4. Arjun Singh
Arjun Singh (5 November 1930 – 4 March 2011) was an Indian politician from the Indian
National Congress party. He was the Union Minister of Human Resource Development in the
Manmohan Singh cabinet from 2004 to 2009. He died on 4 March 2011 due to a heart attack.
Death
Arjun Singh died on 4 March 2011, at the age of 80. He had been admitted in Delhi's All
India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) a few days previously with chest neurological
problems and died of a heart attack.[2] He was cremated at his home town of Churhat,
Madhya Pradesh.
5. Career
Arjun Singh was a minister in the P Narasimha Rao cabinet but he resigned after the Babri
.V.
Masjid demolition. At the time, he formed the All India Indira Congress (Tiwari) along with
Narayan Dutt Tiwari, former Union minister and ex-CM of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand
(formerly Uttaranchal) as President, but he lost in the 1996 Loksabha elections from Satna in
Madhya Pradesh and the Congress too lost power at the center. Later he returned to Congress
and lost again from of Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh. He served as Chief Minister of
Madhya Pradesh three times, Union minister and Governor of Punjab once for a short period.
As Governor of Punjab, he worked for the Rajiv-Longwal Accord for peace in Punjab. He
was awarded the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 2000.
6. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee (born 25 December 1924 in Gwalior) is an Indian Statesman who was
the 10th Prime Minister of India, first for 13 days in 1996, and then from 1998 to 2004. A
parliamentarian for over four decades, Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha (the lower
house of India's Parliament) a record nine times, and twice to the Rajya Sabha (upper
house).[1] He also served as the Member of Parliament for Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, until
2009, when he retired from active politics due to health concerns. Vajpayee was one amongst
the founder members of erstwhile Jana Sangh and had been its president also. He was also
the Minister of External Affairs in the cabinet of Morarji Desai.
7. When Janata government collapsed Vajpayee merged his entire party into a fresh party and
named it as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). A poet-politician Vajpayee has been the liberal
face of BJP .The first non-congressman to run a government for its full term, Vajpayee was
chosen third greatest Indian in 2012 in an nationwide poll held by History TV and CNN-
IBN [2]
Early political career
Vajpayee's first tryst with politics occurred in 1942, when he was arrested for his
participation in the Quit India movement.[4][5][6] In 1951, He was deputed to work for the
newly formed Bharatiya Jana Sangh, a right wing political party associated with the RSS
and espousing the Hindu cause. He soon became a close follower and aide of Shyama Prasad
Mukherjee, the leader of the Jana Sangh. In 1954 Vajpayee was at Mukherjee's side when he
went on a fast-unto-death in Kashmir to protest against perceived inferior treatment of non-
Kashmiri Indian visitors to the state. Mukherjee died in prison during this strike. The protest
and martyrdom of Mukherjee ended the identity card crisis, the centerpiece of Indian national
security at that time. In 1957, Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha, where his oratorical
skills so impressed the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that he predicted that
Vajpayee would someday become India's Prime Minister.[7] By his oratorical and organizing
skills, he became the face of the Jana Sangh. After the tragic death of Deendayal Upadhyaya,
the mantle of the leadership of Jana Sangh fell on the shoulders of the young Vajpayee.
8. Chandra Shekhar Azad
Chandra Shekhar Azad (23 July 1906 – 27 February 1931), popularly known as Azad
("The Liberated"), was one of the most important Indian revolutionaries who reorganised the
Hindustan Republican Association under the new name of Hindustan Socialist Republican
Association (HSRA) after the death of its founder Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil and three
other prominent party leaders, Thakur Roshan Singh, Rajendra Nath Lahiri and Ashfaqulla
Khan. He is considered to be the mentor of Bhagat Singh and chief strategist of the HSRA.
