Freedom Fighters of India & Significant Personalities

Freedom Fighters of India

• The freedom fighters of India played a pivotal role in India’s struggle for independence from British colonial rule. Their unwavering determination, selfless sacrifices, and courage in the face of adversity paved the way for India’s eventual liberation. Numerous freedom fighters dedicated their lives to the cause of India’s independence.
• They faced imprisonment, exile, and even torture, yet they remained steadfast in their pursuit of freedom. Their unwavering determination and willingness to make personal sacrifices served as a beacon of hope for the Indian people.
• To free India from British rule, every one of India’s freedom warriors fought, toiled, and frequently gave their lives. To end the rule of foreign imperialists and their Colonialism in India, a sizable group of revolutionaries and activists from various racial and ethnic backgrounds got together.
• Their achievements, which vary from armed revolution to nonviolent resistance, all contributed significantly to India’s eventual conquest of freedom. Numerous additional patriots, both well-known and unknown, sacrificed their lives for the nation’s liberty alongside these legendary personalities. Their combined efforts and sacrifices are still remembered today and serve as a symbol of the unyielding spirit that guided India towards independence.

List of Freedom Fighters of India

Freedom Fighter	Contributions
Annie Besant	Starting the Home Rule Movement
Asaf Ali	Indian National Movement
Ashfaqulla Khan	Kakori Conspiracy
Bagha Jatin	The Howrah-Shibpur Conspiracy Case
Bakht Khan	Indian Rebellion of 1857
Basawon Singh (Sinha)	Lahore Conspiracy Case
Begum Hazrat Mahal	Indian Rebellion of 1857
Bhagat Singh	One of the youngest and most influential revolutionaries
Bhavabhushan Mitra	Involved in Ghadar Movement
Bhikaji Cama	Unfurled the Indian flag at the International Socialist Conference at Stuttgart in Germany, 1907
Chandra Shekhar Azad	Reorganized the Hindustan Republican Association under its new name Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
Chetram Jatav	Indian Rebellion of 1857
Chittaranjan Das	Leader in Non-Cooperation Movement from Bengal and Founder of the Swaraj Party
Dr. B R Ambedkar	Known as the father of the Constitution. First Law Minister of India
Dr. Rajendra Prasad	First President of the Republic of India. Leader of Bihar
Jawaharlal Nehru	Pre-eminent fighter. First Prime Minister of India
Kartar Singh Sarabha	Lahore Conspiracy
Kanneganti Hanumanthu	Palnadu Rebellion
Khudiram Bose	Involved in Muzaffarpur killing
Lakshmi Sahgal	Officer of the Indian Army
Madan Lal Dhingra	Assassination of Curzon Wyllie
Mahatma Gandhi	Father of the Nation. Civil rights activist in South Africa. Led various Satyagraha’s and Civil Disobedience
Manmath Nath Gupta	Kakori Conspiracy
Mangal Pandey	Indian Rebellion of 1857
Nana Saheb	Peshwa of Bithur, who led the Indian Rebellion of 1857 in North India
Pritilata Waddedar	Pahartali European Club attack
Prafulla Chaki	Involved in Muzaffarpur killing
Prithvi I	Indian Rebellion of 1857
Prithvi II	Indian Rebellion of 1857
Ram Prasad Bismil	Kakori Conspiracy
Rani Gaidinliu	Naga spiritual and political leader
Rani Laxmi Bai	Indian Rebellion of 1857
Rash Behari Bose	Indian National Army
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel	Active participation in the Civil Disobedience Movement and Quit India Movement
Sachindra Bakshi	Kakori Conspiracy
Senapati Bapat	Leader of the Mulshi Satyagraha
Shaurya	Medium-Range Ballistic Missile
Shyamji Krishna Varma	Founder of the Indian Home Rule Society, India House, and The Indian Sociologist in London
Subhas Chandra Bose	Twice elected President of the Indian National Congress. Leader of the Indian National Army (INA)
Subodh Roy	Involvement in the Tebhaga Movement
Sucheta Kriplani	First female Chief Minister of an Indian state (UP)
Suman Sharma	IRS
Surya Sen	Mastermind of the Chittagong Armoury raid
Tantia Tope	General of the Indian Rebellion of 1857
Tanguturi Prakasam	First Chief Minister of the new Andhra state, created by the partition of Madras State along linguistic lines
Tirupur Kumaran	Founder of the Desa Bandhu Youth Association
Ubaidullah Sindhi	Engagement in Silk Letter Conspiracy
Veerapandiya Kattabomman	Refused to accept the sovereignty of the British East India Company and raised war against them
Vasudev Balwant Phadke	Deccan Rebellion
Vibhuti Narayan Singh	Freedom fighter from Bihar and leader of the farmers’ movement against indigo planters
Vinayak Damodar Savarkar	Leading figure of Hindu Mahasabha and formulator of Hindu Nationalist Philosophy
Vijayalakshmi Pandit	Indian diplomat and politician, sister of Jawaharlal Nehru

Famous Freedom Fighters of India and their contributions

Mahatma Gandhi

• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2nd October, 1869 in Porbandar, Gujarat, India and was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on 30th January 1948.
• He studied law and advocated for the civil rights of Indians, first in South Africa and then in India.
• Experience in South Africa
  • Moved at the discrimination faced by Indians at the hands of the British in South Africa, he vowed to fight discrimination.
  • On 22nd August 1894, he formed the Natal Indian Congress to fight this discrimination.
  • In September 1906, protested Asiatic ordinance against Indian Immigrants.
  • He organized the first mass civil disobedience campaign (1913), which he called Satyagraha, in reaction to the government’s restriction on the rights of Indians to recognize Hindu marriages.
• In India
  • Gandhi returned to India in 1915, and founded an ashram in Ahmedabad which was open to all castes.
  • Gandhi led the Champaran (1917) and Kheda (1918) agitations in Bihar and Gujarat respectively.
  • Champaran: The agitation was against the tinkathia system, wherein the peasantry was forced by the British landlords to grow indigo on 3/20th parts of his land.
  • In 1919, Gandhi led the Khilafat movement, which was combined with the non-cooperation movement.
  • Non-cooperation movement was initiated to condemn the Jallianwalla Bagh incident. Non-cooperation also included swadeshi policy.
  • Civil disobedience movement:
    • Gandhi decided to start the Civil Disobedience movement (which aimed at achieving complete independence) through the Dandi March (or Salt Satyagraha).
    • It ended with the signing of the Gandhi-lrwin pact, and with the condition that Congress would attend the 2nd Round Table Conference in London.
  • Individual Satyagraha:
    • The Congress, led by Gandhi, wanted to send a signal to the British to affirm the right of speech.
  • Quit India movement was initiated on 8 August 1942.
• Gandhi was influenced by Bhakti saints, Advaita Vedanta, Buddhism, Tolstoy and Thoreau.

Ideology

1. Satyagraha
   • Gandhian philosophy of satyagraha was a outcome of the concept of truth. It is an exceptional and novel way to fight and resist evil. The concept argues that if truth is the ultimate reality, then it is important to protect and safeguard the foundations of truth.
   • The main function of a Satyagraha was not to injure the enemy; rather it is an appeal to the enemy by reason or by a gentle rational argument. It is like a sacrifice of the self for truth and justice.
   • Gandhi argued that Satyagraha was a universal solvent against injustice and harm, and that it was equally applicable to one-on-one interpersonal conflict, to large scale political struggle, and therefore should be taught to everyone.
   • Gandhi asked Satyagrahis to follow the following principles: non-violence, truth, not stealing, self-restrain, non-possession, fearlessness, equal respect for all religions, swadeshi.
   • Gandhi argued that there are 4 types of Satyagrahas:
     • Non-Cooperation includes activities like strike, resignation from office, boycott etc.
     • Civil Disobedience: A very powerful and extreme form of Satyagraha. It included activities like non-payment of taxes, violation of laws of the state etc.
     • Constructive Program would help in proper implementation of civil disobedience.
     • Fasting.
2. Village Led Development
   • Gandhi was a strong proponent of a village led development model.
   • He was a supporter of Panchayati Raj Institutions, and argued for devolution of power to the villages.
3. Gandhi was a very strong proponent and follower of non-violence. He argued that a violent struggle can be easily crushed by the British, as compared to nonviolent struggles.
4. Equality: Gandhi was a strong supporter of equality in terms of gender, caste, religion etc. He worked for the upliftment of Dalits and women. He strongly favored the emancipation of women, and opposed purdah, child marriage, sati and dowry.
5. Gandhian Economics: He believed in sarvodaya economic model, which means upliftment and welfare of all.
6. Gandhism refers to the ideas and principles that Gandhi promoted. Non-violent resistance is of central importance to this ideology.

Contribution

• Gandhi is known as the Father of India, and was the leader of the freedom struggle.
• Gandhi played a major role in taking the freedom struggle to the masses and integrating them into the freedom struggle.
• He introduced multiple methodologies like satyagraha, non-cooperation, civil disobedience etc. which were helpful during the Indian freedoms struggle, and have been used in other countries also.
• Untouchables:
  • In 1932, Gandhi began a campaign to improve the condition of untouchables, whom he termed as Harijans (children of god).
  • Gandhi opposed the annihilation of caste system, and argued that the Varnashrama system was not exploitative, therefore it should continue to exist.
  • Gandhi started the newspaper Harijan in Gujarati , English and Hindi.
• Religion:
  • Gandhi argued for equality of all religions and completely secular.
  • He opposed the partition of India, and even after independence he argued for treating Muslims in India as equals.

Jawaharlal Nehru

• Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was born on 14th November, 1889 in Allahabad (UP) and dead on 27th May 1964.
• He joined the Indian National Congress in 1919, and was greatly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi.
• He was a qualified barrister.
• He was imprisoned 9 times by the British.
• Nehru was the President of the historic 1929 Congress session in Lahore, where in Congress proclaimed complete independence as India’s political goal.
• Nehru travelled to several European countries, and represented India in the League against Imperialism in 1927, which was created in Brussels.
• He was the first Prime Minister of independent India.
• Political Ideology: Nationalism, Socialism, Democracy, Communist influences
• A Few of his Publications: The Discovery of India, Glimpses of World History; Letters from a Father to his Daughter; Toward Freedom (his autobiography)

Ideology

• Nehru was leftist politically, and was a socialist.
• Nehrusim is the political ideology of Jawaharlal Nehru. It was a liberal, idealistic type of fabian socialism.
• He was a strong proponent of Puma Swaraj (complete independence), and considered demanding of dominion status as a step backward. He opposed the Nehru Report (prepared by his father Motilal Nehru) in 1928 as it demanded dominion status.
• Nehru was a very strong opponent of fascism.
• He was secular, and believed in equality of all religions, which was be clearly reflected in the secular approach that India took post-independence.
• He was a democrat, and established a very strong democratic tradition in India.
• Nehru was a fabian socialist, seeking to use state intervention to redistribute resources throughout society.
• He was a liberal, and pursued policies which aimed to improve the welfare of the untouchable class and women.
• Tribal Panchsheel: It aimed to develop the tribal areas while protecting their rights.

Contribution

• Nehru was an active member of the Congress since 1919, and participated in the Non-Cooperation movement, the Civil Disobedience movement, Individual Satyagraha (was the second to be arrested during the Satyagraha, with Vinoba Bave being the first) and the Quit India movement.
• Nehru was the President of the All India States People’s Conferences, and was a strong supporter of people of the princely states.
• He framed the ‘Objective Resolution’ which later became a part of the Constitution of India as its preamble.
• First Prime Minister of India
  • Under Nehru’s supervision, India launched its first five year plan in 1951.
  • He was the chief policy framer of domestic and international policies during his term as PM between 1947 and 1964.
  • Nehru’s stint as PM of India is characterised by is secular and liberalist approach.
  • As a great believer in pluralism, socialism and democracy, Nehru developed India as a secular nation true to its thousand years old cultural heritage.
  • He envisioned India’s top tier institutions like Indian Institution of Technology, (NIT’s), AIIMS and also India’s first space program.
• Non-Aligned Movement: Nehru was the founder of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and sought to keep India out of the Cold War.
• He inspired a whole generation of freedom fighters.
  

Differences between Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru

Dimensions	Mahatma Gandhi	Jawaharlal Nehru
Khilafat Movement	Gandhi wanted to utilize this issue to advance Hindu Muslim unity and also teach British Hindu Muslim unity and also teach British commission report and imposition of Rowlatt Act.	Nehru was against mixing a religious issue with political struggle and feared that it can further religious revivalism,
Suspension of Non Cooperation Movement	Gandhi suspended the movement after Chauri Chaura incident as he perceived that mass was not ready for a long non-violent movement and hence a phase of constructive work should be started.	Nehru was surprised with the decision and was in favor of prolonging the movement unless British correct the wrongs of Punjab and Khilafat and concede the demands of Swaraj,
Swarajists and ‘No Changers‘	Gandhi was in support of the work of ‘No Changers’. He initially opposed but later supported to the Swarajist’s proposal of council entry.	He was critical of both the ‘No Changers’ and the Swarajists’.
Dominion Status	In his entire political life in India, Gandhi always advocated for Dominion Status barring the time when Britain at one time started losing to Axis Powers during the Second World War. Once the British gained back control in the war, Gandhi ji returned back to the demand of dominion status.	Nehru, charged with modern ideals of liberty and equality wanted nothing less than Purna Swaraj or Complete Independence from British and was at odds with Gandhi and other senior leaders of Congress who advocated for dominion status, The difference emerged on the Nehru Report when he and other young leaders expressed their dissatisfaction with the dominion status as the goal of Congress and demanded Purna Swaraj to be the goal.
Struggle Strategy	Gandhi believed that a mass phase of movement had to be followed by a phase of reprieve (truce phase) before the next stage of mass struggle could be taken up.	He was against the Struggle-Truce-Struggle strategy and called for “continuous direct action” policy. He believed that mass was ready for continuous confrontation with imperialist power and was capable to overthrow it. Against STS strategy he gave Struggle- Victory (SV) Strategy.
Second World War and Support to British Government	Gandhi advocated for an unconditional support to the Allied Forces and Britain against Nazis. He thought that democracy and justice is on side of Britain and it would be imperative to stop expansion of Fascism.	He regarded the war as the result of inner conflicts between imperialist and capitalist powers and thus advocated for no Indian support or participation in war till India gets the peace of freedom, But, he also suggested that advantage should not be taken of Britain’s difficulty and therefore no immediate struggle should be started.
Religion	He was a man of religion and seeker of ultimate truth. He was very fond of Bhagvad Gita and its teaching of selfless action and law of karma. For him, solution to every problem lies in religion of truth.	Contrary to Gandhi, Nehru found the solutions of problems of mankind in science. What religion was to Gandhi, science was to Nehru, He was an atheist and thought that truth is what science sanctifies and thus was critical of religious taboos which were making many Indian slaves of dogmas and preventing them from going forward and adapting modernity.
Religion and Politics (Secularism)	Gandhi wanted to spiritualize politics as for him politics was religion in practice and the idea of justice and humanism can be drawn from religion which could be easily taught to the masses. His idea of secularism was not of negative separation of state polity from religion but of harmony between the two. For this harmony, he made the decision of fighting for khilafat issue along with non cooperation.	Nehru was secular, rational and scientific. He was therefore naturally inclined to think that mixing up of religion and politics under Gandhi leadership was encouraging the reactionary movement of religious revivalism.
Truth and Non- Violence	Gandhi had immense faith in truth and non- violence and both were means as well as final goal of his life. Truth for him was ultimate God and he spent his life in service of truth.	Nehru was not a prophet like Gandhi and believed more in pragmatism than the unshaken ideals of truth and non-violence. He did not rule out the use of force when necessary to expel British from the Indian soil.
Idea of Trusteeship	According to Gandhi’s theory of trusteeship, every industrialist employing more than a certain number of employees/ workers was to look upon his industry not as his property but as a social trust. He should look after the but as a social trust. He should look after the welfare of the workers. Both the workers and owner should act as trustee of consumers.	Nehru repudiated the theory of Trusteeship as most unreasonable. For him trusteeship was to give unchecked power and wealth to an individual and to expect him to use it entirely for the public good was not only harmful but dangerous as well. Instead of Trusteeship he favored state ownership and control of capital and natural resources.
Idea of State	Gandhi was most critical of the idea of modern state. According to him, the modern state is soul-less machine running on inhuman scientific rules and has no personal and humanistic responsibility over its actions. State relies on fear and force, which according to him is legitimized violence of state over his own citizen.	Nehru was strong votary of a strong state based on rule of law and idea of constitutionalism which could ensure freedom and liberty to its citizen, reduce communalism from society and promote religious tolerance and harmony.
Economy	Gandhi followed village socialism and at the center of Gandhi’s economic programme for India was his plan for the revival of village economy and at the center of village economy there was Khadi and village cottage industries. He was opposed to large scale industrialization and mechanization as it would lead to an ideal society full of unemployed youth.	Nehru, on the other hand, followed democratic socialism and put emphasis on cooperative movement, massive industrialization, scientific and technological advancement etc. Therefore, in place of village centric industries, he opened large heavy and basic industries.
Education	He was in favor of an all round development of children to bring out the best from them body, mind and spirit. He was of view that children should be taught useful handicrafts from beginning. This can make school self supporting and students confidant of making both ends meet in case state do not provide for their employment.	Nehru’s sought to promote rationalism, empiricism and positivism. He emphasized on advancement of scientific education for which he opened institutions of national importance to bring a scientific and industrial revolution which could disburden its agriculture and provide mass employment in industries and thus eradicate destitution and poverty.

