Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa (26 August 1910 5 September 1997) also known asBlessed
Teresa of Calcutta, MC,[3] was an Albanian Roman Catholicreligious
sister and missionary.[4] She was born in Skopje (modern Republic of
Macedonia), then part of the Kosovo Vilayet in the Ottoman Empire. After
having lived in Macedonia for some eighteen years, she moved to Ireland and
then to India, where she lived for most of her life.
Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholicreligious
congregation, which in 2012 consisted of over 4,500 sisters and was active in
133 countries. They run hospices and homes for people
withHIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis; soup kitchens; dispensaries and
mobile clinics; children's and family counselling programmes; orphanages;
and schools. Members must adhere to the vows of chastity, poverty, and
obedience, as well as a fourth vow, to give "wholehearted free service to the
poorest of the poor".[5]
Mother Teresa was the recipient of numerous honours, including the 1979Nobel Peace Prize. In 2003, she
was beatified as "Blessed Teresa of Calcutta". A second miracle was credited to her intercession by Pope Francis, in
December 2015, paving the way for her to be recognised as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. [3][6]
A controversial figure both during her life and after her death, Mother Teresa was widely admired by many for her
charitable works, but was also widely criticised, particularly for her opposing both abortion and contraception. She
additionally received criticism for substandard conditions in the hospices for which she was responsible. [7][8][9][10]

Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (/ndi, n-/;[2] Hindustani: [mondas
krmtnd andi] ( listen); 2 October 1869 30 January 1948) was the
preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India.
Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to independence
and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
Thehonorific Mahatma (Sanskrit: "high-souled", "venerable")[3]applied to him
first in 1914 in South Africa,[4]is now used worldwide. He is also
called Bapu(Gujarati: endearment for "father",[5] "papa"[5][6]) in India. In common
parlance in Bharat (India) he is called Gandhiji; reference as Gandhi can be
considered lacking in good form and respect.
Born and raised in a Hindu merchant caste family in coastal Gujarat, western
India, and trained in law at the Inner Temple, London, Gandhi first employed
nonviolent civil disobedience as an expatriate lawyer in South Africa, in the
resident Indian community's struggle for civil rights. After his return to India in
1915, he set about organising peasants, farmers, and urban labourers to
protest against excessive land-tax and discrimination. Assuming leadership of
the Indian National Congress in 1921, Gandhi led nationwide campaigns for
easing poverty, expanding women's rights, building religious and ethnic amity,
ending untouchability, but above all for achieving Swaraj or self-rule.
Gandhi famously led Indians in challenging the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (250 mi) Dandi Salt
March in 1930, and later in calling for the British to Quit India in 1942. He was imprisoned for many years, upon
many occasions, in both South Africa and India. Gandhi attempted to practise nonviolence and truth in all situations,
and advocated that others do the same. He lived modestly in a self-sufficient residential community and wore the
traditional Indian dhoti and shawl, woven with yarn hand-spun on a charkha. He ate simple vegetarian food, and
also undertook long fasts as a means of both self-purification and social protest.
Gandhi's vision of an independent India based on religious pluralism, however, was challenged in the early 1940s by
a new Muslim nationalism which was demanding a separate Muslim homeland carved out of India. [7] Eventually, in

August 1947, Britain granted independence, but the British Indian Empire[7]was partitioned into two dominions, a
Hindu-majority India and MuslimPakistan.[8] As many displaced Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs made their way to their
new lands, religious violence broke out, especially in the Punjab andBengal.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Bal Gangadhar Tilak (or Lokmanya Tilak, pronunciation (helpinfo); 23 July 1856 1 August 1920), born
as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak, was an Indian nationalist, teacher, social reformer, lawyer and an independence
activist. He was the first leader of the Indian Independence Movement. The British colonial authorities called him
"Father of the Indian unrest." He was also conferred with the honorary title of "Lokmanya", which literally means
"accepted by the people (as their leader)".[2]
Tilak was one of the first and strongest advocates of "Swaraj" (self-rule) and a strong radical in Indian
consciousness. He is known for his quote in Marathi, " " ("Swarajya is
my birthright and I shall have it!") in India. He formed a close alliance with many Indian National Congress leaders
including Bipin Chandra Pal, Lala Lajpat Rai,Aurobindo Ghose, V. O. Chidambaram Pillai and Muhammad Ali
Jinnah. As a strong advocate of Swaraj, he was against Gandhi's policy of Total-ahimsa(non-violence), satyagraha
and advocated the use of force where necessary.

Early life
Tilak was born in a Chitpavan Brahmin family in Ratnagiri, headquarters of the eponymous district of presentday Maharashtra (then British India) on 23 July 1856.[1] His ancestral village was Chikhali. His father, Gangadhar
Tilak was a school teacher and a Sanskrit scholar who died when Tilak was sixteen. Tilak graduated from Deccan
College, Pune in 1877. Tilak was amongst one of the first generation of Indians to receive a college education. [citation
needed]
In 1871 Tilak was married to Tapibai (a women belonging to Bal family) when he was sixteen before few months
of his father's death. After marriage, her name was changed to Satyabhamabai. He obtained his matriculation in
1872. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in first class in Mathematics from Deccan College of Pune in 1877. In 1879
he obtained his LL.B degree from Government Law College .[3] Despite two attempts he did not succeed in qualifying
in his M. A.