9. Biography
Chandra Shekhar Azad was born on 23 July 1906 Kanaujia Brahmins (Kanyakubja
Brahmins) who take their name from the country of Jajakshuku, which is mentioned in the
Madanpur inscription.[1]) in the family of Pandit Sitaram Tiwari and Jagrani Devi in the
bhabara (of alirajpur District)|Madhya Pradesh. He spent his childhood in the village
Bhabhra when his father was serving in the erstwhile estate of Alirajpur. He learned archery
from the tribal Bhils of erstwhile Jhabua district which helped him later on during the arms
struggle against the Britishers.
Birthplace of Shri Chandra Shekhar Azad, Bhabra alirajpur, India
His mother Jagrani Devi wanted to make her son a great Sanskrit scholar and so she
persuaded his father to send him to Kashi Vidyapeeth, Banaras for studying Sanskrit. In
December 1921, when Mohandas K. Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation Movement,
Chandra Shekhar, then a 15 year old student, joined the movement. As a result, he was
arrested and presented before a magistrate. When the magistrate asked his name, he
immediately replied "Azad", meaning The Liberated. When he was asked to tell his father's
name, he answered- "Swatantra" meaning Freedom. Then, the magistrate asked- "Where do
you live?" He answered- "Jailkhana" meaning prison. He was sentenced to imprisonment for
fifteen days with hard punishments.
10. Revolutionary life
After suspension of the non-cooperation movement in 1922 by Gandhi, Azad became more
aggressive on his stance. He committed himself to achieve complete independence by any means.
Azad also believed that India's future lay in socialism. He met a young revolutionary
Pranvesh Chatterji who introduced him to Ram Prasad Bismil who had formed the
Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), a revolutionary organisation. Azad was
impressed with the aim of HRA, i.e., an independent India with equal rights and opportunity
to everyone without discrimination of caste, creed, religion or social status. On introduction,
Bismil was impressed by Azad, when Azad reportedly put his hand over the lighing lamp
and did not remove it till his skin burnt. He then became an active member of the HRA and
started to collect funds for HRA. Most of the fund collection was through robberies of
government property. He also wanted to build a new India based on socialist principles. Azad
and his compatriots also planned and executed several acts of violence against the British.
Most of his revolutionary activities were planned and executed from Shahjahanpur which
was also the hometown of Ram Prasad. He was involved in the famous Kakori Train
Robbery of 1925, in the attempt to blow up the Viceroy's train in 1926, and at last the
shooting of J.P Saunders at Lahore in 1928 to avenge the killing of Lala Lajpat Rai.
.
11. Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1945) is a poet, lyricist and scriptwriter from India. Akhtar is
a main stream writer and some of his most successful work was carried out in the late 1970s
and 1980s with Salim Khan as half of the script-writing duo credited as Salim-Javed. Akhtar
continues to be a prominent figure in Bollywood and is one of the most popular and sought-
after lyricists.
12. Early life
He was born as Jadoo Akhtar in Gwalior, (Madhya Pradesh) to Jan Nisar Akhtar, a
Bollywood film songwriter and Urdu poet, and singer Safia Akhtar, a teacher and
writer.[citation needed] His original name was Jadoo, taken from a line in a poem written by his
father: "Lamba, lamba kisi jadoo ka fasana hoga". He was given the official name of Javed
since it was the closest to the word jadoo.[1] Amongst his family members who are poets are the
Urdu poet Majaz (maternal uncle), and his grandfather, Muztar Khairabadi, and Maulana
Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, a noted philosopher, poet and religious scholar of the nineteenth
century. Akhtar's younger brother, Salman Akhtar, is a psychoanalyst practicing in the United
States.
Having lost his mother while very young, Akhtar's early years were spent in Lucknow, Aligarh
and Mumbai, mostly with relatives. He studied in Colvin Taluqdars' College in Lucknow and
the Minto Circle where he completed his matriculation from Aligarh Muslim University. After
matriculation, Akhtar acquired a B.A. from Saifiya College in Bhopal. A gifted debater in
college, he won the Rotary Club Prize frequently.