Similarities between Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru

Dimensions	Mahatma Gandhi	Jawaharlal Nehru
Anti Simon Commission Protest	He called for an all out protest of the government’s decision to appoint the all white Indian Statutory Commission which is also known as Simon Commission.	He emerged as the leader of the new wave of youth and students during the protest. He travelled extensively, addressed and presided over conferences and radicalised youth on the line of socialism.
Civil Disobedience Movement	He initiated the movement by picking up the salt after completion of historic ‘Dandi March’ and thus breaking the salt law. He was the major force behind the movement and was source of inspiration for the masses to participate in large number in the movement.	He was actively involved in the movement and was arrested for defiance of the salt law. He also formulated radical agrarian programme and advocated to form constituent assembly as main political slogan.
Council Entry	He opposed council entry both after non cooperation movement and after Civil Disobedience Movement. But on both occasion he later allowed the proponents of council entry to fight election and form Congress ministries.	He was also opposed to council entry at both occasion but after Civil Disobedience Movement, he proposed entry into the council with an aim to create deadlocks and making the working of Government of India Act (1935) impossible.
Humanism	Gandhi was deeply a humanist besides being a religious person. He never discriminated between two person of different religion or different caste. He called for liberal interpretation of Vedas and Shastras to accommodate values of humanism.	For Nehru, the ‘Man’ was the god and he worshiped mankind and for him mother India was nothing but an aggregation of millions of men and women.
Socialism	Gandhi called himself socialist but he did not believe in the doctrines of socialism advocating state ownership of means of production. He was not a socialist in the strict contemporary meaning of the term but that his type of socialism was village socialism.	As a student, Nehru was attracted to Fabian Socialism through lectures of Bernard Shaw but his idea of socialism matured in the form of Democratic Socialism for which he was a strong proponent.
Foreign Policy	Gandhi advocated the idea of “Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam”, that is universal brotherhood. Yet, he was of view that India should not interfere in world affairs which could be detrimental for its peaceful growth. Following elements can be rightfully regarded as Gandhian: 1. Independent foreign policy (Principle of Non-alignment) 2. Deciding foreign policy issues on merit 3. Constant encouragement for the struggle against colonialism, racialism and apartheid by economic, diplomatic and moral support. 4. Non-violence and the nuclear disarmament 5. India’s role as a mediator in international peace and brotherhood.	Nehru did not wanted India to be isolated in international affairs and thus looked for opportunities to engage with other countries based on the national interest. Nehru can be rightly said to be architect of foreign policy of independent India. His principles and ideals of foreign policy such as non-alignment, anti-imperialism and Panchsheel helped India in not only keeping non-partisan in cold war but also ensured a position of great status and prestige in International politics. But he is considered to fail at few fronts like assessing threat from communist China, dealing with Pakistan over Kashmir, on question of Soviet aggression on Hungarian revolt and occupation of Tibet by expansionary China.

Subhash Chandra Bose

• Bose was born on 23rd January, 1897 in Cuttack, Odisha.
• Bose was a nationalist, a leader of the younger, radical wing of the Indian National Congress.
• He was a very intelligent and sincere student.
• He was strongly influenced by Swami Vivekananda’s teachings, and was known for his patriotic zeal as a student.
• Bose cleared the coveted Indian Civil Service Examination, but resigned to come back to India. He joined the Indian National Congress, and was elected as the president of the youth wing party.
• Bose regarded Chittranjan Das as his political guru (and Swami Vivekananda as his spiritual guru).
• He became the Congress President in 1938 and was re-elected in 1939. Due to differences between Gandhi and Bose, he resigned from the Presidency in 1939 to form the Forward Bloc.
• Associations: Indian National Congress, Forward Bloc, Indian National Army.
• Publication: The Indian Struggle (1920-1942)
• Political Ideology: Nationalism, Socialism and leftist.

Ideology

• Bose’s ideology aimed at achieving complete independence for India, even by means of violent means. He opposed the British rule at all times, not being sympathetic to them even in times of war.
• Bose advocated complete independence for India ( ‘Purna Swaraj’). The Congress adopted Purna Swaraj as its aim during the Lahore session in 1929.
• He believed that Gandhi’s strategy of non-violence would not be sufficient to secure India’s independence, and advocated violent resistance.
• He formed the All India Forward Bloc, and continued to call for immediate and full independence of India from the British Rule.
• He was imprisoned by the British 11 times.
• During World War II, Bose saw an opportunity to take advantage of British weakness, and contacted the Axis powers (Germany and Japan), seeking an alliance with them to attack the British government in India (the Congress was not in favour of this, since Gandhi opposed the idea of taking advantage of British at a time of war).
• He was inspired by Vivekananda’s teachings of universalism, emphasis on social service and reform.
• He called himself a socialist. He believed that democracy was the best option for India.
• Leftist: Bose was a leftist in the sense that he was anti-imperialist and believed in attaining undiluted and complete independence (Bose described rightists as those who are prepared for a deal with imperialism).

Contribution

• Bose was a very popular youth leader, and is known for the formation of the Forward Bloc.
• Bose and Nehru led the protest against the Simon Commission, and were proponents of socialism.
• World War II:
  • During world war II, Bose sought help from Japan and Germany to oust the British from India.
  • In 1942, Germany sympathized for the cause of India’s independence, and funded the formation of Free India Centre in Berlin.
  • With Japanese support, he revamped the Indian national Army (INA) which comprised of British Indian soldiers who had been captured by the Axis powers.
  • INA was completely secular, and had diversity by region, religion, gender and ethnicity.
• He gave popular slogans like ‘Jai Hind’; ‘Give me blood and I will give you freedom’; ‘Dilli Chalo’.
  

Difference between Mahatma Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose

Dimensions	Mahatma Gandhi	Subhash Chandra Bose
Ideological	Gandhi was moved by instinct and took many decisions during the freedom struggle which are still matter of debates among historians. He was a moralist and thus took the nation on the path of nonviolence and Satyagraha. He was an inherently religious man and used to naturally mix politics with religion. For example, he utilized his morning prayers as a platform to propagate his political message. In spite of the ideological differences, Gandhi called Bose the “Prince among the Patriots”. Although he called himself a socialist but he never advocated for state ownership of resources or forceful eviction of landlords from their lands.	Bose was man of reason and felt that Gandhi lacked a clear plan for successive stages of struggle. For Bose, nationalism was above morality and had little faith on the Gandhian idea of purity of means Satyagraha and nonviolence. He believed that use of political violence and forceful expulsion of British was the only useful tool. Bose was modern secular man and had little faith in religion. However he had great respect for Gandhi and thus hailed him as ‘Father of the Nation’. He also considered himself a socialist and was convinced with the merits of state ownership of means of production.
Suspension of Non Cooperation Movement	After Chauri Chaura incident he called off the movement stating that nation is not ready for non- violent Satyagraha.	He was taken aback with the suspension of movement and voiced his bewilderment to Gandhi ji. He termed the withdrawal of the movement as ‘nothing short of a national calamity ‘.
Council Entry after Non Cooperation	Gandhi was in support of the work of ‘No Changers’. He was initially opposed but later supported the Swarajist’s proposal of council entry.	He was critical of both the ‘No Changers’ and the ‘Swarajists’.
Dominion Status	In his entire political life in India, Gandhi always advocated for Dominion Status barring the time when Britain at one time started losing to Axis Powers during Second World War. Once the British gained back control in the war, Gandhi ji returned back to the demand of dominion status. On this question and other ideological differences, Gandhi made Bose to resign from president post of Congress at Tripuri in 1939.	Bose from very beginning was proponent of complete independence or Purna Swaraj for India. The difference emerged with Gandhi during Calcutta Session of Congress when the younger faction, including Bose, Nehru and Satyamurthy expressed their dissatisfaction with the dominion status as the goal of Congress and demanded Purna Swaraj to be the goal.
Suspension of Civil Disobedience Movement	Under the Struggle-Truce-Struggle strategy, Gandhi, representing Indian people met Lord Irwin for discussion and came out with what is known as Delhi Pact or Gandhi-lrwin Pact. The pact was done as the masses were showing signs of fatigue and exhaustion after around a year of intense struggle, In 1934, Gandhi took formal retirement from Congress and one of the reasons was formidable opposition of young leaders like Bose.	Bose protested when the movement was suspended post Gandhi Irwin Pact and also when Civil Disobedience Movement was finally called off. He was also dissatisfied with Gandhi when patriots like Bhagat Singh and his associates couldn’t be saved from the noose. In 1933, Bose and Vithalbhai Patel issued a manifesto declaring that Gandhi had failed and a fresh leadership was necessary. Bose later discussed this idea in his book, The Indian Struggle.
Second World War and Support to British Government	Gandhi advocated for an unconditional support to the Allied Forces and Britain against Nazis. He thought that democracy and justice is on side of Britain and it would be imperative to stop expansion of Fascism.	He regarded the war as a war between imperialist forces and therefore there was no question of extending support to either of them. Instead advantage should be taken of the war situation to get freedom immediately and thus called for an all-out struggle against British. He even proposed a parallel Congress if the Congress leadership was not willing for such mass struggle at this time.
Economy	Gandhi’s idea of economy was based on the principle of village socialism and village self sufficiency. He was against wanton industrialization, modernization and mechanization which according to him were responsible for mass job loss. He wanted a decentralized economic system based on small machines and labor intensive agriculture oriented cottage industries which according to him will bring economic democracy in India. Gandhi did not advocate for abolition of landlordism. Instead he asked for voluntary giving up of land from those who had surplus.	Bose’s economic vision included modernized and industrialized economy under state control based on idea of socialism. He called for abolition of landlordism and distribution of land to the tillers. He also advocated for expansion of cooperative movement and a comprehensive economic development under state ownership and state control. He was opposed to Gandhi’s idea of Khadi, cottage Industries and isolation of India from foreign trade.
Idea of State	Gandhi was opposed to the idea of modern state and bureaucracy which according to him was based on legalized violence and was not people centric and people driven	Bose was of view of a strong modern state with centralized polity on the line of USSR which could ensure economic, political and social justice to its citizen and build a strong militarized nation.
Education	He was in favor of an education system which can develop a healthy mind, body and soul in children. He was inclined to introduce teaching of handicrafts and other traditional vocation to children.	Bose wanted education of children on modern scientific subjects for the development of a modern rational nation.

Similarities between Mahatma Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose

Dimensions	Mahatma Gandhi	Subhash Chandra Bose
Non Cooperation Movement	This was the first mass and nationwide movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. He called for adopting swadeshi, hand spinning and removal of untouchability.	Subhash Chandra Bose supported the movement and at this time he resigned from the civil services and become principal of National College at Calcutta.
Anti Simon Commission Protest	He called for an all out protest of the government’s decision to appoint the all white Indian Statutory Commission which is also known as Simon Commission.	He emerged as the leader of the new wave of youth and students during the protest. He travelled extensively, addressed and presided over conferences and radicalized youth on the line of socialism.
Civil Disobedience Movement	He initiated the movement by picking up the salt after completion of historic ‘Dandi March’ from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi and thus breaking the salt law. He was the major force behind the movement and was source of inspiration for the masses to participate in large number in the movement.	Bose played an active role in the movement by leading the faction group in Bengal Congress and setting up rival organization to conduct civil disobedience.

Difference between Jawaharlai Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose

Dimensions	Jawaharlai Nehru	Subhash Chandra Bose
Ideological Difference	• Nehru was an idealist in the sense that he believed in rightness of the means as well as goals. This belief made him stick to Gandhian leadership and political tool rather than any violent means. • Nehru, like Bose, had inclination towards left but he was less radical and more democratic in outlook and approach. He wanted an all inclusive development of India but not by authoritative power. • Nehru envisaged an independent India with democratic polity with universal adult franchise with balance between rights of citizen and power of state. • Nehru wanted a united India but wanted use of force as a last resort. He preferred conciliation, concession and cooperation to form a united nation.	• Bose was ardent nationalist who wanted to overthrow British at any cost and by any means. • This belief led him to advocate for Nazis help from Germany or Fascist help from Italy or Japan. • Bose, like Nehru, was leftist but was very radical in his political and economic viewpoint. He favored an authoritarian government for independent India for rapid socio-economic development. • Bose envisaged a strong central government on line of Soviet Union but with a “large measure of autonomy” allowed to the minority communities and the provinces. • To unify India,Bose was in favor of a role for the Congress party in India on the lines of the Communist Party in Russia, the Nazi Party in Germany, the Fascist Party in Italy and Kemal’s Party in Turkey.
Second World War and Support to British Government	He regarded the war as the result of inner conflicts between imperialist and capitalist powers and thus advocated for no Indian support or participation in war till India gets the peace of freedom. But, he also suggested that advantage should not be taken of Britain’s difficulty and therefore no immediate struggle should be begun.	He regarded the war as a war between imperialist forces and therefore there was no question of extending support to either of them. Instead advantage should be taken of the war situation to get freedom immediately and thus called for an all-out struggle against British. He even proposed a parallel Congress if the Congress leadership was not willing for such mass struggle at this time,

Similarities between Jawaharlai Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose

Dimensions	Jawaharlai Nehru	Subhash Chandra Bose
Ideological Similarity	1. Nehru was a person of rationality, logic and empiricism. He considered truth based on science, empirical data as the only truth. 2. He never favored mixing religion with politics. 3. He was driven by idea of secularism and thus wanted the two, religion and state, apart. 4. As a student, Nehru was attracted to Fabian Socialism through lectures of Bernard Shaw but his idea of socialism matured in the form of Democratic Socialism for which he was a strong proponent. 5. Nehru and Bose were leading the leftist faction within the Congress and were apprehensive of the rise of right wing which were playing politics of religion and were led by upper caste fundamentalism. 6. Although, Nehru was not incomplete agreement with Gandhi’s political struggle based on idea of truth and non-violence, he remained under his leadership.	1. Bose was man of reason and felt that Gandhi lacked a clear plan for successive stages of struggle. 2. Bose was modern, secular man and had little faith in religion. 3. He also considered himself a socialist and was convinced with the merits of state ownership of means of production. Unlike Nehru, he was a Marxist socialist and was in favor of a strong authoritarian state on line of USSR to industrialize the economy and unite the nation. 4. He was concerned with the rise of right wing polity in the country and was of opinion that they are regressive forces and would take country back. 5. Bose respected Gandhi but was in disagreement with his idea of non violence as a tool to achieve independence for India. He left his leadership and formed his own party.
Economy	1. During the freedom movement, both were part of the leftist faction of the Congress. 2. Nehru and Bose had more or less similar view on economy. Both wanted rapid industrialization of economy on the line of USSR, abolition of landlordism and promotion of cooperative movement for balanced regional development. 3. He was at odd with Gandhi ji who wanted economic revolution through charkha and khadi.	1. It was under Bose’s Congress presidency that a national planning committee was formed and Nehru took over as its first chairman. 2. Bose’s views on the economy were almost identical to those of Nehru. He advocated for rapid industrialization and modernization of agriculture as solutions of removal of destitution and poverty from the country. He argued in favor of abolition of landlordism and expansion of cooperative movement. 4. He was opposed to Gandhi’s idea of Khadi, cottage Industries and isolation of India from foreign trade.
Education	Nehru’s sought to promote rationalism, empiricism and positivism. He emphasized on advancement of scientific education for which he opened institutions of national importance after independence to bring a scientific and industrial revolution which could disburden its agriculture and provide mass employment in industries and thus eradicate destitution and poverty.	Bose wanted education of children on modern scientific subjects for the development of a modern rational nation. He was pained when he saw his compatriots blind with superstition and rudimentary religious rituals. He saw education as great liberator from foreign rule, indigenous socio religious evils and condition of abject poverty and destitution.
Suspension of Non Cooperation Movement	He was surprised with Mahatma’s decision to withdraw from the movement and expressed his withdraw from the movement and expressed his opposition.	He was taken aback with the suspension of movement and voiced his bewilderment to Gandhi ji. He termed the withdrawal of the movement as “nothing short of a national calamity”.
Dominion Status	Nehru charged with modern ideals of liberty and equality wanted nothing less than Purna Swaraj or Complete Independence from British and was at odds with Gandhi and other senior leaders of Congress who advocated for dominion status. The difference emerged on the Nehru Report when he and other young leaders expressed their dissatisfaction with the dominion status as the goal of Congress and demanded Purna Swaraj to be the goal.	Bose from very beginning was proponent of complete independence or Purna Swaraj for India. The difference emerged with Gandhi during Calcutta Session of Congress when the younger faction, including Bose, Nehru and Satyamurthy expressed their dissatisfaction with the dominion status as the goal of Congress and demanded Purna Swaraj to be the goal,
Suspension of Civil Disobedience Movement	He was not in agreement to suspend the Civil Disobedience Movement and called it a ‘spiritual defeat’, ‘a surrender of ideals’ and “a retreat from revolutionist to reformist mentality”. He critically put his view in opposition to Gandhian strategy of struggle-truce-struggle and advocated a “continuous direct action” and called it Struggle- Victory strategy.	Bose protested when the movement was suspended post Gandhi Irwin Pact and also when Civil Disobedience Movement was finally called off. In 1933, Bose and Vithalbhai Patel issued a manifesto declaring that Gandhi had failed and a fresh leadership was necessary. Bose later discussed this idea in his book, The Indian Struggle.
Council Entry	He was also opposed to council entry at both occasion but after Civil Disobedience Movement he proposed entry into the council with an aim to create deadlocks and making the working of Government of India Act (1935) impossible.	Bose, Nehru and others formed the radical faction within the Congress who opposed the council entry at both occasions that is after Non Cooperation and after Civil Disobedience Movement. After civil disobedience movement,, though, this leftist faction proposed entry into the council with an aim to end or mend the council (old Swarajist strategy).
Idea of State	Nehru was strong votary of a strong state based on rule of law and idea of constitutionalism which could ensure freedom and liberty to its citizen, reduce communalism from society and promote religious tolerance and harmony.	Bose was of view of a strong modern state with centralized polity on the line of USSR which could ensure economic, political and social justice to its citizen and build a strong militarized nation,

B.R. Ambedkar

• Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , popularly known as Baba Saheb, was born on 14th April 1891 and died on 6th December 1956. He was a jurist, economist, political and social reformer.
• He was a prolific student, and earned doctorates in economics from both Columbia University and London School of Economics. He was a scholar in law, economics and political science.
• In his early career, he was a known economist, professor and lawyer. Whereas in his later life, he is known for his political activities.
• In 1956, he initiated mass conversions of Dalits to Buddhism by converting himself to Buddhism.
• He is known as the Father of the Indian Constitution.
• Throughout his life, he fought for Dalit rights, and rights of other socially backward classes.
• He was appointed as the First Law Minister of independent India, and was a member in the Cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Associations: Samata Sainik Dal, Independent Labour Party, Scheduled Castes Federation.
• Political ideology: Equalism, right wing approach
• A few of his Publications: Essays on Untouchables and Untouchability; Waiting for a Visa; The Annihilation of Caste
• He was awarded with India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna in 1990, posthumously.

