana Hurricane. Centuary Devi, Kunjarani: The ace Indian weightlifter earned the distinction of being listed among the top 100 lifters of the century in the magazine World Weightlifting, published by the International Federation of Weightlifting. Devi, Mahasweta: The renowned Bengali writer is the winner of the 32nd Jnanapith Award for 1996 for her outstanding contribution to the enrichment of Indian literature through her creative writing in Bengali between 1976 and 1995. She has worked for the development of Shabar Tribe. Dolma, Dicky (b. 1974): She became the youngest woman to scale Mount Everest, she hails from Himachal Pradesh. Dutt, Nargis (1929-81): The greatest Hindi film actress of her time. Paired in several immortal films with Raj Kapoor. Married actor Sunil Dutt; she had won Best Actress National award and Padma Shri. Sanjay Dutt, a leading Hindi film actor, is her son. Dutt, Sunil: The actor-turned politician, who was Member of Parliament three times. Passed away in

2005. He was then the Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs. Fathima Beevi, Meera Sahib: First woman judge of the Supreme Court of India (1989). Appointed Governor of Tamil Nadu on January 25, 1997 and resigned from the post in 2001. Gandhi, Indira: First woman Prime Minister of India (1966-77, 1980-84). She was Prime Minister of India for 15 years. Mrs. Gandhi is the recipient of the 1971 Bharat Ratna, and 1984 Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding. She was shot dead by her own security men. Gandhi, M.K.: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Father of the Indian Nation, was also known as Mahatma Gandhi. He was trained as a lawyer in England and went to South Africa to practise law in 1893. It was there that he became active in defending the rights of Asians against their white oppressors. He returned to India in 1914 and, after a brief spell as an ambulance volunteer in World War I, led India to independence. He was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic on January 30, 1948. His auto-biographical work is titled My Experiments with Truth. Gandhi, Rajiv: Prime Minister of India 1984-89. He was assassinated on May 21, 1991. Rajiv Gandhi was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1991. Gandhi, Sonia: Chairperson of United Progressive Alliance and also heading National Advisory Council. Widow of former Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. President of the Congress and opposition leader in the 13th Lok Sabha. Ganesan, Sivaji: The versatile and legendary actor of Tamil films who won the coveted Dada Saheb Phalke Award for 1996 for his outstanding contribution to the growth of Indian cinema. He is popularly known as Natikar Tilakam (Star Among Stars). Gavaskar, Sunil: Popularly known as Little Master, Gavaskar was captain of the Indian cricket team. Won Arjuna Award in 1977, Padma Bhushan in 1979 and Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1980. He is the first cricketer in the world to score 10,000 runs in Tests; He holds 34 test centuries. Sunny days, Idols are his books. He is currently the chairman of the I.C.C. Cricket Committee. George, Anju Bobby: The Kerala athlete who won the silver medal in IAAF World Athletics Meet, 2005 and Bronze Medal at World Athletic Championship, Paris, 2003 in the long jump event. She is the first Indian to win a medal in a world championship in

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athletics. Ghosh, Aurobindo: Indian freedom fighter, poet and a saint. He renounced politics and set up an ashram in Pondicherry. His philosophy is called Integral Yoga. Author of the well-known book, Essays on Gita. Wrote the epic poem Savitri. Gill, K.P.S: The President of Indian Hockey Federation. He was formerly the police chief of Punjab. He was instrumental in wiping out terrorist and separatist activities in Punjab. Giri, V.V. : Varshagiri Venkita Giri, the fourth President of India, (1969-1974), was the Governor of Kerala (1960-1965). Won Bharat Ratna in 1975. Gokhale, Gopalakrishna: Gokhale founded the Servants of India Society in 1905. He was an outstanding Indian statesman and political guru of Mahatma Gandhi. He was the Congress president in 1905. Led the Moderate faction of the Indian National Congress. Gopalakrishnan, Adoor: After Satyajit Ray, his name represented Indian cinema in most of the major world film festivals. His film Swayamvaram stands along with Rays Pather Panchali. His other works are Kodiyettam, Kathapurushan, Vidheyan, Dada Saheb Phalke 2005 Nizhalkuthu and Elippathayam. In 2005 he won the Dada Saheb Phalke Award. He was honored by the French Government with the Commander of Arts and letters the highest cultural honour. Goswami, Indira: Assamese writer who writes under the pen-name Mamoni Raisom Goswami. She was given Jnanpith Award in 2000. She has been mediator in talks with extremist organisation ULFA. Her major books are Daantal Hatir Une Khoa Houdah, Nilkanthi Broja, Ahiron, Adha Lekha Dastabej. Gowda, H.D. Deve: Former Karnataka Chief Minister. He was the 11th Prime Minister of India from June 1, 1996 to April 21, 1997. Gujral, I.K.: Inder Kumar Gujral, the ace diplomat, was the 12th Prime Minister of India (April 21, 1997 March 18, 1998) succeeding Deve Gowda, in whose Cabinet he was the Minister for External Affairs. Gupta, Asim Das: The Finance Minister of West