Career
Akhtar arrived in Mumbai on 4 October 1964. In his early years living in Mumbai, he
managed to write the dialogue for a minor film for Rs. 100. Occasionally, he used to work as
an assistant.
13. He got a job as a scriptwriter on Yakeen which flopped. Akhtar then joined with his friend
Salim Khan to develop the story for Adhikar. Salim-Javed were hired by G. P Sippy's Sippy
.
Films as resident screenwriters and produced the screenplays for successful films like Andaz,
Seeta Aur Geeta, Sholay and Don.
Akhtar used to write his scripts in Urdu, which were then written out in Hindi by his assistant.
Another assistant would type out a one line summary in English. His association with Salim
Khan lasted until 1980. After this Akhtar wrote some scripts on his own, but mostly moved into
writing lyrics for films, in which he achieved success.
Akhtar has also attempted more serious Urdu poetry aside from writing lyrics for movies. A
major set of his works were compiled in Tarkash, which was also rendered into audio in his
voice. Singers such as the late Jagjit Singh and the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan have sung some
of his non-movie poetry.
Javed Akhtar was also a judge alongside Anu Malik, Kailash Kher and Sonali Bendre on
India's singer hunt Indian Idol 4. He is also on the advisory board of the Asian Academy of
Film & Television.
Personal life
Akhtar was born a Muslim, but later became an Atheist as he stated in his speech "Spirituality,
Halo or Hoax".[2][3] Akhtar was married to Honey Irani, a script-writer for Hindi films, with
whom he had two children Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar, both film directors and actors.
daughter of another Urdu poet, Kaifi Azmi.
14. Awards
Javed Akhtar was awarded the Padma Shri award by the Government of India in 1999 and
received the Padma Bhushan in 2007. Akhtar has also won the Filmfare Award fourteen times,
seven times for Best Script, and eight times for Best Lyrics for "Ek Ladki Ko Dekha..." in
1942-A Love Story, "Ghar Se Nikalte Hi..." for Papa Kahte Hain, "Sandese Aate Hain...."
for Border, "Panchhi Nadiyan Pawan Ke Jhonke..." for Refugee, "Radha Kaise Na Jale"
for Lagaan, "Kal Ho Na Ho" for Kal Ho Na Ho, "Tere Liye..." for Veer-Zaara and
"Jashn-e-Bahara" for Jodhaa Akbar.
Akhtar has won the National Award five times. In 1996 he won for Best Lyricist for the film
Saaz and in 1997 he won the National Award for Border. He again won the National Award
in 1998 for Godmother. In 2000 he again won the National Award for the song "Panchhi
Nadiyan Pawan Ke Jonke..." from the film Refugee and in 2001 for "Radha Kaise Na Jale"
from Lagaan.
He has won the 1995 and 1997 Screen Videocon Awards. He also won first Zee Award for
Best Lyricist for "Sandese Aate Hain" from the film Border. He was awarded a Videocon
Screen award as well as a Lux Zee Cine award for "Panchhi Nadiyan Pawan Ke Jhonke..."
for Refugee.
In 2001 Akhtar received the "National Integration Award" from the All India Anti-Terrorist
Association and the Avadh Ratan from the U.P Government. He also won the 2003 Hakim
.
Khan Sur Sammaan Award from the Maharana Mewar Foundation, Udaipur.
15. Shankar Dayal Sharma
Shankar Dayal Sharma pronunciation (help·info) Hindi:
( ; 19 August
1918 - 26 December 1999 was the ninth President of India from 1992 to 1997. Prior to his
presidency, Dr Sharma had been the eighth Vice President of India, serving under President
Ramaswamy Venkataraman. He was also Chief Minister (1952–1956), and Cabinet
Minister (1956–1967), holding the portfolios of Education, Law, Public Works, Industry
and Commerce, National Resources and Separate Revenue. He was the President of the
Indian National Congress in 1972-1974 and returned to government as Union Minister for
Communications from 1974 to 1977.