Ideology

• Ambedkar was a staunch supporter of equalism. He was against the caste system due to its exploitative nature, and the discrimination meted out to the untouchables.
• Ambedkar argued for economic development and industrialization as the basic prerequisite for the abolition of poverty. He insisted always that it should be worker-friendly, not capitalistic, at times arguing for “state socialism”.

Contribution

• Opposition to Aryan Invasion Theory: He viewed Shudras as Aryans, and rejected the Aryan invasion theory. He argued that Shudras were originally part of the Kshatriya Varna in Indo-Aryan society, but later on they became socially degradedafter they inflicted many tyrannies on Brahmins.
• Opposition to Untouchability: Ambedkar was against the caste system due to the social evil of untouchability. He demanded the annihilation of caste system. He launched active movements against untouchability from 1927:
  • He began a struggle for right to enter Hindu temples.
  • Led a satyagraha in Mahad to fight for rights of untouchables to draw water from the main water tank.
  • He publicly condemned the Manusmriti for ideologically justifying caste discrimination, and burned copies of the ancient text.
• Poona Pact: In 1932, the Poona Pact was signed between Ambedkar and Mahatma gandhi, which replaced separate electorates with reservation of seats for untouchable classes.
• He founded the Independent Labour Party in 1936. The party won 15 seats in the Central Legislative Assembly in 1937.
• Frame of the Constitution of India
  • He was the chairman of the drafting committee of the Constitution of India.
  • He emphasized on construction of a virtual bridge between all classes of the society. He also emphasized on religious, caste and gender equality.
  • He is known as the Father of the Constitution due to the central role he played in the framing of the Constitution.
• He was a strong supporter of the Uniform Civil Code.

Difference between Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar

Dimensions	Mahatma Gandhi	B.R. Ambedkar
Independence of the Nation	Contribution of Gandhi in struggle for India’s Independence and his political tool to achieve this is well known. Gandhi remained the leader of all major freedom movements once he returned to India in 1915. His political innovations and inventions like Satyagraha, non-cooperation, civil disobedience, fast and prayers helped India achieve freedom without violent means.	Ambedkar was the first untouchable leader to demand independence for India. This he did at the Depressed Classes Conference held at Nagpur in 1930. He was, however, more concerned over attainment of real freedom for the masses and especially the untouchables and those who were at margins of the society and this he ensured through his invaluable contribution in framing of Indian Constitution,
Contribution in Upliftment of Untouchables	His first all India visible efforts for the untouchables started after Poona Pact. He named them Harijans and set up All India Anti-Untouchability League and started the weekly Harijan. He also conducted an all India tour for collecting money for newly set up Harijan Sevak Sangh and propagating message for the social, economic and political upliftment of untouchables.	Ambedkar had the view that untouchables have to work for their own salvation and freedom from the oppressions and tyranny of upper caste. He organized them through newspapers, cultural and social forums. He opened Depressed Classes Institute and Samaj Samta Sangh and demanded political representation for depressed classes from British government which led to entitlement of separate electorate under Communal Award of 1932. Ultimately with Poona Pact, Ambedkar ensured due political representation of hitherto disenfranchised community.
Varnashrama System	He supported Varnashrama system as it was a system where each varna was to complement each other rather than being higher or lower.	Ambedkar was against the Varnashrama system which according to him was sanctifying caste system.
Contribution in Indian Constitution	Gandhi’s philosophies are the bedrock of Indian constitution and provide soul to the ‘living document Indian Secularism, Rights to Minorities, promotion of Panchayati Raj Institutions and cooperatives are all based on the ideals and dreams of Mahatma Gandhi. Many of his ideas like promotion of cottage industries, prohibition of consumption of intoxicants and prohibition of slaughter of milch and draught cattle, etc have found place in Part IV of the constitution.	B.R. Ambedkar is regarded as the ‘Father of the Constitution of India’. He was the chief architect of the constitution and he ensured that the constitution provided for representation of the schedule castes in legislature and services under the government. Abolition of untouchability, establishment of national commissions on SCs and STs and protection of interest of minorities were result of his endeavors.
Reformation of Caste System	Gandhi considered caste system as an aberration of varna system and condemned its rigidity and associated disabilities. For him, caste system was nothing but a form of division of labour in society. He was inclined towards reforming the caste system by: Root and branch eradication of untouchability. Caste Hindus to do “penance” for untold miseries inflicted on Harijans. Gandhi did not prefer to advocate for interdining and inter-marriage among different caste groups. He supported Shastras but also opined for their reinterpretation based on the idea of humanism.	Ambedkar was of opinion of annihilation of caste system rather than reforming it. For Ambedkar, caste system was not division of labour but division of labourers into watertight compartments which was hierarchical and rigid in form and was based on gradation where one human being was above another just because of his birth in a particular caste. To annihilate the caste system, he emphasized upon: Legislations to promote inter-caste marriage and punishing caste endogamy. Opening the position of priesthood in Hinduism to all castes by organizing all-India examination based on merit and not on hereditary. He condemned Shastras and called for destruction of belief in its sanctity as it provides this “religion of caste”.
Indian Village	Gandhi considered village as center for the Indian polity, economy and society. He was aware of the gloomy state of Indian villages but had a dream and a vision to revive the old form of self-sufficient village economy based on Khadi and cottage industries empowered politically by gram sabha and gram panchayat. He preferred direct democracy at village level by electing Gram Panchayat, members of which would then elect state legislature who will then elect the government at union level.	He considered village as “a sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow mindedness and communalism” and called for complete urbanization of India. He termed villages as “cesspools” of casteism and site of human oppressions.

Similarity between Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar

Mahatma Gandhi	B.R. Ambedkar
1. He believed in internal reforms of untouchables by education, cleanliness, hygiene, giving up eating beef and drinking intoxicants and by removing untouchability among themselves.	1. He also worked on internal reforms by education and through education he wanted to raise their standard of living.
2. He worked on removing the caste rigidity vis a vis occupation, mobility, access to public places like ghats, wells, etc and entry into places of worship.	2. He, too, worked upon breaking the caste barrier with respect to education, occupational mobility, access to public places, attainment of political, social and religious rights, entry into temples and promotion of inter dining and inter caste marriage.

Bhagat Singh

• Bhagat Singh was born on September 27, 1907 in Punjab and was hanged on 23rd March 1931.
• He was associated with Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Hindustan Republican Association, Kirti Kisan Party, Kranti Dal.
• His political ideologies can be summarized as: Socialism, Nationalism, Anarchism and Communism.
• A few of his Publications: Why I am an Atheist; The Jail Notebook; Words of freedom: Ideas of a Nation.
• Bhagat Singh’s family was involved in revolutionary activities, especially his uncle Ajit Singh.
• In 1926, Bhagat founded the Naujavan Bharat Sabha and joined the Hindustan Republican Association (later renamed it as Hindustan Socialist Republican Association).
• Saunders Killing
  • During the protest against the appointment of Simon Commission in 1928, Lala Lajpat Rai was leading a protest against the commission.
  • In the lathi charge that ensured, Rai was injured, and later died because of it.
  • To avenge the death of Rai, Bhagat Singh (and two of his comrades) plotted to kill the police superintended, but instead they shot and killed police officer Saunders.
• Central Legislative Assembly Bombing In April 1929, Bhagat Singh and his associate (Batukeshwar Dutt) bombed the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi to protest against the implementation of the Public Safety Bill.
  • The bombs were not intended to kill or injure anyone, but only to scare the British.
  • The plan was to get arrested, and then to promote their cause during the trial.
• Bhagat Singh used the trial in an innovative manner to criticize the British, and promoting his cause.
• Later, he also faced charges for murdering Officer Saunders. Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged in Lahore Jail on 23rd March, 1931.
• While in jail, he and his comrades undertook a hunger strike, demanding improvement in the way the British treated Indian prisoners. The British government had to concede to their demands.
  

Ideology

• His political ideologies can be summarized as: Socialism, Nationalism, Anarchism and Communism.
• Bhagat Singh became a patriot at a very young age, and he grew up to appreciate nationalism.
• He veered towards atheism after witnessing several Hindu-Muslim riots, and other religious outbreaks.
• He wanted to bring about an armed revolution on the lines of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.
• He introduced the slogan of ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ and ‘Down with British Imperialism’.
• Bhagat Singh’s ideology was completely secular. The Naujawan Bharat Sabha founded by Bhagat Singh had members from all religious communities, and was on completely secular lines.
• Bhagat Singh believed in achieving freedom through individual heroic activities, but gradually it dawned upon him that the support of the masses was essential to drive out the British.
• Bhagat Singh was a strong proponent of socialism and communist ideas, and his eventual aim was to bring about a revolution to drive out the British from India.

Contribution

• His intense patriotism, coupled with cultivated idealism made him a youth icon for his generation.
• He became the voice of his generation through his written and vocal admonition of the British Imperial Government.
• His fearless embracing of martyrdom inspired hundreds of teens and youth to join the freedom struggle wholeheartedly.
• His eminence and popularity can be judged by the fact that in a poll conducted by Indian Today in 2008, Bhagat Singh was voted as the Greatest Indian, ahead of Mahatma Gandhi and Subhash Chandra Bose.

Difference between Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh

Dimensions	Mahatma Gandhi	Bhagat Singh
View on Each Other	Gandhi denounced Bhagat Singh’s political method of violence and considered him and his comrades as brave but ‘misguided patriots’, He appreciated his intense patriotism and his willingness to sacrifice all for the emancipation of the country. He appealed to him and his comrades that shun the destructive methods as destruction cannot be the way to construction.	He did not agree with the Gandhian method of political struggle and for him ‘Destruction is not only essential but indispensable for construction.” From the destruction of old exploitative social ties one can see the dream of inventing novel and just social solidarity.
Rationalism	Gandhi ji was more intuitive than rationalist. He believed in his religious idea and notion of morality than rationality or positivism.	Bhagat Singh was committed to rational and critical thinking. He asked his compatriots to question old faiths and beliefs, follow scientific and empirical truth rather than religious dogmas and concocted truth.
Suspension of Non Cooperation and Civil Disobedience Movement	Gandhi suspended the NCM after Chauri Chaura incident as he perceived that mass was not ready for a long non-violent movement while paused CDM as per the Struggle-Truce-Struggle strategy and went on for political settlement with Lord Irwin which led to the Gandhi-lrwin Pact.	Bhagat called both decisions as betrayal to the people of India and designated them as great mistakes. He condemned such strategy of political truce with the tyrant force and termed Congress as a party with no defined or clear strategy for struggle.
Dominion Status	In his entire political life in India, Gandhi always advocated for Dominion Status barring the time when Britain at one time was losing to Axis Powers during second world war. Once the British gained back control in the war, Gandhi ji returned back to the demand of dominion status.	He was one of the earliest propounder of idea of Purna Swaraj or Complete Independence which later on picked by young leaders of Indian National Congress who wanted to set it as the new goal of the party. Purna Swaraj, for him, was freedom from caste atrocities, class exploitation, religious blindness and freedom from Imperialism.
Religion	He called himself as a Hindu but for him truth transcends all religions and truth was the only god and the path to reach the god was love and ahimsa. He followed Bhagvad Gita’s philosophy of law of karma and selfless action. He looked every problem from religious perspective and found solutions to them through religion.	As a teenager he had habit of reciting the Gayatri Mantra several times a day. But later with his reading of Marx, Lenin, Bakunin and Trotsky, he chose the path of atheism which he elaborated in his famous essay “Why I am an Atheist”. For him divinity was present in all beings and role of religion was to discourage rational thinking and scientific evolution and thus opposing human progress.
Religion and Politics	Gandhi wanted to spiritualize politics as for him politics was religion in practice and the idea of justice and humanism can be drawn from religion which could be easily taught to the masses His idea of secularism was not of separation of state polity from religion but of harmony between the two.	He was against mixing religion with politics and gave an example of the early Ghadar revolutionaries who preached militant nationalism with a complete inclusive and secular approach. For him, the dominant class in society monopolized power and legitimized exploitation of the common man and woman in the name of religion. Thus, role of religion must be shrunk out from politics and economy.
Truth and Non- Violence	Nonviolence was an old Indian philosophical concept but popularized globally by Gandhi and which was later adopted by leaders like Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. For him, non violence was complete absence of ill will and hatred against all lives. Responding to his critics, he said that nonviolence was not a passive resistance but much more active than violent resistance and it meant conscious suffering and putting one’s whole self against the will of the tyrant. He said that violence is an act of cowardice and is the weapon of brute.	Bhagat, on the other hand, represented the cult of violence. He rejected the idea of non violence by saying that “it takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear” and justified violence with the argument that “Force when aggressively applied is ‘Violence and is, therefore, morally unjustifiable, but when it is used in the furtherance of a legitimate cause, it has its moral justification”. He criticized Gandhi’s appeal to shun all form of violence by saying “the elimination of force at all costs is utopian” and thus not a realist political tool.
Idea of Trusteeship	According to Gandhi’s theory of trusteeship, every industrialist employing more than a certain number of employees/ workers was to look upon his industry not as his property but as a socia trust. He should look after the welfare of the workers, clean working environment.	Bhagat denounced the idea of trusteeship as he considered it as the act of making exploitation perpetual by considering tyrant to do the welfare and philanthropy,
Idea of State	Gandhi was most critical of the idea of modern state. According to him, the modern state is soul-less machine running on inhuman scientific rules and has no personal and humanistic responsibility over its actions. State relies on fear and force, which according to him is legitimized violence of state over his own citizen.	The ultimate goal of Bhagat was complete independence and by freedom of state he meant absence of ruler and his tyranny. Thus, the India of his dream was to establish a nation free from obsession of religion, repression of caste, exploitation of class, absence of state and private property.
Economy	Gandhi followed village socialism and at the center of Gandhi’s economic programme for India was his plan for the revival of village economy and at the center of village economy there was Khadi and village cottage industries. He was opposed to large scale industrialization and mechanization as it would lead to an idle society full of unemployed youth.	Bhagat Singh considered economic independence as the final goal after political independence. By economic independence, he meant equitable distribution of means of production in hands of the masses and elimination of imperial as well as domestic capitalists. He wanted complete abolition of landlordism in free India
Political Ideology	Gandhi, like other major leaders of the time, was also a socialist but has not adopted it in letter and spirit and devised his own concept of village socialism. He was more reformist than revolutionist in political philosophies.	Bhagat Singh was a convinced and confirmed Marxist, Socialist and Leninist. He believed in revolution by proletariat against the tyranny of imperialism and capitalism.
Indian Capitalists and Landlordism	He was close to the rich businessmen like G D Birla who donated funds to Congress Party. Many landlords too had political relations with the Party and even few have been actively involved in the party’s political work. Gandhi never favored abolition of landlordism and nationalization of big Indian industries owned by these capitalists. He devised the idea of trusteeship as a tool to reform capitalism.	Bhagat Singh was of the view that it would make no difference if foreign capitalist would be replaced by Indian capitalists. Capitalism runs with sole aim of profit making which is actually the appropriation of fruits of labour of workers. He advocated complete abolition of capitalism and landlordism in India. He also emphasized on equating mental labor with manual labor for true economic freedom and creation of equal society.

Similarities between Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh

Dimensions	Mahatma Gandhi	Bhagat Singh
Caste and Untouchability	Gandhi worked for reformation of caste system and elimination of untouchability. He had set up All India Untouchability League and travelled across India to mobilize and sensitize the mass against untouchability. He also worked for internal reform of Harijans and removal of untouchability among themselves.	He criticized men of upper caste who were dominant in society and politics by saying that we are demanding equal rights vis a vis foreigners but not rendering the same to fellow Indians who are historically suppressed in social, economical and political spheres. He called for freedom from inhumane practice of untouchability.
Satyagraha	Gandhi regarded Satyagraha as the weapon of the morally vigilant and the active and not the tool of weak or coward. His Satyagraha rejected violence but not fighting. It was the opposition of evil by the good. Gandhi had resorted to Satyagrah not only to meet the political demands but also for communal harmony and for removal of untouchability.	Bhagat Singh resorted to Satyagraha in Mianwali and Lahore jail to improve the plight of political prisoners. His hunger strike went for 112 days in 1929 which shook the conscience of not only the fellow Indians but also the whole world. In 1930, he did his second hunger strike against the jail rules. With this, the total period of hunger strikes observed during his nearly two-year imprisonment becomes about 5 months.
Universal Brotherhood	Gandhi advocated the idea of ‘Vasudhaiva- Kutumbakam’, that is universal brotherhood. Although, he never advocated for complete elimination of the division created by religion, caste or class, he worked for harmony for all and dreamt a world where all with different color or caste live together amicably.	Bhagat Singh in his essay, “Universal Brotherhood: Indian Perspective,” discussed the Sanskrit slogan Vasudhaiva-Kutumbakam. He imagined a world that is completely equal and “devoid of otherness”. The concept of the other has ceased to exist. Everyone who exists are our own.