Bengal headed the empowered committee of the Finance Ministers of States for the implementation of Value Added Tax. Gupta, Modaduga V.: The Indian scientist who was awarded the World Food Prize 2005. His achievements are mainly in fresh water aquaculture. Habibullah, Wajahat: The former Secretary of Ministry of Panchayat Raj was appointed the Chief Information Commissioner under the new right to information act. Harikrishna P :The 1996 World Under-10 champion and widely regarded as the countrys best chess talent after Viswanathan Anand. He is the youngest Indian to become a Grand Master (15 years, 3 months). Harsha, Indira: Indias first scientifically documented test-tube baby born at King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai on August 6, 1987. Hazare, Vijay: The legendary cricketer and former Indian captain. He was the first Indian to score centuries in both innings of a test. He was the captain to lead India to its first test win. Hazarika, Bhupen: Indian film producer-director, composer, lyricist, folksinger and actor from Assam. President of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. Won the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, 1992. Hrishikesh Yadav: Leader of first Indian civilian expedition to Mt. Everest sponsored by the Tatas. Husain, M.F.: Indian artist and a former nominated member of Parliament. His paintings, which were on sale by the Chester Davida Herwitz Charitable Trust in New York, in June 1995, included Lighting Horses, Shiva Nataraja and Mother Teresa. Hussain, Zakir: Zakir Hussain is an Indian tabla maestro. He is among the 13 artists and craftspeople to receive the 1999 National Heritage Fellowship, USAs most prestigious honour in folk and traditional arts. Ilayaraja: Exponent of Carnatic music and wellknown music director of Tamil films. He conducted a symphony (1993) with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He conducted another symphony(2005) Thiruvasayam. Jafri, Ali Sardar: The renowned Urdu poet was the recipient of 33rd Jnanpith Award. His outstanding works include Parwaz (1943), Khoon Ki Lakeer (1942), Asia Jag Utha (1951) and Lalu Pakarta Hai

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(1978). Jalan, Bimal: The former Governor of RBI. Bimal Jalan was been elected President of the National Council of Applied Economics Research (NCAER). Jalan is at present a member of the Rajya Sabha. Jaya Dev: Sanskrit poet. Author of the famous work Gita Govindam. It is also known as Ashtapadi. Joshi, Pandit Bhimsen: Internationally acclaimed Hindustani vocalist, who has led the renaissance of Indian classical music. Kalmadi, Suresh: Congress politician and businessman. He is the President of Indian Olympic Association, Asian Athletics Association, South Asian Athletic Federation and Athletic Federation of India. Karat, Brinda: First woman politburo member in the eighty year old history of communist movement in India. Married to party colleague and General Secretary Prakash Karat. She has been general secretary of All India Democratic Womens association for the last ten years. Karat, Prakash: Elected as the General Secretary of the CPI (M). He was politburo member from 1992. Plays important role in United Progressive Alliance. Karnad, Girish: Indian playwright, actor and director. Chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi (1988-93) and recipient of the 34th Bharatiya Jnanpith Award in January 1999. Karthikeyan, Narain: First Indian to drive in formula-one circuit by driving for Team Jordan. He is often given the title The fastest Indian in the world. Khan, Alauddin: He is an eminent sarod player and First Indian to drive Formula one car instrumentalist of senia Gharana. He established Mahiar Hand (1924) and received Padma Bhushan and Disikottana (Viswa Bharati). Khan, Amjad Ali: Indian classical musician. Sarod maestro. On October 23, 1996 he was appointed UNICEF Ambassador for Children from the sphere of culture and creative art. Khan, Bismillah: Indian shehnai maestro from Varanasi. Awarded Bharat Ratna, Indias highest civilian award on January 26, 2001. He died in 2006.