The International Bar Association presented Dr. Sharma with the 'Living Legends of Law
Award of Recognition' for his outstanding contribution to the legal profession internationally
and for commitment to the rule of law.[1]
Dr. Sharma was born in Bhopal, then the capital of the princely state of Bhopal.
16. Political initiation
During the 1940s he was involved in the struggle for Indian independence from the British,
and joined the Indian National Congress, a party which he would remain loyal to for the rest
of his life. In 1952 he became the chief minister of the Bhopal state and served in that position
until the state reorganization of 1956, when Bhopal state merged with several other states to
form the state of Madhya Pradesh.
Active political life
During the 1960s Sharma supported Indira Gandhi's quest for leadership of the Congress
Party. He served in her cabinet as the minister for Communication from 1974-77. In 1971 and
1980 he won a Lok Sabha seat from Bhopal. Later on, he was given a variety of ceremonial
posts. In 1984 he began serving as a governor of Indian states, first in Andhra Pradesh.
During this time, his daughter Geetanjali Maken and son-in-law Lalit Maken, a young
member of parliament and a promising political leader, were killed by Sikh militants. In
1985, he left Andhra Pradesh and became governor of Punjab during a time of violence
between the Indian government and Sikh militants, many of whom lived in Punjab. He left
Punjab in 1986 and took up his final governorship in Maharashtra. He remained governor of
Maharashtra until 1987 when he was elected for a 5-year term as the eighth Vice-President of
India and chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
17. Presidential election
Sharma served as Vice-President until 1992, when he was elected President.He received 66% of
the votes in the electoral college, defeating George Gilbert Swell. During his last year as
President, it was his responsibility to swear in three prime ministers. He did not run for a
second term as President.
[edit] Illness and death
During the last five years of his life, Sharma suffered from ill health. On 26 December 1999,
he suffered a massive heart attack and was admitted to a hospital in New Delhi, where he died.
He was cremated at Karma Bhumi. Dr. Sharma is survived by his son Satish Dayal Sharma
from his first wife and a son Ashutosh Dayal Sharma, from his second wife, Smt. Vimala
Sharma.
18. Abdul Qavi Desnavi
Abdul Qavi Desnavi (Urdu: November 1,1930 - July 7, 2011)[1][2] was an
Indian Urdu language writer, critic, bibliographer, and linguist. He has written many books
on Urdu literature.[3] His important work was about Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Mirza
Ghalib and Allama Muhammad Iqbal.[1][3] He was awarded with several awards for his
literary work.[3]
Biography
Desnavi was born in village Desna of block Asthawan in Nalanda district Bihar.[4] to the
family of Muslim scholar Syed Sulaiman Nadvi, who was one of the eminent historian and
biographers of the prophet Muhammad[3] Desnavi was the son of Syed Mohammed Saeed
Raza, who was Professor of Urdu, Arabic and Persian languages in St. Xavier's College,
Mumbai.
19. Desnavi had two brothers,elder Prof. Syed Mohi Raza and younger Syed Abdul Wali
Desnavi.[3]
Many scholars, poets and teachers of today were his students in Bhopal, and several other
students obtained PhD degree under his guidance. He died on July 7, 2011 in
Bhopal, India.[4]
Career
Desnavi got his primary education in Arrah town of Bihar state. He completed his Graduation
and Post Graduation in First Division from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.[3] He joined Urdu
department in Saifia Post Graduate College in February 1961. He became Professor and head
of the Urdu department of Saifia College. He was a well known literary figure in India and in
the Urdu world.
20. Kumar Gandharva
Kumar Gandharva or Shivaputra Siddharamayya Komkalimath (8 April 1924 - 12
January 1992) was a Hindustani classical singer, famous for his unique vocal style, refusal
to be bound by the tradition of any gharana, and his innovative genius. The name Kumar
Gandharva is a title given to him when he was a child prodigy; a Gandharva is a musical
spirit in Hindu mythology.[1]
Career
Bhanumati Kans, who was learning music first under Deodhar and later under Kumar
Gandharva himself, nursed him through his illness. His first mehfil after recovery from
illness took place in 1953. The illness greatly affected Kumar's singing in later years – he
was to be known for powerful short phrases and his very high voice.