Deendayal Upadhyay

• Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay was an Indian politician, born on 25th September 1916 and was assasinated on 11 February 1968. He was an important leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which was the forerunner of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
• He joined RSS in 1937, and was its active member. Later in 1951, when Shyama Prasad founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Deendayal was seconded to the party by RSS.
• He was appointed as the General Secretary of the parties Uttar Pradesh branch, and later made the all India General Secretary. In 1953, after Mookerjee’s death, the entire burden of nurturing the orphaned organization and building it up as a nationwide movement fell on Deendayal. He remained its general secretary for 15 years.

Ideology

• Deendayal conceived the political philosophy of Integral Humanism. This philosophy was opposed to both western capitalist individualism and Marxist socialism, and was a middle ground between the 2, evaluating both these systems on their merits while being critical to their excesses. It argued for an indigenous economic model that puts human beings at the centre stage.
• According to Upadhyaya, humankind had 4 hierarchically organized attributed: body, mind, intellect and soul which correspond to 4 universal objectives of:
  • Dharma: Moral duties
  • Artha: Wealth
  • Kama: Desire or satisfaction
  • Moksha: Total liberation or ‘salvation’
• Deendayal criticized capitalist and socialist ideologies because they only considered the needs of the body and mind, and hence were based on materialist objectives of desire and wealth.
• Deendayal welcomed modern technology, but argued that it should suit Indian requirements. He was a proponent of Swaraj.

Contribution

• Integral humanism was adopted by the Bharatiya Jana Sangh as its official doctrine; and is presently the political philosophy of BJP also.
• He was the General Secretary of Bharatiya Jana Sangh for 16 years (1951-1967), and emerged as an all-round national leader.
• He was one of the most important opposition leaders after independence, and played a key role in strengthening the Bharatiya Jana Sangh as a political party.

Vivekanand

• Swami Vivekananda, earlier known as Narendra Nath Datta, was born on 12th January, 1863 in an affluent Kolkata family and died on 4th July 1902. At the threshold of youth, he had to pass through a period of spiritual crisis when he was assailed by doubts about the existence of God.
• He came in touch with Sri Ramakrishna (who was staying at Kali Temple in Dakshineshwar), in November 1881. Vivekanand was greatly influenced by Sri Ramakrishna, and shared a guru-disciple relationship with him.
• Vivekanand was a key figure in the introduction of philisophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the western world. He is credited for raising interfaith awareness, and bringing Hinduism to the present status of a major world religion.

Ideology

• He argued that essence of Hinduism was best expressed in Advaita Vedanta philosophy of Adi Shankara.
• He believed that each soul is potentially divine, and the goal is to manifest this divinity within by controlling nature, both external and internal. This can be done by work, or worship, or mental discipline, or philosophy.
• He linked morality with control of the mind, and saw truth, unselfishness and purity as traits which strengthened it.
• He supported celibacy (brahmacharya), and believed it to be the source of his physical and mental stamina.
• Universal teachings of Swami Vivekananda can be summarized as:
  • See God in all
  • God is within you
  • Persevere in your search for God
  • Trust completely in God
  • Love of God is essential
• Through his lectures, Vivekananda tried to do the following:
  • Arouse religious consciousness among the people, and created in them pride for their cultural heritage.
  • Bring unification among of Hindus by pointing out the common bases of its sects.
  • Create awareness among the educated people about the plight of the downtrodden masses, and to expound his plan for their upliftment by application of principle of Practical Vedanta.
• Bridge between East and West: He tried to build a bridge between Western and Indian culture by interpreting Hindu scriptures, philosophy and Hindu way of life to the Western people in a manner that they could understand easily. He made Western people realize how they could use Indian spirituality for their own well-being.

Contribution

• After Sri Ramakrishna’s death, Narendra formed a new monastic brotherhood, and its members took formal vows on sannyasa.
• He founded the Ramakhrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission.
• He is best known for his speech which he gave at the Parliament of the World’s Religion in Chicago in 1893, in which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament.
• Vivekananda was a major representative of NeoVedanta, which is the modern interpretation of selected aspects of Hinduism in line with Western traditions.
• His re-interpretation was successful in creating a new understanding and appreciation of Hinduism across the world.
• He introduced yoga, transcendental meditation and other forms of Indian spiritual self-improvement in western countries.
• National Movement: He drew attention to the extent of poverty in the country, and maintained that addressing poverty in the country was a prerequisite for national awakening.
• His ideas influenced many Indian thinkers and leaders.
• His birthday 12th January is observed as National Youth Day in India since 1985.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was born on 31st Oct. 1875 at Nadiad village in Gujarat and died on 15th December 1950.
• He was an average person till the age of 22 years when he passed his matriculation.
• He became a lawyer and a very skilled one.
• He was a great leader in the non cooperation movement and helped gather volunteer and money for the movement.
• Entry into Politics (True disciple of Gandhi):
  • Patel first met Mahatma Gandhi in 1917 and which left such an influence on him that he decided to enter the freedom struggle.
  • He won the election to become the sanitation commissioner of Ahmadabad in 1917.
• In 1928, he was the leader of Bardoli Satyagraha which was a major episode in the civil disobedience movement. This gave impetus to Vallabhbhai Patel in the freedom struggle movement in India. He was named ‘Sardar Patel’ after the movement.
• In 1923, he also launched a mission against the people who were jailed for hoisting the national flag of India. He successfully negotiated the release of the Prisoners who were jailed in such an act.
• Patel was elected as the President of Congress in 1931 session in Karachi where the Gandhi Irwin pact was ratified. But after the failure of the second round table conference Patel was sent to Yerwada Jail.
• After that he became a prominent figure in Indian National Congress and Chairman of the party’s Central Parliamentry Board.
• On the outbreak of World War II Patel supported Nehru’s decision to withdrew Congress from the central and the provincial legislature.
• After the failure of the Cripps Mission in 1942 Gandhi called for quit India Movement Patel’s role was instrumental in getting this approved by the All India Congress. This Quit India Movement was a movement that included civil disobedience, mass protest and shutdown of civil services in India. Patel was one of the major crowd puller because of his emotional speeches during the civil disobedience movement.
• After the cabinet mission plan Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was perhaps one of the first leaders to accept partition as a solution for the ongoing Hindu Muslim tussle.

Ideology

• A Staunch supporter of the Purna Swaraj Idea: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel supported the idea of Purna Swaraj or complete independence from the British rule.
• Believed in Satyagraha: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel believed in the Gandhian concept of Satyagraha i.e. nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. He was leader of Bardoli Satyagraha.
• No Changer: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was a part of no changer group of Congress. The no changers opposed the council entry a blocking the legislative process. This would cause constitutional deadlock and hence bend British to India’s will.
• Equality: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel worked against untouchability alcoholism, caste discrimination, and empowerment of women.
• Secular: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel worked for the Hindu Muslim Unity tried to solve Hindu-Muslim issues.
• Democracy: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel helped in establishing a very strong democracy in India.

Contribution

• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel played a major role in making masses participate the freedom struggle.
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was seen as a protege to Gandhi and had accompanied Gandhi in his early endeavors like and Kheda Satyagraha. He was an active member of the Congress since 1917, and participated in the Non-Cooperation movement, the Civil Disobedience movement, Bardoli Satyagraha and the Quit India movement.
• Integration of India: He was one of key members of the constituent assembly and was embarked upon the task of integrating India.
  • Sardar Patel along with VP Menon made the instrument of accession and used diplomatic and military means if necessary to get the instrument of accession signed.
  • Instrument of accession gave the power to the Indian government to take the specified subjects of the kingdom and leave the rest with the king.
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is hence also called the Bismarck of India.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy

• Raja Ram Mohan Roy is considered the Father of Modern India. He was the pioneer amongst reformers in the 19th century. He was born on 22nd May 1772 and died on 27th September 1833.
• He fought for introduction of modern scientific approach, principles of dignity in the religion.
• He advocated the need of introduction of Western scientific and humanities knowledge in Indian education system.
• He wrote Gift of Monotheists for advocating the idea of monotheism. He translated Vedas and Upnishads into Bengali.
• He tried to separate out the moral and philosophical messages of New Testament in Percepts of Jesus. He was strongly opposed by the Christian missionaries for incorporating the teachings of Jesus in Hinduism.
• He was a gifted linguist and knew more than a 12 languages and was an avid reader.
• He founded the Atmiya Sabha to propagate his ideas in Calcutta.
• Later he founded Brahmo sabha to propagate his ideas and mission of uplifting the masses and reform Hindu religion. This Brahmo Sabha was later known as Brahmo Samaj. By the Samaj Roy emphasized on incorporating of modern knowledge with that of the Vedas and Upnishads. The samaj helped in removing the ills of Hinduism in Bengal with strong objections to the rituals of Sati, early marriage, untouchability etc.

Ideology

• Scientific Approach to Religion: Raja Ram Mohan Roy tried to introduce to modern scientific approach, principles of dignity in the religion. He tried to analyze religions on the basis of reason and social comfort.
• Equal Women Rights: Raja Ram Mohan Roy was for the giving equal right to women. He opposed rituals like Sati, polygamy, child marriage, subjugation of women. He was the pioneer in the field of women empowerment.
• Equality: Raja Ram Mohan Roy opposed idolatry, caste rigidities, polytheism and baseless rituals. He professed equal rights for all irrespective of caste or sex. He criticized caste system.
• Monotheism: Raja Ram Mohan Roy believed in one god across all religions. He tried to combine the teachings of all religions. He dismissed the avatars or reincarnations.
• Promotion of Western Education in India: Raja Ram Mohan Roy believed that the Indian system was outdated and distorted. So he advocated the introduction of the western education based on science and modern subjects of humanities in Indian educational system.

Contribution

• Reforming of Hinduism: Raja Ram Mohan Roy is considered the Father of Modern Indian Renaissance as he was the pioneer in reforming the Indian society which was stagnant at the time. The Indian society was full of mysticism and superstitions that had stopped India’s growth.
• Law against Practice of Sati: Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a crusader against the archaic and barbaric practice of Sati. He launched a vigorous movement against Sati practice. He had a great role in influencing Lord William Bentinck to form law against practice of Sati. It was because of his efforts that a government regulation was passed in 1829.
• Colleges: He founded Vedanta College. Roy supported David Hare’s efforts for the foundation of Hindu college.
• Spread of National Consciousness: Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a progenitor of national consciousness with all his reforms meaning only to unite India. He opposed conversions by Christian missionaries in India.
• Rational Opposition of British Rule: Raja Ram Mohan Roy was for the indianization of British services, trial by jury, judicial equality among Indian and Europeans, freedom of press and opposed Zamindari system. He gave a rational basis for the opposition of British rule and showed its true nature to the people.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

• Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (26th September 1820 to 29th July 1891) was a great Sanskrit scholar and principal of the Sanskrit College. He wanted to break the Monopoly of Brahmin priests. He opened the gates of Sanskrit college to non Brahmin students.
• As an educator he was a strong advocator of mixing the eastern and western schools of education.
• He made great contributions towards the emancipation of females. He supported widow remarriage. He was against child marriage and polygamy. He was the pioneer of women education in India and started many girls school at his own expense.
• He was the secretary at Benthune schools which became a centre for women education.

Ideology

• Equal Women Rights: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was for the giving equal right to women. He opposed rituals like Sati, polygamy, child marriage, subjugation of women.
• Widow Remarriage: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar believed in widow remarriage and had worked a lot in the same field. He was instrumental in passing act for widow remarriage. To show how much serious he was in order to eradicate this evil associated with widow remarriage he married a widow.
• Women Education: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was the pioneer in the field of women education. He had not only took broad measures like government legislation, gathering public support to emancipate women but also took steps like providing education to women to empower them to fight for themselves.
• Equality of Education for all: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar wanted to provide education to all. To break the Monopoly of Brahmin priests on Sanskrit education he opened the gates of Sanskrit college for non-Brahmin students.

Contribution

• Widow Remarriage: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar believed in widow remarriage and was instrumental in bringing The Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act of 1856, a government legislation that legalized widow remarriage in India.
• Child Marriage: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar had a significant influence in passing of the Age of Consent Act in 1860 which fixed the age of consummation of marriage at ten years for women. This was a great stride forward in child marriage reforms and formed the base for many more child marriage reforms to come.
• Women Education: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was the secretary of Benthune schools and ran more than thirty five girls’ school at his own expense. He procured funds from the government for the same cause. He was the pioneer of women higher education in India.
• Education for All: As a principal of Sanskrit College he opened the education of Sanskrit to all. Prior to this Sanskrit was only taught to Brahmins. He even devised a new methodology of teaching Sanskrit language.

Jyotiba Phule

• Jyotirao Govind Rao Phule also known as Jyotiba Phule belonged to low caste (Mali) at Poona in (11th April 1827 to 28th Nov, 1890).
• He started movement against the upper class dominance in the society.
• He openly criticized the Brahmans in Hindu society and blamed them for mending the societal rules in such a way that they were meant to keep the lower castes oppressed and suppressed.
• He used the symbol of Raja Bali the Slayer of Brahmans against the Brahman symbol of Rama.
• His works Ghulamgiri and Sarvajanik Satyadharma pustak were sources of inspiration for low caste people.
• Jyotiba in the starting was critical of Congress also as it had not accounted for the general interest of lower and backward classes.
• He served as the commissioner of Poona Municipal in villages and asked for special incentives to get a higher number of lower caste people in high schools and colleges.
• He along with his wife Savitribai Phule started girl’s school and was a pioneer of widow remarriage in Maharashtra.
• He also championed the fight against female infanticide and widow remarriage . He started a home for widows of all castes.
• In 1888, Jyotiba was given an honorary title of Mahatma.

Ideology

• Equal Status for Lower Caste People: Jyotiba Phule was a pioneer reformer in the low caste reformers. He was ideologically determined to give equal status to lower caste people.
• Opposed the Brahmanical Dominance: Jyotiba Phule had suffered and seen the Brahmans mistreating the lower caste people so he was ideologically opposed the Brahmanical culture.
• Women Education: Jyotiba Phule believed that education can be used as a tool for upliftment of the masses hence he chose education to be his prime sector of reforms.

Contribution

• He started a group called Satyashodhak Samaj the prime objective of which was to provide education to people of low caste.
  • The main objective of this Samaj was to do social service and provide education to people of lower caste.
  • It treated man and women alike when it came to education or providing help.
• Jyotiba Phule opened hospitals and schools which catered specifically for the lower caste people.
• He along with his wife Savitribai Phule started girl’s school in Poona.
• He was the pioneer of widow remarriage and fought against female infanticide in Maharashtra.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak

• Bal Gangadhar Tilak was born in a Maharashtrian Brahmin family (23rd July 1856 to 1st August 1920) at Ratnagiri.
• He is remembered by Indians as ‘Lokmanya’ or the uncrowned king of India.
• He graduated from Deccan College in Poona and completed L.L.B from Government Law college.
• He was a great educational reformer and help in developing Poona as an educational centre. In January 1880 Tilak founded the Poona New English School. He was associated with the formation of Deccan Educational Society, Fergusson College in Poona along with his friends Gopal Ganesh Agarkar , Vishnushastri Chiplunkar and Mahadev Ballal Namjoshi.
• Tilak combined the use of religion to create nationalistic outlook in India.
• He was the first leader to associate with the masses and was the forerunner of Gandhian politics of mass movement.
• The newspapers that were published by him were the Maharatta and Kesari. Tilak was very vocal about the atrocities committed by the British.
• He was imprisoned several times; some of the instances were when he was charged with instigating the murders of lieutenant Rand and Ayrest and when he defended the Bengali Yuth involved in Muzaffarpur Bomb case, he was charged with sedition.
• Tilak played an active role in organizing the new face of the Indian National Congress.
• He along with Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai took the leadership towards a new dimension of extremist’s kind of politics.
• He has been sometimes said to have influenced the Surat split of 1907.
• He was the first to demand Swaraj or complete Independence as the political goal for India.

Ideology

• Bal Gangadhar Tilak took the leadership towards a new dimension of extremist’s kind of politics. He was the pioneer in denouncing the moderate politics of pleading to British for changes.
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak believed that education had the power to change the fate of the nation and he worked a lot in providing quality education by opening schools and colleges in India.
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak believed in politics of mass movement and hence is sometimes called the forerunner of Gandhi.
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak believed in Swaraj for India and was the first proponent of the same at Indian National Congress. He said ‘Swaraj is my birth right and I must have it’.

Contributions

• Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a great educationist and founded the Poona New English School, Deccan Educational Society and Fergusson College.
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak was one of the initiators of mass movements in India and used the festivals like Shivaji and Ganpati to inculcate the spirit of nationalism among the people.
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak gave birth to a new kind of politics, Extremist politics and inspired to take up arms against the British rule.
• Bal Gangadhar Tilak had a youth and rural connect and inspired them to participate in the freedom of struggle of India.
• He started the Home rule league movement in India along with Annie Besant.
• His efforts united both wings (moderates and extremists) of Congress Party after the Surat Split.
• His efforts led to the integration of masses into the freedom struggle and his new methods of freedom struggle give a new dimension to freedom movement in India.

Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya

• Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was born (25th December 1861 to 12th Nov. 1946) at Allahabad.
• He completed his LLB from Allahabad University and got the reputation of being one of the most brilliant lawyers of the time in a very short span of time.
• He was given the title of Mahamana by Rabindranath Tagore.
• He was a great educationist who will be remembered for his role in founding the Banaras Hindu University in 1916 at Varanasi. The Banaras Hindu University was established as an act of parliament The BHU Act of 1915 and he was instrumental in the passing of this act.
• He founded the Prayaga Hindu Samaj and the Bharata Dharma Mahamandal.
• He worked for the upliftment of the lowest strata of people in Indian society, the untouchables and helped them in achieving equality.
• Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was associated with the Indian National Congress from the earliest of its times.
• Malaviya became the President of Congress in 1909, 1918, 1932 and 1933.
• He staunchly opposed the acceptance of separate electorate for Muslims by Congress.
• Being a Hindu nationalist leader he opposed the appeasement of Congress to Muslims and Khilafat movement but was a leader in the Non Cooperation movement.
• He was a prominent figure in protesting against the Simon Commission.
• When the Poona pact was signed Malaviya was the signing party on behalf of Hindus but he started Congress Nationalist party in protest of communal award that was granted as a result of Poona pact.

Ideology

• Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya believed in moderate politics and believed in constitutional agitations. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was amongst the founding members of Indian National Congress as it believed in the same principles.
• Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was strong believer in Hindu faith and wanted to build a Hindu nation.
• He was a strong believer in the Hindu ideals of Sanatan Dharma.
• Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya believed that education can be a panacea to India’s problems and he helped in opening many schools and the Banaras Hindu University.
• Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was an environmentalist and forced the government into legislations to save Ganga. He founded the Ganga Mahasabha to create awareness about Ganga.

Dayanand Saraswati

• Dayanand Saraswati (12th February 1824 to 30th Oct. 1883) undertook the task of reforming Hindu religion in North India.
• He tried to present Hinduism in good light and superior to religions like Christianity and Islam.
• He claimed that Vedas alone contained the ‘scientific truths’ and hence Hinduism a mixture of ideas and science was superior to other religions.
• He invoked Vedas to be the most superior text in Hinduism. He gave the slogan ‘Back to the Vedas’.
• He denounced untouchability and denounced plight that the castes system had put upon the lower castes in India but advocated for the Chaturvarnaashram system (four fold Varna division) as it formed the basis of Indian society.
• He wanted to aggressively reform the religion and hence was looked upon by the orthodox Hindus as well as the moderate reformists like the Brahmo Samaj. He found appreciators for his reforms in the British as they also wanted to go for such reforms in India.
• Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s views were published in Satyarth Prakash.
• In 1875 he started Arya Samaj. He made Vedas as the base of the Arya Samaj philosophy. His Samaj gained a lot of acceptance in Punjab and North western provinces.

Ideology

• Swami Dayanand Saraswati was an orthodox Hindu who believed in the revival of Hinduism.
• Swami Dayanand Saraswati opposes the dominance of the Brahmanical class and considered them to be the cause of plight of lower classes.
• Swami Dayanand Saraswati was against the ritualistic religion and condemned the evil practices like Sati, idolatry, polytheism, child marriages etc.
• Swami Dayanand Saraswati believed that it was only through education the decaying Indian society could be revived.
• Swami Dayanand Saraswati completely denounced idol worship and was a strong proponent of monotheism.
• Swami Dayanand Saraswati believed in the infallibility of the Vedas.

Contribution

• Swami Dayanand Saraswati started a network of schools known as Dayanand Anglo Vedic (DAV) schools.
• Swami Dayanand Saraswati was instrumental in stopping the evil ritualistic practices like Purdah, polygamy, Sati, child marriage. He also tried to fix the marriageable age of boys and girls. He advocated the widow remarriage.
• Swami Dayanand Saraswati tried to bring equality among the castes and fought against untouchability . He fought for entry of people of all castes in temples.
• Swami Dayanand Saraswati launched a movement for making studying of Sanskrit rightful to every caste and the women. He argued that Sanskrit was not a prerogative of Brahmins only.
• By the glorification of Indian past through the Vedas , his reforms and Arya Samaj, Swami Dayanand Saraswati instilled a feeling of equality among sexes, brotherhood among all, feeling of nationalism and helped Indians to gain self respect and self confidence in their past .

Rabindranath Tagore

• Rabindranath Tagore was born to a great social reformer of the time Maharishi Debendranath Tagore (7th May 1871 to 7th August 1941).
• He was at the forefront of Bengali Renaissance and hence got the chance to have a first hand experience of the Renaissance literature, theatre, music and recitals.
• He was a great writer and a poet who was lauded upon with British laurels and is popularly referred to as The Bard of Bengal.
• He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913 and was the first non European to get the prize, he denounced the British Raj and advocated for India’s Independence from Britain.
• Rabindranath Tagore was given the title of Gurudev for his vast knowledge in the fields of literature and politics.
• Tagore opposed imperialism in his book Manasi composition a composition of poems.
• In 1919, in response to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre Tagore renounced his knighthood and wrote a repudiating letter to Viceroy Chelmsford.

Ideology

• He followed the Brahmo Samaj philosophy and believed in the reformation of the society.
• He was opposed to militarism as a matter of principle and promoted spiritual values.
• He wanted to establish a world culture in multi-culture environment which had diversity and tolerance.
• He opposed imperialism and has vehemently criticized it in his writings. Rabindranath Tagore viewed the presence of British administration as a ‘political symptom of our social disease’.
• He believed that Humanity and love mattered more than anything else in the world.

Contributions

• He founded a school in 1901 now known as Visva Bharati. The alternative to the poor system of education imposed by the British combined the best of traditional Hindu education with Western ideals. Tagore’s multicultural educational efforts were an inspiration to many.
• He through his writings like Manasi provided the literary arsenal to the freedom struggle movement of India.
• During the partition of Bengal Rabindranath Tagore emerged as a greatest critic of British government. He with the help of his writings inspired the common masses to protest against the Bengal partition.
• He composed the National Anthem of two countries India Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh Amar Sonar Bangla.
• He was always an educational reformer who never directly led any movement in the freedom struggle of India but with his fiery writings inspired many to break the shackles of the British colonization of India.

Difference between Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore

Dimensions	Mahatma Gandhi	Rabindranath Tagore
Swadeshi Movement	Gandhi believed that in order to bring millions out of starvation and misery and to make British quit the country it is essential to resort to the concept of swadeshi. Responding to Tagore’s viewpoint he said, “In burning the foreign cloths, I burn my shame”	He considered Swadeshi Movement as a negative movement where one was supposed to set the pile of foreign cloth on fire. For him, it was an idea of destruction and up to the construction of peaceful and independent India
Non Cooperation Movement	Gandhi’s view of non cooperation was positive and it was based on foundational principle that helping a sinner was also a sin and thus it was essential not to cooperate a sinful foreign government. For him, if it is negation then it is negation of negation and thus was positive.	Tagore disagreed with Gandhi on the idea of non cooperation. He was concerned with the psychosis of the crowd. The poet was worried about the consequence if the right to non cooperate was given to a crowd without any restraint or check, For him, violence was intrinsic in non-cooperation and hence the movement was negative in principle.
Charkha	Charkha, for Gandhi, was a potent weapon in hands of people against economic distress and also a symbol of country’s prosperity and freedom. It was to bring commercial peace in place of commercial war of west. For him, Charkha spinning was service of mankind and a thread of unity among all community and people in society.	Tagore argued that, Charkharetarded the development of a fierce mind. It is an attempt to shape everyone alike, inculcate in people a love for mechanical habit instead of developing creative capabilities, For him, charkha symbolized mindless drudgery and a big denial of possibility of science in uplifting the condition of poor and destitute.
Education	He was in favor of an all round development of children to bring out the best from thembody, mind and spirit. He was of view that children should be taught useful handicrafts from beginning. This can make school self supporting and students confidant of making both ends meet in case state do not provide for their employment.	He regarded education important for true freedom of mankind and for a peaceful society based on idea of justice. He was against education based only on book knowledge and wanted to incorporate children to practical constructive work by engaging them to the problems of vicinity. He wanted to apply knowledge of educational institution in solving problems of nearby villages and creating grass root innovation. He advocated medium of instruction in schools to be the mother tongue as there was no joy, no expansion or no blossoming of human faculty through foreign language. He was in favor of open-air classes which he considered important to break the wall of the pupil’s imagination and could make them artistically creative and scientifically innovative.
Science	Gandhi favoured religion and morality than science. This was evident with the debate between Gandhi and Tagore on the Bihar Earthquake of January 1934. Gandhi declared the earthquake as God’s punishment, who according to him, was furious over practice of untouchability by the people of India.	Tagore was also a spiritual person but had a scientific mindset too. On the debate with Gandhi over Bihar earthquake, he contradicted him by saying that earthquake was caused by natural causes within the surface of earth and thus refuted the superstitious viewpoint of Gandhi.
Foreign Policy	Gandhi advocated the idea of ‘Vasudhaiva- Kutumbakam’, that is universal brotherhood , He was of view that India should not interfere in world affairs which could be detrimental for its peaceful growth. Following elements can be rightfully regarded as Gandhian: Independent foreign policy (Principle of Non alignment) Deciding foreign policy issues on merit. Constant encouragement for the struggle against colonialism, racialism and apartheid by economic, diplomatic and moral support. Non-violence and the nuclear disarmament. India’s role as a mediator in international peace and brotherhood.	Tagore’s notion of India’s foreign policy was somewhere between that of Gandhi and of Nehru. He wanted India free standing in the world and not that she shut herself up in isolation and nor that she should lord it over other nations, India should offer the world its best gifts and be able to take what best world has to offer. He wanted Indians to learn best of the western values and at the same time be Eastern. He wanted India to be the torchbearer of the Eastern values, knowledge and philosophy in world.

Similarities between Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore

Dimensions	Mahatma Gandhi	Rabindranath Tagore
Constructive Programmes	Constructive programmes were bedrock of Indian freedom struggle propelled by Congress but it got real impetus once Gandhi arrived in India. He called for promotion of khadi, charkha, sanitation, education for children, women and for adults, communal harmony and religious unity, elimination of untouchability and prohibition of liquor and intoxicants.	He rendered full support towards constructive programmes of Indian National Congress such as work related to caste system reform or on Hindu-Muslim unity or cleanliness programmes. During protest for Bengal division he advised for Rakshabandhan Programme for Hindu-Muslim unity.
Modern State	Gandhi was most critical of the idea of modern state. According to him, the modern state is soul-less machine running on inhuman scientific rules and has no personal and humanistic responsibility over its actions. State relies on fear and force, which according to him is legitimized violence of state over his own citizen.	Although he was an admirer of the western philosophy, he never supported constitution of modern state which was all mighty and powerful and ruled through the power of sword and through machine like bureaucracy. He felt that state and the government should create a congenial atmosphere for social solidarity to grow and expand. It should make citizens aware of their rights, power and capacities and enable them to solve their problem themselves.
Humanism	Gandhi was deeply a humanist besides being a religious person. He never discriminated between two person of different religion or different caste. He called for liberal interpretation of Vedas and Shastras to accommodate values of humanism. For him, service to mankind was worship to god.	He was a great humanist and believed that path to god is through the services and love of mankind. He opined that patriotism based on hatred of another man of different land or religion is negative patriotism i.e. no patriotism at all. For him, patriotism cannot be contained within the geographical or political boundary.
Economy	Gandhi followed village socialism and at the center of Gandhi’s economic programme for India was his plan for the revival of village economy and at the center of village economy there was Khadi and village cottage industries. He was opposed to large scale industrialization and mechanization as it would lead to an idle society full of unemployed youth.	Like Gandhi, he stressed upon rural reconstruction and evolved rural community development programme and experimented with it in Shantiniketan. This model of development was based on the principles of self-help, individual freedom, self identification of people’s problem and self resolution of the problem through the local resource available, This development was community led and not state led. This economic idea of Tagore was adopted as Community Development programmes in Independent India.
Materialism	Gandhi was against surplus production and accumulation of material quote suffice his viewpoint which says, “The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed.”	He was against wanton accumulation of material wealth. His famous wealth and emphasized upon accumulation of spiritual wealth through love toward nature and mankind.
Religion and Spirituality	Gandhi was and is spiritual and philosophical ambassador of India. He believed in soul and god and identified path of salvation as the path of truth and service to mankind. He was so religious that he sought solution of all kind of problems, from social to political, from the religion. Mahatma’s life itself is the source of all teachings. He preached what he practiced and never hesitated to confront a human flaw within and outside.	Love was god for Tagore. Like Gandhi, Tagore was also the spiritual ambassador of India to the world, His songs of universal love and man’s mystic union with god offered the world something new and extraordinary. Tagore was so religious that his devotion got reflected in his ideas, poems, painting and music , Like Gandhi, he was a religious person and follower of Vaishnava Bhakti tradition,
Truth and NonViolence	Truth was god for Gandhi. He had immense faith in Truth and non-violence and both were means as well as final goal of his life, Truth for him was ultimate God and he spent his life in service of truth. He was ardent believer and promoter of this idea and used it as a potent political tool to force British quit our nation.	Tagore too was strong votary of Truth and Nonviolence, For him truth was another name for god and the ultimate stage of human knowledge. His idea of non violence was similar, though, wider than that of Gandhi. While Gandhi believed in thought non violence, it was Tagore who strongly emphasized it, even advocated it as the political tool. For him, hatred of foreign rule or burning foreign cloth was also violence and must not be the foundation of our political struggle.
Village	Gandhi considered village as center for the Indian polity, economy and society. He was aware of the gloomy state of Indian villages but had a dream and a vision to revive the old form of self-sufficient village economy based on Khadi and cottage industries empowered politically by gram sabha and gram panchayat. He preferred direct democracy at village level by electing Gram Panchayat, members of which would then elect state legislature who will then elect the government at union level.	Like Gandhi, he was in favor of making village self sustainable through rural reconstruction for which he envisioned instrumental role of educational institutions where knowledge acquired at the institution can be applied to improve the condition of the village.

Other Important Personalities, and freedom fighters

Abanindranath Tagore (1871-1951)

• He was a prominent artist of the Bengal school and the first major exponent of swadeshi values in Indian art.
• He was also known as ‘Aban Thakur’.
• He produced a collection of paintings on Krishna leela, where he synthesised Indian and Western style.
• As an opposition to oil painting, which was famous among European and Indian Intelligensia, he used Indigenous (swadeshi) material like tempera for Ancient Indian Murals (painted on wall) and Mughal Art Paintings to praise the glory of India’s past.
• His followers followed his style and formed Nationalist Art Movement that is also called as the Bengal School.
• One of his first prominent painting is Winter’s morning was with water colors.
• His Famous painting is on Bharat Mata as a mythological goddess with four hands holding objects symbolic of India’s national aspirations.
• His novel ‘Patherdabi’ acted as a source of inspiration for the youth for joined revolutionary groups.

Acharya Narendra Dev (1889-1956)

• Narendra Dev was appointed as the Principal of Kashi Vidyapeeth and also became the Vice Chancellor of Banaras and Lucknow Universities.
• He became the President of Patna’s socialist confluence in 1934 and a member of UP Legislation Assembly in 1937.
• As a teacher Narendra Dev became interested in Marxism and Buddhism ideas. He was a prominent person in the Hindi language movement in all over Country.
• Narendra Dev advocated the abolition of poverty and exploitation. He focused on the division of wealth and resources on basis socialist principle. He also encourages people to help of poor on moral and humanistic basis.
• He persisted that “without political democracy social democracy was a shame”. He was also an active participator in the peasant movement and served as president of the All-India Kisan Congress.

Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray (1861-1944)

• Prafulla Chandra Ray was one of the pioneer and prominent personalities of chemical research in India.
• His book ‘History of HinduChemistry’ was published in 1902 and comprised of many ancient Indian medical and chemist methods in his book.
• He worked with French Chemist Berthelot in Research field of Ayurveda.
• He was the President of Indian Science Congress in 1920.
• He was an ardent social worker and actively involved in famine relief work 1922 in North Bengal.

Achyut S. Patwardhan (1905-1992)

• He was one of the founder member of the Congress Socialistic Party with an objective to work for socialistic objectives(e.g. equal distribution of resources, reduce poverty , educate people) within the Congress in 1934.
• Achyut Patwardhan was in Congress Working Committee in 1936. He took a prominent part in the civil disobedience movement and the Quit India movement which started in 1942.
• In 1945-46, he went underground and evading arrest, he directed the movement of a parallel government mainly in the Satara district . He was called as the Lion of Satara.

Sardar Ajit Singh (1881-1947)

• Sardar Ajit Singh founded the Bharat Mata Society and launched Peshwa (a journal). He was one of the active member of Ghadar Party and uncle of Bhagat singh.
• Sardar Ajit Singh was the hero of Pagdi Sambhal Jatta movement. The Pagdi Sambhal Jatta movement had spread far beyond the peasants to overwhelm the army.
• He was a revolutionary nationalist arrested in 1907 and deported to Mandalay.
• In 1913, he came in close contact with the Ghadar Party in San Francisco. In 1939, he returned to Europe and later on helped Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in his mission in Italy.

A.K. Fazlul Huq (1873-1962)

• Fazlul Huq was the Founder member of All India Muslim League and represented the league in the three Round Table Conferences. He Founded the Krishak Praja Party in 1937 and worked as Chief Minister of Bengal.
• He played a main role in formulating the Lucknow Pact of 1916, between the Congress and the Muslim League.
• Fazlul Huq drafted and moved the Lahore Resolution on March 23, 1940. According to that resolution, Northeastern and Eastern parts of India formed sovereign states.
• The Resolution established the Muslim League’s demand for a homeland for Muslims, which led to the founding of Pakistan. After 1942, Huq actually opposed the Two-Nation Theory and tried to mobilize non-Muslim League Muslim leaders against Partition of India.