Khurana, Hargobind: Indianborn scientist. Migrated to USA. Won the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine for interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis. Khusru, Amir: Medieval poet and musician assumed the title Nobel Prize Medicine 1968 Parrot of India. Intensly patriotic, he wrote in Persian. Enjoyed the patronage of successive sultans of Delhi from Balban to Ghiyazudhin Tughluq. Tughluq Nama, Tarikh-i alai etc main works. Khusro, Prof. A.M.: Prof. A.M. Khusro, a noted economist, was the Chairman of the Eleventh Finance Commission. Kidwai, Naina Lal: The investment banking expert in HSBC was the first Indian woman to graduate from Harward business school in 1982. She was selected in the list of influential global business woman by Time and Forbes Magazines. Kizhakkemuri, D.C.: Dominic Chacko Kizhakkemuri is known as the Father of Modern Malayalam publishing industry. Kovilan: Kovilan is a Malayalam writer. He started his writing career with his military stories. He is considered as the Grand Old man of Malayalam Literature. Krishnan, R.S: A disciple of C.V. Raman, Professor R.S. Krishnan was the discoverer of a new optical effect called Krishnan Effect. Kumar, Dilip: The versatile actor who is the recipient of the 1994 Dada Saheb Phalke Award for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. The first superstar of the Hindi film world. Kumble, Anil: Indian leg spinner. Became the second bowler in cricket history to bag all the ten wickets in an innings (against Pakistan in Delhi on February 7, 1999) after Englands Jim Laker (1956). First Indian to take 400 test wickets. He became the highest test wicket taker for India by surpassing Kapil Devs 434 test wickets. Kurien, Varghese: Former Chairman of the National Dairy
Father of Indian White Revolution

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Development Board, Anand (Gujarat). The brain behind Operation Flood. Known as the Father of Indias White Revolution. Kutraleeswaran: A schoolboy from Chennai. Entered the Guinness Book of World Records by swimming across six major waterways in a calendar year. He crossed Palk Strait, the English Channel, two waterways off the Italian coast, Rottnest Channel in Western Australia and one more waterway in 1994. Kamal Hasan: Indias top film actor who won three national awards and 15 filmfare awards in 37 years, Nayagan, Sadma, 16 Vayathinile, Indian, were some of his great movies. Kapoor, Raj: Indian film actor, director, producer, one of the greatest entertainers the country has produced. Shri 420, Awara, Mera Naam Joker, Bobby were his major works. Krishnamurthy, Jiddu: Indian philosopher of International reputation. At 20, he headed a new sect The order of the star of the East. The songs of life. Laxman, R.K.: Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman is an Indian cartoonist, associated with The Times of India. Author of 50 Years of Independence through the Eyes of R.K. Laxman. The famous novelist, R.K. Narayan, is his brother. Madhavankutty, V.K.: Senior journalist, former editor of Mathrubhumi and founder director of Asianet satellite channel passed away. He was Padmabhushan and Kerala Sahitya Academy Award winner. He died in 2005. Mahopatra, Kalicharan:Trained and produced two generations of world - class dancers. Mastered Odissi dance form. Maharaj, Birju: The most endearing and highly rated Kathak exponent. He is credited with expanding the reportoire of Kathak with poetry, music and elements such as modern lighting, costumes, stage design etc. Malleswari, Karnam: Indian weightlifter from Andhra Pradesh. First Indian woman to win an Olympic medal (bronze, Sydney), Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. Maneskshaw, Field Marshal Sam: Former Army Chief and first Field Marshal of India. Played a key