21. He may not have reached the same heights of popularity as contemporaries like Bhimsen
Joshi, but he always enjoyed the love and support of dedicated and connoisseur enthusiasts.
His singing was also true to the Indian classical music tradition of dialogue with the listeners,
of impromptu creation and interactivity.
Kumarji also experimented with other forms of singing such as Nirguni bhajans (Devotional
songs), folk songs, and with both ragas and presentation, often going from fast to slow
compositions in the same raga. He is remembered for his great legacy of innovation,
questioning tradition without rejecting it wholesale, resulting in music in touch with the roots of
Indian culture, especially the folk music of Madhya Pradesh. His innovative approach
towards music led to the creation of new ragas from combinations of older ragas.
His style of singing attracted considerable controversy. Veteran singer Mogubai Kurdikar did
not consider his vilambit (slow tempo) singing interesting and his own teacher Deodhar
criticised some aspects of Kumar's singing but their relationship was strained from 1940s
when Kumar Gandharva married Bhanumati. According to Pandharinath Kolhapure's book
on Kumar Gandharva, Deodhar was against the match. But the criticism mostly centred
around his vilambit gayaki.
22. His singing in faster tempos, particularly his mastery over madhya-laya, was very widely
revered.
Kumar Gandharva's first son, Mukul Shivputra, was born around 1955. After Bhanumati's
death in 1961 during childbirth, Kumar married Vasundhara Shrikhande, another of his
fellow-students at Deodhar School. Vasundhara Komkalimath formed a memorable duo with
him in bhajan singing. She also provided vocal support to his classical renditions quite often.
Their daughter Kalapini Komkalimath would later accompany both her parents on tanpura.
Some of Kumar Gandharva's ideology is carried forward by his son and daughter, as well as
students such as Madhup Mudgal, Shubha Mudgal, Vijay Sardeshmukh and Satyasheel
Deshpande. Kumarji's grandson Bhuvanesh (Mukul Shivaputra's son) has also made a
name for himself as classical singer.
For a long spell, Kumar Gandharva's activities as a musician were managed by his friend
and tabla accompanist Vasant Acharekar. Acharekar was Vasant Desai's assistant in the
1950s but later devoted himself fully to his role as an accompanist to classical singing until
his death in late 1970s. His son Suresh Acharekar is also a tabla player, and has
accompanied Kumar Gandharva and other artists.Kumarji had a long time friendly relations
with noted Marathi literary couple Pu La Deshpande and Sunita Deshpande.
Kumar Gandharva was awarded the Padma Vibhushan award in 1990.
23. Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar (born 28 September 1929) is an Indian singer, and occasional music-
composer. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India.[1][2]
Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has
recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six
regional Indian languages and foreign languages, though primarily in Hindi. She is the elder
sister of singer Asha Bhosle, Hridayanath Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar and Meena
Mangeshkar. She is the second vocalist to have ever been awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's
highest civilian honour.[3] Mangeshkar was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records
from 1974 to 1991 for having made the most recordings in the world. The claim was that she
had recorded approximately 25,000 solo, duet, and chorus-backed songs in 20 Indian
languages between 1948 to 1974.