Allan Octavian Hume (1829-1912)

• In 1857 revolution (known as Sepoy Mutiny of 1857), Allan Octavian Hume was involved in various military actions. In 1857, He blamed the inability of the British administration for the revolt.
• In his tenure as Indian Civil Servant, He started to introduce free primary education and established Lokmitra, meaning The People’s Friend, Hindi language periodical.
• He worked for the cause of education and established scholarships for higher education.
• Later in 1863, he moved for separate schools for juvenile offenders instead of imprisonment.
• He was appointed as the Commissioner of Customs for the North West Province in 1867. Later A. O. Hume became attached to the central government as Director General of Agriculture in 1870.
• AO Hume openly criticized the management and administration of Lord Lytton. As a result, his superiors were upset with him and tried to limit his authority. Hume published a book on Agricultural Reform in India in the year 1879.
• He took initiative leading to the first session of Indian National Congress Party that was conducted in 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai) and called as father and founder of INC.
• In protest against the government’s administrative policies in field hunger and poverty, he resigned from service and tried to help people and explore his field as orthonologist. He setup a word museum in Shimla and contributed later to the British Museum.

Alluri Sitaramaraju (1897-1924)

• Raju was the main leader in the Rampa Rebellion of tribal in 1922-24. He was known as ‘Manyam Veerudu’ (‘Hero of the Jungles’) by the local people.
• After Madras Forest Act (1882), its restrictions on the free movement of tribal peoples in the forest and prevented them from engaging in their traditional “Podu” agricultural system, which involved shifting cultivation.
• Raju went deep into the forests of Gond land to meet the tribal and inspire them to fight for India’s independence.
• Raju inspired and united the different tribes of the area, trained them in skills of guerrilla warfare and proved to be a terror for the British.

Amir Chand (1859-1915)

• Amir Chand was a freedom fighter and also participated in swadeshi movement.
• He was a revolutionary, who was arrested in connection with the Lahore Bomb.
• He was accused of throwing a bomb on Lord Hardinge in Delhi and was sentenced to death.

Amritlal Vithaldas Thakkar (1869-1951)

• He was the founder member of Bhil Seva Mandal and also a member of Bharatiya Adamjati Sangh (one of the tribal welfare association).
• He also served as the Secretary of the Harijan Sevak Sangh founded by Mahatma Gandhi.
• In 1914, he resigned and took up social work in various field of society. He became a member of Servants of India Society and advocated the rights of untouchables and tribal in British India.
• He was also associated with the Depressed Classes Mission and the Widows Home, Poona.

Ananda Mohan Bose (1847-1906)

• Ananda Mohan Bose was one of the founder member of the Indian Association of Calcutta, Indian National Conference and lndian National Congress.
• He presided over the Madras Session of Indian national Congress (1898) .
• He was a social reformer in field of the improvement of conditions of women and the illiterate masses. His campaigned against social immoral or wicked behavior in society.
• Under his direction, the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj became an active center for the spread of education and social uplift.
• Bose was progressive and a constitutionalist and he was one of the earliest to have requested for large scale technical education and industrialization.

Annie Besant (1847-1933)

• Annie Besant came to India as a volunteer to the Theosophical Society in India and also started the Home Rule League in all over India (except Maharashtra, Karnataka,Central provinces and Berar) including Mumbai.
• She was on one of the prominent personality in filled of education by establishing the Central Hindu School and College at Banaras.
• She advocated to the moderates to revive their decision and allow Tilak to be a member of Congress.
• Besant was the first woman President of Indian National Congress in the Calcutta Session of INC in 1917.
• She did not attend in Congress session at Nagpur in 1920 due to growing difference with Gandhi on Government of India Act.
• She published Newspapers as New India and Commonweal.
• She prepared the Lotus Song which was a translation of Gita in English.

Aruna Asaf Ali (1909-1996)

• Aruna Asaf Ali was also known as Aruna Ganguli and she married to Asaf Ali who was the Indian’s first Ambassador of the USA.
• She was Popularly known as the Grand Old Lady of the Independence Movement.
• She was jailed during the Civil Disobedience Movement and for participating in Individual Satyagrah (1940).
• In 1942, she hoisted the Indian National Congress Tricolor Flag at Gowalia Tank Ground of Mumbai. Her prominent newspapers were Link and Patriot.
• She was a member of All India peace council, National federation of Indian women and Indo-soviet cultural society. She was awarded the International Lenin Prize in 1964.

Asaf Ali (1888-1953)

• When the British attacked on the Ottoman Empire, Asaf Ali took the Turkish side and resigned from the Privy Council on basis of this attack.
• He also defended Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt after they threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly on 8 April 1929 during the passage of a controversial ordinance e.g. Trade dispute and public safety bill.
• He was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly in 1935 as a member of the Muslim Nationalist Party and participated in ‘Quit India’ revolution.
• In 1945, Ali became the convener of the INA defense team to defend the officers of the Indian National Army charged with sedition.

Ashutosh Chaudhuri (1888-1944)

• He was one of the early freedom fighters from Bengal.
• He was associated with Anushilan Samiti.
• He was one of the office bearer from Calcutta.
• He was involved in various revolution with Rabindranath Tagore.
• He helped in the setting up of the National Council of Education in 1906.

Ashutosh Mukhopadhyay (1864-1924)

• Popularly known Banglar Bagh (Tiger of Bengal), Mukhopadhyay was a freedom fighter , a judge and an educator who later became Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University.
• Conferred with Knighthood in 1911.
• His son, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951.

Aurobindo Ghosh (1872-1950)

• A revolutionary freedom fighter philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet.
• Sponsored ‘Anushilan Samiti’ and was associated with establishment of ‘Yugantar’.
• Tried in ‘Alipore Conspiracy Case’ (1908-09).
• Criticized moderates through his series of articles in ‘Indu Prakash’.
• Editor of ‘Bande Mataram’.
• Participated in ‘Swadeshi Movement’.
• Later, he relinquished politics to exile himself into spirituality in Pondicherry.

Badruddin Tyabji (1844-1906)

• Tyabji was one of the founding members of the Bombay Presidency Association in 1885.
• In the 1887 Session of the INC, he was elected as its President, thus becoming the first Muslim to hold the post.
• He campaigned against the purdah system, a practice he termed to be beyond the teachings of the Quran.
• He became the first Indian in 1902 to hold the post of Chief Justice of the High Court for Bombay Presidency.

Keshavrao Baliram Hedgewar (1889-1940)

• Hedgewar founded the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1925 at the age of 36; led it for 15 years till the year 1940.
• Participated in Home Rule League movement of Tilak in 1918.
• Actively participated in INC in 1920s.
• Sentenced for 1 year for his involvement in Khilafat movement
• Post Malabar communal riots of 1923, he championed the cause of Hindu Rashtra.
• Participated in civil disobedience movement in individual capacity but kept RSS out of it.

Vasudev Balwant Phadke (1845-1883)

• Born in a village in the Konkan, Phadke – a Chitpavan Brahmin and a clerk in a government office – formed a revolutionary group, known as the Ramoshi in 1875.
• In 1879, he formed a militia, considered to be the country’s first revolutionary army, which took to banditry to sustain the rebellion.
• His group consisted mainly of lower-caste Ramoshi and Dhangars, but had few Brahmins as well.
• He got influenced by Ranade’s “Drain of Wealth” theory, and put the blame on the exploitative policies of the British rule for the sufferings of the people.
• In his autobiography , Phadke talks about his vision of establishing a ‘Hindu raj’ through subversive activities.

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1838- 1894)

• Born to a Brahmin family, and son of a government official, Chattopadhyay (or Chatterjee) was a Bengali poet and a writer who is credited with giving the country its national song Bande Mataram.
• The poem Bande Mataram was included in his novel Anandmath (published in 1882), based on the Sannyasi rebellion (1763-1800).
• Bande Mataram gave the concept of ‘Mother-Goddess’ to the Indian freedom struggle.
• In the 1896 session of the Congress, Bande Mataram was sung for the first time by Rabindranath Tagore as part of the national movement.
• He was a proponent of revival of “reconstituted Hinduism”, which is rationalist, regenerative and non obscurantist, and different from orthodox ritualistic Hinduism.

Barindra Kumar Ghosh (1880-1959)

• Younger brother of nationalist, philosopher and poet Aurobindo Ghosh, in 1906, Barindra Kumar Ghosh published a weekly newspaper titled Yugantar, which called for struggle for Swaraj.
• One of the founder members of the revolutionary outfit which had the same name as that of the newspaper (Yugantar).
• He took part in the Alipore Bomb Conspiracy and was sentenced to death which was later commuted to life sentence and subsequently deported to Cellular jail in Andaman.

Behramji Malabari (1853-1912)

• A Parsi poet and philanthropist, Malabari played a vital role in the field of social reform legislation, especially with regards to that on child marriages, which led to the passing of the Age of Consent Act of 1891.
• As a friend and close associate of Dadabhai Naoroji, he helped disseminate messages from the Grand Old man of India to the numerous political organizations across the country.

Bhai Balmukund (1889-1915)

• A martyr of India’s freedom struggle, Bhai Balmukund was arrested as an accused in the bomb attack on Viceroy Lord Hardinge in 1912 in Delhi in which the Viceroy escaped with injuries.
• After a trial, he was sentenced to death, along with Master Amir Chand, Master Awadh Behari and Basant Kumar Biswas and hanged on May 8, 1915.

Bhai Parmanand (1876-1947)

• A founder member of the Ghadar Party, Bhai Parmanand took part in the Ghadar Conspiracy to overthrow British rule through an armed rebellion in the country.
• He was arrested for his role in the Ghadar Conspiracy. Also he was tried under the First Lahore Conspiracy Case where he was awarded the death sentence, later commuted to life imprisonment.
• In later years, after his release from jail by an general amnesty order, he pleaded for co-operation between the British and the Hindus, to “safeguard the interest of the latter”.

Bhulabhai Desai (1877-1946)

• A Congressman and an accomplished lawyer, Bhulabhai Desai was elected as a member to the Central legislative Assembly in 1934, from Gujarat and as a moderate leader in the party, supported Council entry after the passing of the Government of India Act of 1935.
• In 1944, he held secret talks with Liaquat Ali Khan of Muslim League for the formation of an interim government, which led to the signing of the Desai Liaquat Pact of 1945.
• Desai was soon back in limelight when he, in 1945, along with other legal luminaries such as Tej Bahadur Sapru, defended the three soldiers of the Indian National Army – Colonel Prem Sehgal, Colonel GS Dhillon and Major-General Shah Nawaz Khan – charged with treason by the British government at the Red Fort trial.

Bina Das (1911-1986)

• Hailing from Bengal, Bina Das was a member of Chhatri Sangha, a women’s revolutionary group in Calcutta.
• In the year 1932, at the age of 21, she made an assassination attempt at the then Governor of Bengal, Stanley Jackson by firing five shots at him.
• She was sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment for her action.
• Though she failed in her attempt to assassinate the Governor, her action succeeded in raising the morale of the public in their struggle.

Bipin Chandra Pal (1858-1932)

• One of three of the Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate of the freedom struggle, Bipin Chandra Pal was a freedom fighter from Bengal who was one of the main persons behind a new form of struggle that ranged from Swaraj to boycott and national movement.
• His journalistic works include: editorial staff at ‘Bengal public opinion’, editor staff at The Tribune’ and founder editor of ‘New India’.
• Owing to differences on the method of struggle against the British empire, he later retired from active politics.

Bir Singh (1856-1891)

• Bir Tikendrajit (Also known as Bir Singh and Bir Tikendrajit Singh) was a Manipuri (Metei) prince and a freedom fighter who achieved martyrdom in the Anglo-Manipuri war of 1891.
• Tikendrajit was publicly hanged by the British in 1891.
• Manipuris celebrate the heroic battle of 1891 fought by their ancestors through a musical art form known as Khongjom Parva.

Begum Safia Abdul Wajid

• She was born on September 5, 1905
• She graduated from Isabella Thowborne College and post-graduated from Allahabad University
• She was an active member of Indian National Congress.
• In 1942, Begum Safia took active part in the Quit India Movement
• After independence, she continued to work for the emancipation of the masses.
• She was elected to the Uttar Pradesh assembly twice – in 1952 and 1957.

C. Vijayaraghavachariar (1852-1944)

• A freedom fighter, lawyer and politician, Vijayaraghavachariar was a member of the committee that drafted the Constitution of the Congress party in 1887.
• A close associate of A O Hume, He attended the 1885 session of Congress.
• In 1920, he was elected the President of the INC and in 1931, became the President of the Hindu Mahasabha.
• An advocate of post-puberty marriage for women, he was also a crusader for the rights of the depressed classes.

Chandra Shekhar Azad (1906-1931)

• At the young age of 15 Azad joined the Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement and also got arrested for the first time.
• It is said that on being produced before a judge, he gave his name as ‘Azad’.
• He was a member of the Hindustan Republican Association.
• He also participated in the Kakori Train robbery in 1925 and still managed to remain at large unlike his co-conspirators.
• It was then he reorganize HRA on new lines with youngsters and renamed it as Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).
• He along with Bhagat Singh and Rajguru assassinated Saunders to avenge the death of Lalaji.
• He shot himself at Allahabad in 1931 while fighting the police.

Charles Freer Andrews (1871-1940)

• Charles Freer Andrews was an English teacher in the St. Stephen’s College, Delhi.
• He was known for his work as a conciliator and fighter against social injustice and political exploitation.
• Andrews was close friends with Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore.
• Gandhi conferred him with title ‘Deenbandhu

C. Rajagopalachari (1878-1972)

Before Independence

• He joined the national movement during Non-Cooperation movement by boycotting the practise of law despite being a leading lawyer in the country.
• After Bardoli Resolution Rajaji was a part of “No-Changers” who opposed getting into the council.
• He participated in the Vaikom Satyagraha in 1925.
• During the Civil Disobedience movement in 1930, Rajaji led the Vedaranyam Salt Satyagraha from Trichy to Vedaranyam.
• In 1937, Rajaji recommended the Swarajist approach to Gandhi and was elected Premier of the Madras Presidency where he served until Britain declared war on Germany in 1940.
• He opposed the Quit India Movement.
• He gave C. R. formula or Rajaji formula to solve a political deadlock between the All India Muslim League and Indian National Congress.
• In 1946, Rajagopalachari was appointed Minister of Industry, Supply, Education and Finance in the Interim Government of India.

After Independence

• From 1947 to 1948 he was the Governor of West Bengal.
• He was the Governor-General of India from 1948 to 1950, Union Home Minister from 1951 to 1952.
• He became Chief Minister of Madras state from 1952 to 1954.
• In 1959, he resigned from the Indian National Congress and founded the Swatantra Party, which stood against the Congress in the 1962, 1967 and 1972 elections.
• Rajagopalachari was instrumental in setting up a united Anti-Congress front in Madras state under C. N. Annadurai, which swept the 1967 elections.
• Rajagopalachari was an accomplished writer of English literature and is also credited with composition of the song Kurai Onrum lllai set to Carnatic music.

Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai (1909-1969)

• C. N. Annadurai was a disciple of E.V. Ramasamy (EVR) Periyar enrolled as a member of the Dravidar Kazhagam.
• In 1949, following differences with EVR , the ambitious Anna launched the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
• He served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1967 to 1969 and was also the first member of a Dravidian party to hold that post.

Chittaranjan Das (1869-1925)

• C.R . Das or ‘Deshbandhu’ was a revolutionary freedom fighter and was politically influenced by Bankim Chandra.
• In 1909 he successfully defended Aurobindo Ghosh on charges of involvement in the previous year’s Alipore bomb case.
• In 1917 he was invited to preside over the Bengal Provincial Conference held at Bhowanipore.
• He participated in the Non-cooperation Movement by leaving his profession as a lawyer.
• He brought out a newspaper called ‘Forward’ whose name was changed to ‘Liberty’ to fight the British Raj.
• In 1923 he being a ‘pro-changer ‘ founded Swaraj Party and also tried to structure the Bengal Pact between the Hindus and Muslims, though opposed by a section of the Congress.

Chirravoori Yajneswara Chintamani (1880-1941)

• C.Y. Chintamani made history at the age of 18 by becoming the editor of the newspaper Vizag Spectator and also organized Indian Herald and Standard.
• Regarded as ‘Pope of Indian Journalism’.
• He made a great impact as Chief Editor of the Allahabad-based, The Leader between 1909 and 1934.
• Chintamani was appointed as the Education Minister of the United Provinces.
• He was invited as a delegate to the First Round Table Conference at London in 1930-1931.

Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917)

• Dadabhai Naoroji also called The Grand Old Man of India, became the first Indian to be appointed Professor at Elphinstone College, Bombay.
• In 1867 he founded the East India Association in London.
• In 1874 he was appointed the Dewan of Baroda but resigned after a year.
• He was elected as Member of the Municipal Corporation, Bombay twice.
• In 1885, he joined the Bombay Legislative Council the same year also took part in the founding of the Indian National Congress and became its President thrice in 1886, 1893 and 1906.
• In 1902 he was elected as a Member in the House of Commons from Liberal Party and was the first British Indian MP.
• In Poverty and Un-British Rule in India (1901) he gave the theory of ‘drain of wealth’.
• To secure justice for India, he brought out a monthly, The Voice of India’.

David Hare (1775-1842)

• In 1817, David Hare, who had come out to India in 1800 as a watchmaker spent his entire life in the promotion of modern education in the country.
• He founded the famous Hindu College (later called Presidency College), Hindu School and Hare School in Kolkata.
• He was instrumental in establishing the School Book Society, which contributed substantially to the Bengal Renaissance.
• He was closely associated with Young India Movement lunched by Derozio.