Savitribai Phule
Savitribai Jyotirao Phule (3 January 1831 10 March 1897) was an Indian
social reformer and poet. Along with her husband, Jyotirao Phule, she played
an important role in improving women's rights in India during British rule. The
couple founded the first women's school at Bhide Wada in Pune in 1848.[1]She
also worked to abolish discrimination and unfair treatment of people based on
caste and gender.

Early life
Savitribai Phule was born in 1831 in Naigaon, Maharashtra. Her family were farmers.[2] At the age of nine, she was
married to twelve-year-old Jyotirao Phule in 1840.[citation needed] Savitribai and Jyotirao had no children of their own.
However, the couple adopted Yashavantrao, who was the son of a widowed Brahmin.[3]

Career as a social reformer

Savitribai worked as both an educational reformer and social reformer, especially for women. During the 19th
century, arranged marriages before the age of maturity was the norm in the Hindu society of Maharashtra. Since
mortality rates were high, many young girls often became widows even before attaining maturity. Due to social and
cultural practices of the times, widow remarriage was out of question and therefore prospects for the young widows
were poor. The 1881 Kolhapur gazetteer records that widows at that time used to shave their heads, and wear
simple red saris and had to lead a very austere life with little joy.[4] Savitribai and Jyotirao were moved by the plight of
these girls. They organized a strike against the barbers to persuade them to stop shaving the heads of widows. [citation
needed]

Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda (Bengali: Bengali: [ami bibekanno] (
listen),

Shmi Bibeknondo; 12 January 1863 4 July 1902),

born Narendranath Dutta (Bengali: [nrendro nat dtto]), was
anIndian Hindu monk and chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian
mysticRamakrishna Paramahansa. He was a key figure in the introduction of
the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world[4] and is
credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a
major world religion during the late 19th century.[5] He was a major force in
the revival of Hinduism in India, and contributed to the concept
ofnationalism in colonial India.[6] Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna
Mathand the Ramakrishna Mission.[4] He is perhaps best known for his
speech which began, "Sisters and brothers of America ...,"[7] in which he
introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in
1893.
Born into an aristocratic Bengali family of Calcutta, Vivekananda was inclined
towards spirituality. He was influenced by his Guru, Ramakrishna Deva, from
whom he learnt that all living beings were an embodiment of the divine self; therefore, service to God could be
rendered by service to mankind. After Ramakrishna's death, Vivekananda toured the Indian
subcontinent extensively and acquired first-hand knowledge of the conditions prevailing in British India. He later
travelled to the United States, representing India at the 1893 Parliament of the World Religions. Vivekananda
conducted hundreds of public and private lectures and classes, disseminating tenets of Hindu philosophy in the
United States, England and Europe. In India, Vivekananda is regarded as a patriotic saintand his birthday is
celebrated there as National Youth Day.

B. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar ([bimraw ramdi ambekr]; 14 April 1891 6
December 1956), popularly known as Babasaheb, was an
Indian jurist,economist, politician and social reformer who inspired the Modern
Buddhist Movement and campaigned against social discrimination
againstUntouchables (Dalits), while also supporting the rights of women and labour.
[4]
He was Independent India's first law minister and the principal architect of
theConstitution of India.[5][6][7][8]
Ambedkar was a prolific student, earning a law degree and
various doctoratesfrom Columbia University and the London School of Economics,
and gained a reputation as a scholar for his research in law, economics and political
science. In his early career he was an economist, professor, and lawyer. His later
life was marked by his political activities; he became involved in campaigning and negotiations for India's
independence, publishing journals advocating political rights and social freedom for Dalits, and contributing

significantly to the establishment of the state of India. In 1956 he converted toBuddhism, initiating mass conversions
of Dalits.[9][10][11][12]
In 1990, the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, was posthumously conferred upon Ambedkar.[13][14][15]
[16]
Ambedkar's legacy includes numerous memorials and depictions in popular culture.

Early life and education

Ambedkar was born on 14 April 1891 in the town and military cantonment ofMhow in the Central Provinces (now
in Madhya Pradesh).[17] He was the 14th and last child of Ramji Maloji Sakpal, a ranked army officer at the post
ofSubedar and Bhimabai Murbadkar Sakpal.[18] His family was of Marathibackground from the town
of Ambavade (Mandangad taluka) in Ratnagiri district of modern-day Maharashtra. Ambedkar was born into a poor
lowMahar (dalit) caste, who were treated as untouchables and subjected to socio-economic discrimination.
[19]
Ambedkar's ancestors had long worked for the army of the British East India Company, and his father served in
the British Indian Army at the Mhow cantonment.[20] Although they attended school, Ambedkar and other untouchable
children were segregated and given little attention or help by teachers.