role in 1971 war between India and Pakistan. Mangeshkar, Lata: Melody Queen of India. Recipient of the 1989 Dada Saheb Phalke Award for her contribution to Indian film music. The worlds most recorded artiste, Lata figures in the Guinness Book of World Records. She was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2001. Masani, Minoo: Minoo Masani was a renowned nationalist, author and fiery politician and one of the members of the Constituent Assembly. Mehta, Govardhan: Vice Chancellor of Hyderabad University and scientist was appointed as President of International Council for Science based in Paris. Mehta, Zubin: Indian born musician and conductor of world famous Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the 130-member New York Phiharmonic Orchestra. Menon, Vallathol Narayana: Indian (Malayalam) poet, patriot, founder of Kerala Kala Mandalam. Merchant, Ismail: Eminent film maker, Ismail Merchant of the famous Merchant Ivory Production house died in May 2005. He was well known for the classic literary adoptions like a Room with a View, Howards End, Remains of the day and The Golden Bowl. Mirza, Sania: The teenage tennis player who won the WTA title at Hyderabad. She also reached third round in US and Australian Open in 2005. She was ranked 32 in the world and is the most popular woman sports person in India. Mishra, Uma Sankar: CBI Director Umasankar Mishra was elected as the Vice Chairman of Interpol. He has one year term. Mittal, Sunil: Sunil Bharati Mittal is the CEO of Bharati telephones of Airtel brand. He was chosen as the Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2004 Award by Earnst and Young. Mohapatra, Sitakanta: Oriya poet. The third Oriya writer to receive Jnanpith Award (1993) after Gopinath Mohanty and Sachi Raut Roy. Mukherjee, Hrishikesh: The popular Hindi film director was conferred the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for 1999. He passed away on 2006. Mukhopadhyaya, Subhas: Bengali poet. Recipient
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of the 27th Bharatiya Jnanpith Award, 1991. Munshi, Priya Ranjan Das: Union Information and Broadcasting Minister. He is also head of All India Football Federation. Naidu, Sarojini : Known as the Nightingale of India, Naidu was the first Indian woman President of the Indian National Congress (1925). Nair, M.T. Vasudevan: Noted Malayalam writer . Recipient of the 31st Bharatiya Jnanpith Award in 1995 for his outstanding contribution to the enrichment of Indian literature. Nair, Mira: Indian film director. Her films include Salaam Bombay, Mississippi Masala, Kama Sutra, etc. Won the Golden Camera Award at Cannes International Film Festival in 1988. Her Monsoon Wedding won the Golden Lion Award in 2001 at the Venice Film Festival.

School of Economics, Narayanan was formerly Union Minister and later vice Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). He had also served as Indias Ambassador to the United States. He was awarded 13th Rajeev Gandhi Sadbhavana Award in 2005. He died in 2001. Narayanan, M.K.: Appointed National Security Advisor to Prime Minister after the demise of J.N. Dixit. He is also deputed to be the Prime Ministers special representative for talks on the boundary issue with China. Narayan, R.K.: Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan was an Indian writer in English. He was awarded the Padmabushan in 2000. His autobiography, Malgudi Days, was selected for the 1974 English Speaking Union Book Abroad Literary Award. His novel, The Guide, won him the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1960. His other famous works are Swami and Friends, The English Teacher, Waiting for the Mahatma, Mr Sampath, The Vendor of Sweets and Under the Banyan Tree. Narayanamurthy, N.: Chief mentor of Infosys technologies, the software major. He quit the position of head of Banglore International Airport Limited after criticism by former PM, Deve Gowda. Naoroji, Dadabhai: He is known as the Grand Old Man of India and Father of Indian Politics and Economics. He was a freedom fighter and one of the founders of the Indian National Congress. Nayanar, E.K.: E.K. Nayanar was the former Chief Minister of Kerala. He held the record of being the longest serving Chief Minister of Kerala. Nayar, Kuldip: Indian journalist. Indias High Commissioner to UK under the National Front Government. Author of India The Critical Years, Between the Lines, Distant Neighbours, India after Nehru and The Judgement. Nehru, Jawaharlal: The first Prime Minister of independent India. Also known as the architect of modern India. The brain behind Non-Alignment Movement and the Panchasheel agreement with China. Negi, Parimarjan: Twelve year old Parimarjan Negi, became the youngest international master in chess during Hastings tournament in UK. Nooyi, Indra: Indra Nooyi is the President and CEO of of Pepsico in India. She was ranked as 16th among 50 global business woman list published by Wall Street Journal. She was leading negotiator for Pepsi in $ 13.9 billion acquisi tion of Quaker Oats.