Devdas Mohandas Gandhi (1900-1957)

• Devadas Gandhi started his journalistic career as an apprentice in the Indian Opinion, Young India and other journals started by his father Mahatma Gandhi to promote the national cause.
• He became active in his father ‘s movement, spending many terms in jail.
• In 1939, he also served as the Managing Editor of Hindustan Times.

Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve (1858-1962)

• Dr. Karve, popularly known as Maharishi Karve established the widow Marriage Association (Vidhva Vivahottejak Mandali) in 1893.
• In 1896 he founded an educational institution, Hindu Widows Home for widows.
• In 1916 he establish the first university for women in India, with five students.
• In 1936, Karve started Primary Education Society with the goal of opening primary schools in villages which had no schools run by the district local boards.
• In 1944, he founded the Samat Sangh (Association for the Promotion of Human Equality).

Dinabandhu Mitra (1829-1873)

• In 1860, Dinabandhu Mitra, an inspector of the post office department, published his first play titled Nil Darpan which was critical of the indigo trade.
• His other famous works play are Nabin Tapasvini (1863), Biye Pagla Budo (1866), Sadhabar Ekadashi (1866), Lilavati (1867), Jamai Barik (1873) and Kamale Kamini (1873).

Dr. Hari Singh Gour (1870-1949)

• Gour was the First VC of the University of Delhi and Nagpur.
• In the Central Legislative Assembly, he brought Civil Marriage Bill, 1923.
• Some of his works are: The Law of Transfer in British India’, ‘The Penal Law of British India’ and ‘Hindu La Code’.
• He became a leader of the Opposition and of the Nationalist Party from 1921 to 1934.
• He founded and was also the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sagar in 1946.

Durgabai Deshmukh (1909-1981)

Before Independence

• Durga is mostly referred to as the Mother of Social Service.
• She participated in Gandhi-led Salt Satyagraha activities during the Civil Disobedience Movement and was jailed.
• In 1937, she established the Andhra Mahila Sabha in Madras.
• She was instrumental in initiating the ‘Hindi Balika Patasala’, to promote Hindi education for girls.

After Independence

• She was a member of the Constituent Assembly and of the Planning Commission.
• She was also the founder chairperson of the Central Social Welfare Board.
• She was the first chairperson of the National Council on Women’s Education, established by the Government of India in 1958.

E.V. Ramaswami Naicker (1879-1973)

• E.V .R. commonly known as Periyar, joined the Indian National Congress in 1919, but resigned in 1925.
• He participated in Non-Cooperation Movement and Temperance Movement in 1920 and 1921 respectively .
• At the session of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, he declared that Manusmriti, Ramayana and such other texts that legitimise the Varna -Caste system be burnt to ashes.
• In 1924, E.V. Ramasamy participated in Vaikom Satyagraha, Kerala.
• In 1925 he founded Self-Respect Movement.
• E.V. Ramasamy organised anti-Hindi protests in 1938.
• In 1944 he named the Justice Party as Dravidar Kazhagam.

Gaganendranath Tagore (1867-1938)

• He was an Indian painter and cartoonist of the Bengal school.
• In 1907 he along with his brother Abanindranath Tagore founded the Indian Society of Oriental Art.
• He was renowned for his modernist experiments with the brush, and his satirical works based on the then prevailing social norms.

Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi (1890-1931)

• G.S. Vidhyarthiwasan Indianfreedom fighter and a journalist. He was part of the Home Rule Movement, NonCooperation Movement and leader of the first strike of textile workers in Kanpur.
• Vidhyarthi was the founder and editor of the newsweekly pratap (Hindi).

Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar (1888-1956)

• G.V. Mavalankar is popularly known as Dadasaheb Mavalankar. He was conferred with the title ‘father of the Lok Sabha’ by Jawaharlal Nehru.
• He was the president of the Central Legislative Assembly, the speaker of the constituent Assembly of India and the first speaker of the Lok Sabha.

George Sydney Arundale (1878-1945)

• Arundale was a Theosophist and president of the Theosophical Society Adyar. He was closely associated with Annie Besant. Heworked as organising secretary in the Home Rule Movement in Besant’s League.
• He was the husband of Bharatnatyam Dancer Rukimini Devi Arundale.

Gopabandhu Das (1877-1928)

• Das was a political activist, journalist, a poet and a social worker from Odisha and was popularly known as Utkal Mani.
• He established Satyabadi Bana Bidyalaya in 1909 near Puri.
• He started the weekly newspaper the samaja.
• Subhash Bose called him the father of the Nationalist Movement in Odisha.

Gopal Ganesh Agarkar (1856-1895)

• Agarkar was a social reformer, educationist and thinker from Maharashtra. He wasa close associate of Tilak.
• He started his periodical Sudharak which spoke against untouchability and caste system. He was the first editor of the weekly kesari.
• He was the cofounder of the Deccan Educational Society and Fergusson College.

Gopal Hari Deshmukh Lokhitwadi’ (1823-1892)

• G .H. Deshmukh was an activist, thinker, social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. He wrote articles aimed at social reform inthe weekly Prabhakar under the pen name Lokhitwadi. He founded Gyan Prakash, Indu Prakash and Lokhitwadi periodicals in Maharashtra.
• He wrote for the promotion of education of women and their empowerment and wrote against child marriages, dowry system, polygamy and caste system. He stood for the equality in social and religious sphere. He spoke against Hindu orthodoxy, he said, ‘If religion does not sanction social reform then change religion’.

Gopal Krishna Devadhar (1871-1935)

• Gopal Krishna Devadhar was a social reformer from Pune. He was one of the founding members of the Poona Seva Sadan in 1909 and the Servants of India Society in 1905.
• He was chiefly instrumental in the cooperative developing movement in India especially in Kerala.
• He was very concerned about the educational backwardness of India and emphasized on the need of mass education. He worked extensively in the field of female education, his efforts in this were appreciated even by the British. Devadhar alongiwth his master Gokhale championed for elementary education.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866-1915)

• Gokhale was born in a Maratha Brahmin family. He belonged to the moderate fraction of Congress. He presided Congress’s Banaras session in 1905.
• Gokhale founded the Servants of India society in 1905 for the expansion of Indian education
• Gokhale was a persuasive speaker. He utilised the legislative councils for criticizing the Indian financial system under the British. During 1910-13 he made great efforts for introducing free and compulsory education throughout India.
• He was the member of the Indian public service commission (1912-1915) and urged for increasing the representation of the Indians in the services.
• Gokhale was a follower of M.G. Ranade and was the political guru of Gandhi.

Govind Ballabh Pant (1887-1961)

• G.B. Pant was an Indian freedom fighter and activist from Uttarakhand (earlier part of the united provice).
• He had participated in the Civil Disobedience movement and Quit India Movement. He served as the chief minister of the unitedprovince from 1937-1939 under the Government of India Act, 1935.
• He served as the Union Home Minister from 1955- 1961.
• He played an important role in the movement to establish Hindi as the official language of India.
• He was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1957 for his selfless services for the nation.

Hakim Ajmal Khan (1868-1927)

• He was the founder of the Jamia Milia Islamia University and he became its first chancellor in 1920.
• He was the sole person elected to the presidency of the Indian National Congress, the Muslim League and the All India Khilafat Committee.
• His followers awarded him the title of Masih-ul-mulk.

Har Bilas Sarda (1867-1955)

• H.S. Sarda was an Indian academic, judge and politician from Ajmer, Rajasthan.
• He is known for introducing the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 also known as Sarda act which fixed the age of marriage for girls at 14 years and boys at 18.

Hasrat Mohani (1875-1951)

• Hasrat mohani was an independence activist and an Urdu poet. ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ was coined by him in 1921.
• He was attracted to radical nationalist ideas and was moved by the modern ideas of self-government.

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (1809-31)

• Derozio was an Anglo-Indian reformer. He was the leader of the young Bengal movement , a radical intellectual movement. He taught at the Hindu college from 1826 to 1831.
• Derozio is also known to be the first nationalist poet of modern India.

Indulal Yagnik (1892-1972)

• Yagnik was an independence activist and writer from Gujarat and a leader of the All India kisan Sabha.
• He along with Jamnadas Dwarkadas and Shankarlal Banker and setup a Bombay paper Young India.
• He joined Gandhi in touring villages, was part of kheda Satyagraha and Home Rule movement.

Jadunath Sarkar (1870-1958)

• Jadunath Sarkar was a historian and public intellectual from Bengal.
• He was given knighthood by the British in 1929 and was the first Indian historian to gain honorary membership in the American Historical Association.
• He has written extensively on Aurangzeb and Shivaji.

Jadonang (1905-1931)

• Haipou Jadonag was a Romgmei Naga political activist and spiritual leader from Manipur.
• He started the Heraka religious movement.
• He envisaged an independent Naga country free from the British rule.
• He was hanged in 1931. His movement was carried forward by his cousin Rani Gaidinliu.

Jamnalal Bajaj (1889-1942)

• Jamnalal Bajaj took interest inGandhi’s way of life, his principles, such as ‘Ahimsh’ (non-violence), and his dedication to the poor.
• In 1921, he joined the Noncooperation movement and founded the Satyagraha Ashram at Wardha. He also participated in the flag satyagraha by defying a ban on flying the national flag.
• He was interested in initiatives such as the removal of untouchability, promotion of Hindi, Khadi and village Industries. He fought the non-admissions of Harijans into Hindu temples in Wardha.

Jayaprakash Narayan (1902-1979)

• He was an active member of Gandhian Satyagraha, the Quit India Movement and went to jail for the cause of India’s independence on a number of occasions.
• He popularized the idea of socialism in India beginning from the 1930s, along with great socialists like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru.
• He formed the Congress Socialist Party to spread the socialistic principles in the country.
• Soon after the independence, he formulated the Sarvodaya plans for the economic upliftment of all classes, castes, gender, and religion.
• He took to social activism and supported Acharya Bhave in the Bhoodan Movement to fight for the rights of the landless. During the 1975 emergency, he led a massive movement to evoke people against the coercive emergency and led support to the Janta Party in reviving democracy;
• In the final stages of his life, he took to politicalactivism and pledged to save India’s democracy. He was actively involved in movements against inflation, unemployment, corruption, etc.

Jatindra Nath Das (1904-1929)

• A revolutionary nationalist, Jatindra Nath Das protested against the ill treatment meted out to Indian political prisoners in jail and demanded better treatment for them.
• Jatindra Nath was also a member of Anushilan Samiti, a revolutionary grotto in Bengal. He also participated in the Non-Cooperation movement of 1921, at a young age of 17.
• In 1929, he was imprisoned after the Lahore conspiracy case along with Bhagat Singh. He died in the jail after 63 days of hunger strike.

Jatindranath Mukherjee (1879-1915)

• Jatindranath was an ardent follower of Swami Vivekananda and Aurobindo Ghosh.
• He was an active member of the revolutionary societies-the Jugantar, the Anushilan Samiti and the Ghadar party. He participated in several revolutionary activities against the British.
• While in Government service, he knocked down with blows and kicks four British soldiers, who had insulted the ‘native .
• He wrestled with, and killed a tiger with a dagger. He was thus, fondly called, Bagha Jatin.

Jatindra Mohan Sengupta (1885-1933)

• In 1921, Jatindra Mohan participated in the Non-Cooperative Movement called by Mahatma Gandhi and was made the Chairman of the Bengal Reception Committees of the INC.
• In 1923 he became an elected member of the Bengal Legislative Council.
• In 1925, he was elected as the President of Bengal Swaraj Party.
• Later, he led the Congress Party in the Bengal Legislative Council.
• People used to call him ‘Deshpriya’ for his altruistic contribution towards the well-being of his people and his country.

J.B. Kripalani (1888-1982)

• A true follower of Gandhi, Acharya Kripalani worked for Gandhi’s ashrams in Gujarat, Maharashtra and later in Bihar and the United Provinces in northern India.
• Since 1920, he got himself involved in Congress work and actively participated in Salt Satyagraha and Quit India Movement and even went to jail on several occasions.
• Elected as the president of INC in 1946. He looked after the transfer of power during the disruptive period of partition and independence.
• He resigned from the Congress party and floated the Krishak Mazdoor Praja Party, which later merged into the Praja Socialist Party.
• In 1975, he was arrested following the protest he caused against Indira Gandhi’s authoritarian style of leadership.

Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee (1895-1969)

• He was a revolutionary, who was associated with the Anushilan samiti in Bengal, but later on moved to Kanpur.
• He was one of the founders of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in 1928. Later, he also founded the Revolutionary Socialist Party in 1940.
• He was arrested in the Kakori Conspiracy case and sentenced to transportation for life.
• He spent 24 years in various jails during which he was on hunger strike for about two and a half years on several occasion, the longest being 142 days at a stretch.

Jyotirmoyee Ganguli (1889-1945)

• She joined government service at an early age but resigned from service during Civil Disobedience movement.
• She took part in anti-British demonstrations and propagated the policies of the Congress.
• She was an intrepid agitator who lost her life demanding release of INA prisoners in 1945.

Kailash Nath Katju (1887-1969)

• He defended the accused in the Meerut Conspiracy Case in 1933.
• He was a member of the constituent assembly of India and was also the Governor of Odisha and Bengal from 1948-1951.
• He served as Minister of Home Affairs, Government of India in 1951 before being elected as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in 1957.

Kadambini Ganguly (1861-1923)

• She was one of the first woman graduates. She did her graduation from the University of Calcutta. She was also one of the first Indian woman graduates in Medical Sciences.
• She was actively involved r female emancipation and social movements to improve work conditions of female coal miners in eastern India.
• She attended the Bombay session of the Indian National Congress in 1889 with six other woman and in 1890 at Calcutta session of the Congress she was the first woman to speak from the platform of the Congress.

Kalpana Datta (1913-1995)

• A famous Woman revolutionary of Bengal and a member of the Indian Republican army led by Surya Sen.
• She was the leader of the Chittagong Armoury raid.
• She actively joined Chhatri Sangha, a small revolutionary group which gave her an opportunity to plunge herself in freedom struggle.
• In 1939, she joined the communist party of India and married the Communist leader P. C. Joshi.

Kamla Devi Chattopadhyaya (1903-1988)

• She participated in Salt Satyagraha movement, and was the first woman in Bombay Presidency to be arrested for breaking the salt laws.
• She joined the Seva Dal, an organization that trained volunteers in crowd control, self-protection, and first aid and camp life during the freedom struggle. She became the commander of the women’s volunteers’ corps during the civil disobedience movement.
• She was the President of the All-India Women’s conference (AIWC) and the Indian cooperative union and chaired All-India Handicrafts board and All-India Designs Centre, etc.
• The Government of India conferred on her the Padma Bhushan in 1955 and later with the Padma Vibhushan in 1987. She also received the Ramon Magsasay award in 1966 for Community leadership.
• UNESCO awarded her in 1977 for her contribution towards the promotion of handicrafts.

Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (1887-1971)

• An active participant in Indian independence movement, he participated in Salt satyagrah of 1930, and was also arrested several times including during Quit India Movement of 1942.
• He believed in the idea of unity between Hindu and Muslims through Akhand Hindustan.
• A true environmentalist, Munshi initiated the Vanmahotsav to increase area under the forest cover in 1950, when he was Union Minister of Food and Agriculture.
• He also served as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh from 1952-1957.

Kandukuri Veeresalingam (1848-1919)

• Veeresalingam was one of the early social reformers who encouraged women education, widow remarriage and fought against the Dowry system.
• He wrote journals like Viveka Vardhini, Satihita Bodhini to highlight women’s problem. Also, he started a Remarriage Association to ensure Widow Remarriage and established a Widow home.
• Greatly inspired by the principles of Brahmo samaj, he opened a Brahmo Mandir in Rajamundhry in 1887.
• He also served as one of the members of the first meeting of the Indian National Congress in 1885.
• The Government, in appreciation of his work, conferred on him the title of Rao Bahadur in 1893.

Kasturba Gandhi (1869-1944)

• She was the wife of Mahatma Gandhi.
• She was among the first of the Satyagrahis, or non-violent resisters, sent from Phoenix near Durban into the Transvaal to protest the decision of the South African government to declare all non-Christian marriages null and void.
• In 1917, when Gandhi took up the cause of the indigo planters, Kasturba joined her husband and worked for welfare of the women. She taught cleanliness, discipline and reading and writing to the village women and children.
• In 1922, Kasturba participated in a Satyagraha movement in Gujarat and participated in many civil disobedience campaigns and marches.
• She was arrested in 1942 and breathed her last at the Aga Khan Palace Detention Camp on Bapu’s lap on February 24, 1944.

Keshub Chandra Sen (1838-1884)

• He advocated female education, supported widow remarriage and denounced polygamy.
• Briefly appointed as a secretary of Asiatic society.
• In 1863 he wrote The Brahma Samaj Vindicated’.
• He also worked against the practice of Child marriage.
• However, in 1878, his followers abandoned him after the underage child marriage of his daughter.
• He was a member of Brahmo Samaj and later founded the Brahmo Samaj of India after his differences with Debendra Nath Tagore.
• He was instrumental behind the foundation of the Indian Reform Association in 1870, which operated with an objective of improving the life of the peasants.
• Keshub Chandra Sen started publishing a newspaper named the New Dispensation in March 1881, to disseminate his ideas and philosophy in a better way.

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890-1988)

• Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan founded the Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of God), commonly known as the Red Shirts or Surkh Posh, in order to protest against the British by means of peaceful protests and political activism.
• He was strongly against the partition of India and dreamed of creating a united, independent and secular India.
• Also known as Frontier Gandhi for his close association with Mahatma Gandhi and his principles, he was conferred with the Bharat Ratna in 1987 (first nonIndian to receive this award).