24. Over the years, while several sources have supported this claim, others have raised concerns over
its veracity, claiming that this number was highly exaggerated and that Mangeshkar's younger
sister, Asha Bhosle, had more song recordings than she had.[4][5] In 2011 Guinness officially
acknowledged Bhosle as the most recorded artist in music history.[6]
Singing career
In 1942, when Mangeshkar was 13, her father died of heart disease. Master Vinayak
(Vinayak Damodar Karnataki), the owner of Navyug Chitrapat movie company and a close
friend of the Mangeshkar family, took care of them
Mangeshkar sang the song "Naachu Yaa Gade, Khelu Saari Mani Haus Bhaari" which was
composed by Sadashivrao Nevrekar for Vasant Joglekar's Marathi-language movie Kiti
Hasaal (1942), but the song was dropped from the final cut. Vinayak gave her a small role in
Navyug Chitrapat's Marathi movie Pahili Mangalaa-gaur (1942), in which she sang "Natali
Chaitraachi Navalaai" which was composed by Dada Chandekar.[8] Her first Hindi song was
"Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu" for the Marathi film, Gajaabhaau (1943).
Mangeshkar moved to Mumbai in 1945 when Master Vinayak's company moved its
headquarters there. She started taking lessons in Hindustani classical music from Ustad
Amanat Ali Khan . She sang “Paa Lagoon Kar Jori” for Vasant Joglekar's Hindi-language
movie Aap Ki Seva Mein (1946),[8] which was composed by Datta Davjekar.
25. Mangeshkar and her sister Asha played minor roles in Vinayak's first Hindi-language movie,
Badi Maa (1945). In that movie, Lata also sang a bhajan, “Maata Tere Charnon Mein.”
She was introduced to music director Vasant Desai during the recording of Vinayak's second
Hindi-language movie, Subhadra (1946).
Following the partition of India in 1947, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan migrated to newly formed
Pakistan, so Mangeshkar started to learn classical music under Amanat Khan Devaswale.
Pandit Tulsidas Sharma, a pupil of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, also trained her.
After Vinayak's death in 1948, music director Ghulam Haider mentored her as a singer.
Haider introduced Mangeshkar to producer Sashadhar Mukherjee, who was working then on
the movie Shaheed (1948), but Mukherjee dismissed Mangeshkar's voice as "too thin."[8] An
annoyed Haider responded that in the coming years the producers and the directors would
"fall at Lata's feet" and "beg her" to sing in their movies. Haider gave Lata her first major
break with the song “Dil Mera Toda,” from the movie Majboor (1948).[8] Initially,
Mangeshkar is said to have imitated the acclaimed singer Noor Jehan, but later she developed
her own style of singing.[8] Lyrics of songs in Hindi movies are primarily composed by Urdu
poets and contain a higher proportion of Urdu words, including the dialogue.
26. Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman
Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman (Urdu: Bengali:
is well known for his contribution to Unani medicine. He founded Ibn Sina
Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences in 2000. He has earlier served as Professor
and Chairman, Department of Ilmul Advia at the Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College, Aligarh
Muslim University, Aligarh, for over 40 years before retiring as Dean Faculty of Unani
Medicine.
Author of 45 books and several papers on different aspects of Unani, he also owns one of
the largest collection of books on Unani medicine.
The Government of India conferred him with Padma Shri award in 2006 for his
contribution in the field of Unani Medicine.
27. Biography
[edit] Early life and education
Rahman was born on 1 July 1940, at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh in a family of learned
scholars. His grandfather Hakim Syed Karam Husain, father Hakim Syed Fazlur Rahman
and uncle Hakim Syed Atiqul Qadir were famous Unani Physicians of their times at Tijara /
Bhopal. He is married to Ahmadi Begum and has four children: Safia Akhtar, Syed Ziaur
Rahman, Soofia Akhtar and Asifa Haneefa.
Rahman received his early education from Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama at Lucknow and
later studied at Tibbiya College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.
[edit] Career
Rahman started his career from Ajmal Khan Tibbiya College, Aligarh Muslim University as
Demonstrator in 1961 and then Lecturer from Jamia Tibbiya, Delhi, he was appointed reader
in 1973 and professor in 1983. He remained Chairman of the Department of Ilmul Advia for
18 years and Dean of the Faculty of Unani Medicine, Aligarh Muslim University."[1][2]