Film Director

Nair, Murali : The Indian film director Murali Nair received the Golden Camera Award for his Malayalam film Marana Simhasanam at the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival in Cannes, France on May 23, 1999. Nanda, Gulzarilal: Gulzarilal Nanda was twice interim Prime Minister of India. He died on January 15, 1998. Nanjundaswamy: Indian revolutionary agriculturist. President of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha. Known for campaigns against multinationals, such as American Cargil Seeds India Company, American Kentucky Fried Chicken chain, etc. Narayan, Jayaprakash: Indian freedom fighter, socialist and Sarvodaya leader was instrumental in the formation of Janata Party which defeated the Congress in 1977 general elections. Popularly known as Loknayak, Jayaprakash was conferred Rashtra Bhushan in 1977. His works include Why Socialism, Towards Struggle, From Socialism to Sarvodaya, etc. won the Bharat Ratna. Narayan, Sunita: The Director of Centre for Science and Environment published the much controversial study about pesticide residue in soft drinks. She was head of Tiger Task Force 2005 and was awarded 2005 Stockholm Water Prize. Narayanan, K.R.: Indias 10th President passed away recently. He was a product of the London

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 Olappamanna: The famous Malayalam poet Olappamanna won the Kendra Sahitya Academy Award for 1988-89. Padukone, Prakash: Prakash Padukone is the present executive President of the Badminton Association of India and the first Indian winner of All England Badminton Championship in 1980 and World Cup (1981). Won Arjuna Award (1973) and Padma Shri (1982). Paes, Leander: Tennis star from Kolkata. In 1996, Paes won a bronze medal at the Atlanta Olympics. After a brief spell of absence from the game due to some medical ailment Paes is now actively back in action. Pal, Bachendri:The first Indian woman and the fifth woman in the world to scale Mount Everest. Pandit, Vijayalakshmi: Sister of Jawaharlal Nehru, first woman in India to become Minister (UP, 1937), Indias High Commissioner to the U.K. (1956-62); Ambassador to the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. First woman President of UN General Assembly (1954), Governor, Maharashtra (1962-64). Patel, Sardar Vallabhbhai: The Iron Man of India, leading freedom fighter. Worked closely with Mahatma Gandhi. Keyrole in the integration of Indias princely states with the Union Dy. Prime Minister in Nehru Govt. Bharat Ratna. Pathak, Bindeshwari: Indian social worker. Dedicated to the cause of scavengers liberation. Known for Sulabh Shauchalayas (Pour flush toilets). Pathak, R.S: R.S.Pathak was appointed Chairman of Committee enquiring Volcker Committee Report on oil for food programme inducting Natwar Singh. Patkar, Medha: Indian environmentalist and social activist. Leader of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA). Pawar, Sarad: The Union Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party Chief. He was elected as the President of Founded NBA Board of Cricket Control of India in 2005. Phalke, Dhundiraj Govind: Father of Indian Cinema. He industrialised Indian film world. He produced Indias first feature film Raja Harishchandra in 1913. Pillai, Dhanraj:The star hockey player was conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for 1999-

2000 in recognition of his outstanding performance. Pillai, Thakazhi Sivasankara:Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai was one of the eminent literary figures of Kerala. A Jnanpith Award winner (1984), he dominated the Malayalam literary scene for five decades. Popat, Aparna: National Champion in womens badminton; became the first woman from India to win an international ranking tournament, French Open Championship in Paris on March, 1998. Premji, Azim Hasham: The Chairman of Wipro Corporation was named by Forbes as the richest Indian in the world Simplicity and Humbleness is his motto. Poddar, S.K.: President elect of FICCI. Mr. Poddar is the Chairman of Areva T & D India Ltd, Sri Vishnu Cements Ltd and Zuari Cement Ltd. Pritam, Amrita: Punjabi poetess and novelist. Recipient of Bharatiya Jnanpith Award. (1981) for her autobiography Kagaz ke Kanvaz. Pitroda, Sam: Pioneer of Indias telecommunication revolution. He headed telecommunication technology mission during Rajiv Gandhis government. In 2005, he was inducted as the chairman of National Knowledge Commission.

