Great Personalities

While Gandhi fondly administered the title of ‘Maker of Modern India’ on Tilak, the British labelled him as the ‘Father of Indian Unrest’. The people of India remember him as ‘Lokmanya’ or ‘widely accepted by the people as the leader’. A teacher and journalist by profession, Tilak initiated his political life as a Maratha propagandist but soon developed into a prominent nationalist. He was the first ever leader to advocate the need for ‘Swaraj’ or ‘Self Rule’. His strong political opinions and revolutionary ideas raised an alarm in the Indian consciousness and made people realize the need for free India, where every religion and race would be treated equally. In his long career as a social reformer and freedom fighter, his slogan ‘Swaraj is my birth right and I shall have it’ inspired millions of Indians. He is best remembered for his defiance of the British rule and fostering the idea of extremist nationalism.

Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the Maurya Empire, was one of the most important rulers in the history of India. He is credited for unifying small independent states to form a large single kingdom for the first time under one administration, leaving aside Kalinga and the Tamil regions of Chera, Chola, Satyaputra, and Pandya. He was successful in destroying the Nanda dynasty, which ruled most of northern India, at the young age of 20. Along with his chief advisor and Brahmin scholar, Chanakya, he seized the Macedonian territories and conquered the eastern territories of Alexander’s general Seleucus to add them to his empire. His empire stretched across Kashmir in the north to Deccan Plateau in the south and Afghanistan and Balochistan in the west to Bengal and Assam in the east. Nevertheless, he voluntarily left his throne and accepted Jainism, moving southwards to Karnataka. His grandson, Ashoka, followed his footsteps in completing the pending conquest of Kalinga and Tamil kingdom ...

Atal Bihari Vajpayee is a highly respected veteran politician who had served as the Prime Minister of India in three non-consecutive terms. He was a member of the Indian Parliament for almost five decades; in fact he is the only parliamentarian who had been elected from four different states at different times, namely, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Delhi. He made his foray into politics during the pre-independence era when he took part in the Quit India Movement which led to his arrest and imprisonment. A true patriot, he was one of the founding members of the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh, an Indian nationalist party. A multi-faceted personality, he is a very skilled poet with several published poems. Also well known is his love for his native language Hindi—he was the first person to deliver a speech in Hindi at the U.N. General assembly. He is very famous for his oratory skills and held several prestigious positions in Indian politics before being elected the Prime mi...

Arvind Kejriwal is an Indian anti corruption activist turned politician who is the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi. He is the National Convener of the Aam Aadmi party (AAP), a political party that was launched in November 2012. Kejriwal had been a social activist long before he entered the world of politics and his main motive of venturing into this field was so that he could serve the country. As a teenager he had trouble deciding which career to pursue: medicine or engineering. Eventually he decided to go for engineering and set his eyes on entering the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). Stubbornly refusing to give the entrance exam at any other college, he appeared only for the IIT entrance—and cleared it at the first try. As a student he realized that his passion lay not in making money, but in serving his country. He started working for the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and also became involved in social activism. His involvement in the ‘Parivartan’ movement earned him a Ramon Mags...

One of the foremost exponents of Hindustani classical music, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi requires no introduction of sorts. A classicist by training and profession, he was known the world over for his ‘Khayal’ form of singing. What made him distinctive from his contemporaries was his ability to balance between the traditional music and mass-culture taste. This probably best explains his success as a Hindustani vocalist in terms of largest commercially recorded repertoire. Blessed with fine musical sensibilities and brilliant hold of fundamentals, his powerful voice, amazing breath control, rhythmic stance, and intelligent fusion of passion and creativity has marvelled all who have heard him play. He was a purist by heart and did not experiment much with his music which was marked by spontaneity, accuracy and unbelievably fast paced taans. However, he enriched the ‘Kiraana Gharana’ by adapting characteristics from other gharanas and adding his own distinctive taste to it. A Bharat Ratna award...

Bajirao I was the Peshwa (Prime Minister) to the fourth Maratha Chhatrapati (Emperor) Shahu. A courageous warrior, he is credited with expanding the Maratha Empire, especially in the north. Also known as Bajirao Ballal and Thorale ("Elder") Bajirao, he was born into a Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin family. His father was the first Peshwa of Chhattrapati Shahu, and Bajirao used to accompany his father on his campaigns from a young age. He inherited his father’s courage and valor, and grew up to be a brave and daring warrior himself. He gained much fame for his military skills while still a teenager and was appointed as the Peshwa when he was just 20 years old. In this position he proved himself to be an outstanding cavalry leader who took up the charge of leading his troops and helped to greatly expand the Maratha Empire. Famed for his military skills, Bajirao made use of rapid tactical movements in battle which greatly contributed to his success. He fought several major battles a...

Baba Amte was an Indian social worker who dedicated his life to the noble cause of social service, particularly to make life better for the sufferers of leprosy. When he first witnessed the misery and ostracization faced by leprosy patients, his conscience was shaken and he was determined to do something to empower these people. He founded several ashrams and hospitals for these patients. Born into a wealthy family, he lived an enviable life. As a youngster he owned a gun and loved hunting! An avid movie fan, he corresponded with the likes of Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo. But as he matured with age he realized that there was too much injustice and suffering around him. This made him ditch his luxurious life and dedicate himself to the cause of betterment of the world. Fortunately, he met a kindred spirit in Sadhana who shared his passion for social work and he married her. He was a Gandhian and lived a very austere life. A firm believer in the virtue of hard work, he encouraged the ...