Rahman, A.R.: Celebrated film music director who burst into scene with Roja in 1992. Other major works include Bombay, Lagan, Kadhalan etc. He collaborated with Andre-Lloyd Webber for Bombay Dreams. Rahman, Indrani: Eminent classical dancer and exponent of the Bharatnatyam dance form. Recipient of Padma Shri. Rai, Aishwarya: Bollywood actress and now an international celebrity. Crowned Miss World at Sun City, Johannesburg, in 1994. Third Indian to win a world beauty contest. Raj, K.N.: Dr. K.N. Raj, a famous economist, is a winner of the Padmabhushan. He took his Ph.D. in 1947 from the London School of Economics. In 1950, he was selected for the first Finance Commission. Raj Kumar, Dr.: The 67 year old, veteran Kannada actor is the recipient of the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award for the year 1995. In 2000 he was kidnapped by the sandalwood smuggler, Veerappan, and held for 108 days before being released unharmed. He passed away on 2006.

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 Ram, Kanshi: Indian socialist. A champion of lower castes and socially backward classes. Founded the Bahujan Samaj Party (1984), which has emerged as a strong force. Passed away in 2006. Ramanna, Raja: The former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman and former Union Minister died in 2004. Dr. Ramanna, an early disciple of Homi J. Bhabha, was the brain behind Indias first nuclear test at Pokhran in 1974 when he was the Director of Bhaba Atomic Energy Research Centre (BARC). Rangarajan, Chakravarthi: The Chairman of the 12th Finance Commission C. Rangarajan has been appointed as the chairman of economic advisory committee to the prime minister. Rao, P. V. Narasimha: Former Indian Prime Minister and architect of economic reforms of 1991 passed away on December, 2004. Mr Rao was the Chief Minister of Andra Pradesh from 1971 to 1973. Rao has the distinction of leading first minority government at centre and being the first prime minister from the south. He wrote a novel called Insider. Rao, UR: Mr Rao the former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation has been ranked by the US magazine, Space News, among the top 10 international personalities who have made a difference in civil, commerce and military space in the world since 1989. Rathode Rajyawardhan Singh: Ace shooter of the country, Major Rajyawardhan Singh Rathode won the double trap event silver medal in Athens Olympics (2004). Ratnam, Mani: Indian film director, best known for his controversial blockbuster Bombay Silver Medal in Athens Olympics 2004 (produced in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu). His film Nayakan was selected among the 100 great films by Time Magazine. Other films include Dalapathi, Roja, Alaipayuthe and Dil se. Ray, Satyajit: Renowned film director who won world fame through his film Pather Panchali (1955). Aparajita, Apoor Sansar, and Pather Panchali are considered as Apu Trilogy. He received lifetime achievement Oscar in 1992. Reddy, Justice Jeevan: The former judge of Supreme Court is the head of the five member committee to

examine the issue of Armed Force Special Powers Act in Manipur. Roy, Arundhati: Social activist and internationally renowned author of the Booker Prize winning novel, The God of Small Things. She donated the entire proceeds of the award approximately Rs. 15 lakhs to support the tribals Winner of Booker Prize who will be displaced by the Sardar Sarovar Dam in the Narmada Valley. Roy, Prannoy: Chairman of NDTV made psephology popular in television media. The one time economic analyst in Ministry of Finance was later popular TV host of The World This Week. Roy, Raja Rammohan: Founder of the Brahma Samaj, Roy worked for eradicating evils like Sati, child marriage and purdah. He published Samvad Kaumudi, Mirathul Akbar, Percepts of Jesus etc. Radhakrishnan, Dr. Sarvepalli: Indian scholar, philosopher, writer and statesman. Second President of India (1962-67), Chairman of UNESCO, Bharat Ratna, Templeton Award. The Hindu View of Life, Indian Philosophy. Raman, Dr. C.V.: Indian Physicist who won Nobel prize for Raman effect 1930. Founded Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Lenin Peace Prize, Bharat Ratna. Saki, Motilal: Motilal Saki was a noted Kashmiri poet and writer. He was also a scholar in Kashmiri, Urdu and English. Sanghvi, Vir: Indian journalist. Editor of Sunday Weekly. First journalist to be selected as one of 100 Global Leaders of Tomorrowby the World Economic Forum. Sen, Amartya: Amartya Kumar Sen is the Indian economist who won the 1998 Nobel Prize for Economics. His well known book is Poverty and Famine. Other books are Collective Choice and Social Welfare and On Economic Inequality.

Economics 1998 Sayeed, Padanatha Muhammad: Senior Congress Leader and Union

Nobel Prize for

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Energy Minister passed away in 2005. Though he was defeated in last Lok Sabha election, he represented Laksha dweep nine times before. Sen, Aparna: Bengali actress and director. The directorial ventures include 36 Chauranghee line, Mr & Mrs Iyer, Paromitar Ek din. Sen Gupta, Arjun: Economist Arjun Sen Gupta, a former member of the Planning Commission is the Chairman of the National Commission for promotion of enterprises in unorganised / informal sector. He hold the rank of a Cabinet Minister. Sen, Mihir: First Indian to swim the English Channel, world record in long distance swimming. Setalvad, Teesta: Indian social worker in 2004 was accused of pressuring Zahira Sheikh, the key witness in Best Bakery Case. She started an NGO Nirant and has programme of parallel education called Khoj. Seth, Roshan: Indian actor Roshan Seth, portrayed Jawaharlal Nehru in Richard Attenboroughs film Gandhi. Seth, Vikram: Indian writer of the twentieth centurys longest English novel, A Suitable Boy, An Equal music, Two lives etc. Sethi, Geet: He was second Indian after Micheal Ferrera to win the World Billiards title. He played crucial role in popularising cue sports in India. Sethi, Pramod Karan: A much decorated Indian pioneer. His Jaipur Foot is most suited to the lifestyle of the handicapped rural Indian. Winner of the Guinness Award, Ramon Magsaysay Award (1981), Padma Shri (1981) and Dr. B.C. Roy National Award (1979). Seshan, T.N.: Indias controversial yet inspiring Chief Election Commissioner 1990-96. Former Defence Secretary (1998) and Cabinet Secretary (1989). Received Magsay say Award for public service. Sequiera, Stephie: Stephie Sequiera was the first woman Arjuna awardee. Shanta,Dr. V: Dr. V. Shanta, Chairperson of cancer institute, Adyar in Chennai, has won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for public service for 2005. Dr. Shanta has poineered the research and treatment of cancer, especially cervival cancer. Shankar, Pandit Ravi: The internationally acclaimed sitar maestro was honoured with the Bharat Ratna on 1999. His autobiography My Music, My life. He is father to musicians Norah Jones and Anoushka.

Sharma, Rakesh: Patiala-born Indian test pilot. Worlds 138th and Indias first cosmonaut to go to space. Shaw, Kiran Majumdar: Chairperson of Biocon India, the biotech firm. Awarded Padmashri in 1989. She has been ranked the wealtheist woman entrepreneur in India. Shyamalan, Manoj Night : Acclaimed Indian born Hollywood film director. The Signs, The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, The Village. Srinivas, Uppalapu: Mandolin player of India who began playing it at the age of six. The youngest to receive the title Asthana Vidwan. (1990) Sreedharan, E: Man behind two of Indias milestones in Railway history Konkan railway and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. He was named Asian hero by Time magazine in 2003. Singh, Rajnath: The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister was elected new President of BJP replacing Advani. Singh, Natwar: Congress politician and currently a Minister without portfolio was forced to resign the office of Minister of External affairs after allegation of payoffs in Iraqi oil scam. He was formerly Foreign Secretary and high profile diplomat. Singh, V.P.: Indian politician. Leader of the Janata Dal. Seventh Prime Minister of India (1989-90). Sivan, Santosh: Ace cinematographer and Film maker. His films include Terrorist, Hello, Ashoka, Navarasa and Anantha bhadram. Subbulakshmi, M.S.: Emperess of Carnatic music according to Nehru. She passed away in 2005.Won many awards including the Magsaysay, Padma Bhushan, Kalidas Samman, Indira Gandhi Puraskar and the Bharat Ratna. Subramanian, C.: The veteran Gandhian and freedom fighter, member of the Constituent Assembly and former Union Minister for Finance, Defence, Steel and Heavy Industry and Agriculture who played a key role in bringing about agricultural prosperity during the late 1960s. Recipient of Bharat Ratna, 1998. Swaminathan, M.S.: Indian agricultural scientist and Chairman of National Farmers Commission. He was Director-General of International Rice Research In-

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stitute, Manila, Director of the Centre for Research on Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development, Chennai. Had established M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai for promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

Father of Indian Green

Revolution Tagore, Rabindranath: Poet, novelist, dramatist, philosopher, educationalist short story writer. Tagore was born in Bengal. In 1913 he became the first Indian (Asian) to win the Nobel Prize (for Literature). He wrote the National Anthems of India and Bangladesh.

Tagore, Sharmila: Yester year bollywood star and character actress was selected as goodwill ambassador of UNICEF in 2005. She also heads the Central Board of Film Certification. (2005) Tata, Ratan: The chairman of Tata group of companies. He was heading committee on hydrogen energy and the Chairman of Investment Commission set up by the central government last year. Tendulkar, Vijay: Marathi screenplay writer and journalist. Doyen of Avant Garde Indian theatre. Recipient of K.K. Birla Foundations Saraswati Samman for his play Kanyadaan. Tendulkar, Sachin: Indian Cricketer, former captain. At 16 played his first Test in Karachi. The fist bastsman to score 10,000 runs in one day cricket and only player in the world, to repeat the same in Test cricket too. Arjuna Award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award-98. He currently the holds the record for highest number of test centuries (35) surpassing Sunil Gavaskars 34 Test Centuries. Teresa, Mother: Albanian born Indian settled Christian saint, won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979. She came to India in 1929 as a member of Lauretto Missionary. She founded the Missionaries of Charity for down-trodden children. She also founded Nirmal Hriday for orphaned children. Thapar, Romila: Famous historian on ancient India. Major works include Asoka and the
Famous Historian

decline of Mauryas, Ancient Indian Social History, Early India etc. She rejected Padmabhushan in 2005. Thapar, Amrita: In the Miss India pagaent held in Mumbai, Amrita Thapar was elected as the Miss India, 2005 and represents the country in Miss. Universe. Tharoor, Shashi: Acclaimed author. Executive Assistant to UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan was recently appointed UN Director of Communication (Public Relations) with the responsibility of coordinating messages that it puts out to the public. Riot is his Missed UN Secretary General Post latest book. Thyagaraja: South Indian saint and exponent of Carnatic music. One among the trinities of Carnatic musicThyagaraja, Muthuswamy Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri. Tilak, Balagangadhar: Popularly known asLokamanya, Famous Tilak was an extremist during Carnatic Musician Indias freedom struggle. He was also called the Father of Indian Unrest. Usha, P.T.: Named sport person of the century by Indian Olympic Association. Four golds in Seoul Asiad, 1986. Arjuna Award (1983), Padma shree (1985). Autobiography Golden Girl. Vallabhbhai Patel, Sardar: Known as the Iron Man of India, Patel was Minister of Home Affairs, Information and Broadcasting in the interim Government. He was also the first Deputy Prime Minister of India.

Vajpayee, Atal Behari: Former Prime Minister of India and senior BJP leader. He became Prime Minister twice (1996; 1998-2004). A poet and orator, he addressed UN General assembly in Hindi as Foreign Minister. Varma, Raja Ravi: One of the greatest early Indian artists, from the royal family of Kilimanoor, Kerala. Vasudevan Nair, P.K.: Veteran CPI leader and former Chief Minister of Kerala passed away in 2005. Elected 4 times as member of Lok Sabha.

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 Venkataraman, R: President of India 1987-92. Was Vice-President from 1984 to 1987. Author of the book My Presidential Years. Venkataraman was the oldest to become the President of India (at 78) Vijayan, I.M: I.M. Vijayan was declared Footballer of the Year 1999 by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Winner of the 2002 Arjuna Award; Vijayan retired from the game recently. He started a firm selling sports goods with brandname boxer. Visvesvaraya M: Mysore engineer, who built the dam across Cauveri in Mysore. Won the Bharat Ratna in 1955. Vivekananda, Swami: A saintphilosopher who made Indias greatness known to the world. He was the disciple of Saint Ramakrishna Paramahams and founder of the Ramakrishna Mission. Vivekananda is fa-

mous for the speech he delivered at the World Parliament of Religions at Chicago in USA in 1893. Vyas, Girija: Congress politician and current chairperson of National Commission for Women. Yadav,Santosh: Deputy Superintendent in Indo-Tibetan Border Police; only woman in the world to climb Mount Everest (8,848 metres high) twice.

Zakaria, Rafeeq: Freedom everest twice fighter and Gandhian. He received National Integration Award. Fared Zakaria, the editor Newsweek International is his son. Rafeeq books include The Price of Partition, Communal Rage in Secular India, Sardar Patel and Secular India.

Only woman in the world to climb mount

Founder of Ramakrishna Mission

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