Khudiram Bose (1889-1908)

• He was part of the Yugantar group.
• On 30 April 1908, Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki threw a bomb at a carriage supposedly carrying Chief Presidency Magistrate Kingsford but unfortunately killed two innocent English ladies instead.
• First Indian revolutionary to throw bomb at British Official
• He was captured, tried and hanged.
• He calmly offered to explain the process of making bomb in court when Judge asked for any final words.

Lakshminath Bezbarua (1868-1938)

• He was an Assamese writer, popularly known as Sahityarathi.
• Married in Brahmo samaj tradition and refused to accept dowry.
• Honored by title ‘Roxo Raj’ – the King of Humor.
• Crusader of official place for Assamese language in the state Courts, schools etc.
• His poem, ‘0, Mor aponar desh’, was adopted as Assam’s State Anthem.
• His prominent book ‘Burhi Aair Sadhu’.

Lala Hardayal (1884-1939)

• He was the Founding member of Ghadar party and its first general secretry and editor in 1913.
• He turned down carrier in Indian Civil Service.
• He helped in establishing Berlin Committee for Indian Independence with the help of German foreign office under Zimmerman plan.
• He was secretary of the San Francisco branch of the Anarcho-syndicalist Industrial workers of the world.
• He was a mercurial intellectual and served as Professor in Stanford University to teach Indian Philosophy.
• His notable book – Hints for Self Culture.

Lala Lajpat Rai (1865-1928)

• Established DAV college at Lahore.
• Prominent Extremist Leader, popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab and Punjab Kesari.
• Deported to Mandalay in 1907 for involvement in riots in canal colonies of the Punjab.
• He founded Indian Home Rule League of America in New York in 1917.
• Presided over special session of Indian National Congress, Calcutta in 1920.
• Advocated technical education and industrial self help.
• He wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji and Shrikrishna.
• Later he was part of the communal group known as ‘Responsivists’, offering cooperation to government to protect ‘Hindu interests’.
• He initiated a resolution in Central Legislative Assembly on Simon Commission’s boycott.
• He was martyred in a brutal lathi-charge while leading Anti-Simon Demonstration in Lahore in 1928.
• He was the Founder-Editor of The Bande Mataram’, The Punjabee’ and The People’.
• He authored – Unhappy India, Young India: An interpretation, the Story of My Deportation, Arya Samaj, The United States of America: A Hindu’s Impression, England’s debt to India.
• As a visionary he founded the Punjab National Bank and Lakshmi Insurance Company at Lahore.

Lai Mohan Ghosh (1849-1909)

• He was a prominent member of British Indian Association.
• He was a firm believer of the necessity of Western Education for India.
• He visited England with grievances of Indians and pleaded for the repeal of the Press Act and the Arms Act and raising the upper limit of the age of eligibility for candidates competing at the Indian Civil Service examination. He served as president in the 1903 session of Indian Congress.

Liaquat Ali Khan (1895-1951)

• He was a prominent leader of Muslim League.
• Along with Bhulabhai Desai, came up with a draft proposal for the formation of Interim government, also known as ‘Desai-Liquat Pact’.
• He was finance minister in Interim government (1946-47) and the First Prime Minister of Pakistan.
• He pioneered the foreign policy of Pakistan preferring closer relations with US than USSR.

M.A. Ansari (1880-1936)

• He was a Qualified surgeon andan Educationist and the founder of Jamia Millia Islamia University.
• He organised All India Medical Mission to help Turkey in 1912-13.
• He also participated in Home rule league movement, Khilafat, non Cooperation and Civil Disobedience movement.
• In post Non-cooperation phase he opposed Council entry and advocated constructive work.
• He served as the President of Muslim League in 1918 and 1920 and the President of Indian National Congress in 1927.
• He founded All India Nationalist Muslim Party in 1929.
• Trivia: Vice President Hamid Ansari is his Grand Nephew.

Madam Bhikaji Cama (1861-1936)

• She was a Parsi Revolutionary.
• In 1896, Bubonic Plague spread in Bombay and she volunteered to help the victims.
• She too contracted the disease and left for London to recover.
• She had close connections with French Socialist leaders like Jean Longuet.
• She founded Paris Indian Society in Paris.
• Brought out ‘Bande Mataram’ and ‘Madan’s Talwar’.
• In 1907, she designed and Unfurled the Flag of Indian Independence at the International Socialist Conference in Stuttgart , Germany.

Madan Lai Dhingra (1883-1909)

• He went to England in 1906 to study engineering.
• Member of Indian Home Rule Society, Abhinava Bharata Mandal and India house.
• He assassinated Sir William Curzon Wylie, an advisor to Secretary of State for India.
• Winston Churchill admired his patriotic attitude and remarked that his last words were the finest ever made in the name of patriotism.
• However, his family publicly disowned him.

Madeleine Slade (1892-1982)

• Gandhi gave her the nick name Mira Behn.
• Actively participated in Civil Disobedience and Quit India Movement.
• Accompanied Gandhi to round table conference-ll in London 1931.
• She pleaded India’s case with foreign leaders including Mrs Roosevelt.
• Post independence, she wrote an Essay ‘Something wrong in the Himalaya’ regarding destruction of forests and its impacts on floods in the plains.
• She published ‘Bapu’s Letters to Mira’ and ‘New and old Gleanings’ and Autobiography The Spirits Pilgrimage’.

Madhav Shrihari Aney (1880-1968)

• He was an ardent follower of Tilak.
• He participated in Indian Home rule league and Civil Disobedience Movement.
• He joined the responsivist group part of Swaraj party in 1926.
• He was one of the founders of Congress Nationalist Party in 1934.
• He became member of Viceroy’s executive council in 1941 but resigned in 1943 when government refused to release Gandhi who was on a fast. He was also the First Governor of Bihar in Free India.
• He wrote biography of Tilak in Sanskrit ‘Shritilakayashornava’.

Mahadev Desai (1892-1942)

• He was persona! secretary to Gandhi and kept a record of Gandhi’s life in his diary.
• He actively participated in Champaran satyagraha, Non Cooperation movement, Civil Disobedience movement , Individual satyagraha and Quit India Movement.
• His report on prison conditions published in Young India and Navjivan forced the government to introduce jail reforms.
• He wrote a number of famous books: ‘Gita according to Gandhi’, English translation of ‘My experiments with truth’.

Manindra Nath Banerjee

• He was a member of Hindustan Republican Association.
• He killed his maternal uncle Dy SP JN Banerji who was investigating the Kakori conspiracy case.
• He was tried and sentenced to jail for 10 years.
• He went on an indefinite fast to protest the inhuman treatment meted to him in jail.
• At the end of 66th day of his fast he died in Fatehgarh Central Jail in 1934.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958)

• He was an epitome of Indian secularism and founder of Jamia Millia Islamia University.
• He joined revolutionary terrorist groups during Swadeshi movement.
• His weeklies Al Hilal (1912) and Al Balagh (1915) propagated nationalist ideas and were banned by government.
• He was made the head of Khilafat committee.
• He was one of the organisers of Dharasana Satyagraha in 1931.
• He served as President of Congress at Delhi session(1923) and Ramgarh session (1940).
• He endorsed the Nehru report (1928) which the Muslim league termed Pro-Hindu.
• He headed the Congress delegation at Shimla Conference in 1945.
• He also served as the Minister of Education in Interim govt (1946) and free India.
• He established various Institutes – Sangeet Natak Academy, Lalit Kala Academy, NTs, UGC etc.
• He was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1992.
• His birthday, 11 November is celebrated as National Education Day.
• He wrote an autobiography ‘India Wins Freedom’.
• Ghubar-e-Khatir was one of the most important works.

Margaret Elizabeth Noble (Sister Nivedita) (1867-1911)

• She was an educationist and promoted the ideas of Froebel and Pestallozzi.
• She became a disciple of Swami Vivekanand and joined Ramakrishna mission.
• She gave political color to messages of Vivekanand using her experience of Irish and other European revolutionary movements.
• She established school for girls,worked for women upliftment and criticised the racial policies of British Government.
• She organised relief work during 1899 plague and 1905 Bengal famine.
• She wrote a number of books: The Master as I Saw him’ and The Web of Indian life’, Kali the Mother , Cradle Tales of Hinduism, Notes of some wanderings with the Swami Vivekananda and more.

Matangini Hazra (1870-1924)

• She was a Gandhian leader from W . Bengal, also known as Old lady Gandhi (Buri Gandhi).
• She participated in Salt satyagraha and in agitations against Chowkidari tax.
• During the Quit India Movement, she was leading a procession of around 6000 mostly women in Tamluk when she was shot by police.
• In 2002, ‘5 stamp was issued by Govt of India bearing her image.

Maulana Mohammad Ali (1878-1931)

• Maulana Mohammad Ali, one of the famous Ali brothers, was one of the founders of Muslim League.
• He led the Khilafat Movement in India and supported INC in its noncooperation movement.
• He was the sixth Muslim to become the president of INC.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1947)

• Mohammad Ali Jinnah was the leader of Muslim league and the founder of Pakistan.
• He was a pioneer in demanding a separate nation from British India. For this, he passed Pakistan resolution at the Lahore session of the Muslim league in 1940. His insistence on this issue through negotiations with the British government resulted in the partition of India and the formation of the state of Pakistan on 14 August 1947 and he became the first governor general of Pakistan.

Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya (1861- 1962)

• He is commonly known as the father of Engineering in India and is also considered as father of modern Indian industrialization.
• He established many schools and universities.
• The British gave him the title of M.Visvesvaraya ‘Knight Commander of the Indian Empire’.
• Under his able leadership, many new Economic features were added to state of Mysore.
• He designed a new system of floodgates and was first to introduce the block system of irrigation in India. He also laid his contribution outside India.
• He was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1955.

Motilal Nehru (1861-1931)

• He renounced his legal practice in response to the non-cooperation called by Gandhi.
• He was arrested in 1921.
• He along with C.R. Das formed a political party within Congress as Congress Swarajist party of which Motilal Nehru was one of the secretaries.
• He also formulated a report known as Nehru Report in support to anti-Simon campaign. He was twice the president of the sessions of Indian National Congress.

M. Venkatakrishnaiah (1844-1933)

• M. Venkatakrishnaiah, also known as Grand Old man of Mysore or Tataiah, was one of the prominent journalist who wrote thought provoking articles during the British Reign, that helped sow the seeds of nationalism.
• He started a series of newspapers like Hita Bodhini, Sadhvi and Vrittanta Chintamani etc.

M.N. Roy (1887-1954)

• The founder of communist party of India, was an illustrious founder of the political movement known as ‘Radical Humanism’.
• He was a great revolutionary and a political activist who participated in the armed struggle in India against the British Empire.
• He also participated in the revolutionary activities in Mexico and China.
• He later became a communist leader and was the editor of the communist journal Vanguard.
• He was the first Indian to be elected as president of Communist International.
• He had a rare distinction of having worked with world revolutionary figures like Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin.

M. S. Golwalkar (1906-1973)

• He later became the sarchangchalak of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh and was anardent follower of Hindu religion.
• His ideas are summarized in the book ‘Bunch of thoughts’.
• His ideology was communal and had hatred for Muslim and Christians.

Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938)

• He was a famous poet, philosopher, lawyer and politician from British India.
• He is believed to be the inspiration behind the historical ‘Pakistan Movement’.
• He became one of the most important contributors to the Urdu literature.
• For his extraordinary personality, he was knighted by King George V in 1922.

Mukund Ramrao Jayakar (1873-1959)

• A member of Bombay corporation, was also member of committee appointed by the Congress to inquire into atrocities in Punjab.
• Along with Jinnah, he was secretary of the all parties Round table conference to solve the political impasse.

Nabagopal Mitra (1840-1894)

• Naba Gopal Mitra was a Bengali playwright and poet.
• He founded several institutions which promulgated the spirit of self-help, self-reliance and promoted Indian art and culture. One such famous institute is the Hindu Mela in 1867.

Nellie Sengupta (1886-1973)

• Nellie Sengupta was one of the few British who supported the cause of India’s Independence.
• She was married to an eminent nationalist Jatindra Sen Gupta and actively participated in the boycott and other movements.
• She supported both moderates and extremist.
• She was the president of 1933 Congress session of Calcutta. 102. M. S. Golwalkar (1906-1973)

Nanibala Devi (1888-1967)

• Nanibala Devi was a powerfulI revolutionary who joined the ‘Yugantar’ group led by her nephew Amarendranath Chattopadhya and actively contributed to the freedom struggle through this organization.
• She also became the first woman prisoner at Calcutta jail but was released in 1919, after which she remained passive.

Narayan Malhar Joshi (1879-1955)

• N.M.Joshi was instrumental in the founding of social service league in 1911 for improving the condition of common masses.
• In 1909, he joined servants of Indian Society and took up the cause of labour .
• He broke away from AITUC in 1931 and formed the all India trade Union federation.

Narayan Meghaji Lokhande (1848-1897)

• N. M. Lokhande was a pioneer in the labour movement in India.
• He is also known as the father of trade union in India.
• He is remembered not only for ameliorating the working conditions of textile mill-hands in the 19th century but also for his courageous initiatives on caste and communal issues.

Narasimha Chintaman Kelkar (1872-1947)

• Narsimha Chintaman Kelkar was one of Lokmanya Tilak’s closest associates.
• He edited Tilak’s Mahratta and Kesari and in 1920, he served as President of Bombay Provincial Conference.
• He was a member of the Central Legislative Assembly for 3 years and a member of the Congress Working Committee for several years.

N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar (1882-1953)

• A member of the Constituent Assembly, Ayyangar was the chief drafter of article370, which granted local autonomy to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
• After serving as the Prime Minister of Kashmir from 1937-1943, he also got a place in the Council of State from 1943-1947. During this period, he chaired the Committee for the Indianisation of Army.
• He was a leader of the Rajya Sabha and also headed Ministry of Railways from 1948-1952.

Nilakantha Das (1884-1967)

• He used literature as a powerful medium to eradicate prevailing social ills. Many of his writings were a frontal attack on the existing social taboos. He also organized many salt campaigns in different parts of Odisha.
• He was elected as the member of Odisha Legislative Assembly in 1951.

N. Kumaran Asan (1873-1924)

• Some of his works like Subramanya Sathakam and Sankara Sathakam, echoedhis devotional aspirations.
• He also wrote the epic poem Buddha Charitha and some other poetic works with a Hindu, Buddhist tilt.
• Kumaran Asan was the only Malayalam poet who became mahakavi without writing a mahakavyam.

Sri Narayan Guru (1856-1928)

• Born into an Ezhava family (socially backward Hindu community), he was a social reformer from Kerala who led a reform movement against casteism and promoted new values of spiritual freedom and social equality.
• He propagated the message of Social Srj Narayan Guru Justice and Equality, Secularism, freedom from oppression and empowerment of the poor and marginalised through socio-economic upliftment and education.
• Started ‘Shri Narayan Guru Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Movement’ and initiated a Program of action ‘SNDP Yogam’, (1903).
• Aravippuram Movement: On ‘Sivarathri’ (1888), he, despite belonging to lower caste, installed an idol of Shiva at Aravippuram to show that consecration of a god’s image was not a monopoly of Brahmins.
• Vaikom Satyagraha: He met Gandhi and helped end the Mahatma’s belief in the Varna system.
• Chathaya dinam: Sri Narayan’s birthday, is celebrated as a festival in Kerala.
• His philosophy was ‘Oru jathi, oru matham, oru daivam’ (One caste, one religion, one god).
• Dr. Shashi Tharoor received the “First Sri Narayan Guru Global Secular & Peace Award 2013”.

Nyapathi Subba Rao Pantulu (1856-1941)

• He was a freedom fighter, Journalist, Literary personality and Politician; served as a member of Madras Legislative Council (1893-1909).
• He was the founding member of The Hindu’.
• He was the earliest to voice the demand for separation of Andhra from the Madras Presidency (1914).
• He was started the ‘Hindu Samajam’ in 1903.
• He was made the first secretary of the ‘Hitakarini Samajam’ founded by Veeresalingam.

P. Ananda Charlu (1843-1908)

• P. Ananda Charlu organised several political campaigns prior to the existence of the Indian National Congress.
• In 1884, he founded the Madras Mahajan Sabha to create public opinion. His efforts with other leaders prepared the ground for the establishment of the Indian National Congress.
• He presided over the annual session of the Congress at Nagpur in 1891.
• The the split of Congress he was on the sides of Moderates.

Dr. Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya (1880-1959)

• On the eve of the Salt Satyagraha campaign (1930), Dr . Pattabhi toured villages in South India and spoke about the significance of the campaign and broke the Salt Law.
• Sitaramayya was chosen to participate in Gandhi ji’s individual Satyagrahh in 1940-41. He was also arrested during the Quit India Movement.
• Under the Cabinet Mission Plan, he was elected to the Constituent Assembly to work out a Constitution. In 1948, he presided the Jaipur session of the Indian National Congress.
  He was a member of the J V P Committee (Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Pattabhi) which rejected the reorganization of states on linguistic lines. Later, Andhra state was formed after a 56-day hunger strike by Potti Sriramulu.
• He served as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh from 1952 to 1957.

Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati (1858-1922)

• Pandita Ramabai founded a school named Sharada Sadan in Bombay for education of women, especially widows. She also established Mukti Mission, a rescue home, to provide shelter to destitute women.
• The British Government awarded the Kaiser-I Hind medal to Pandita Ramabai for her services to the community.
• The Government of India recognized her contributions for the upliftment of women in India and issued a commemorative stamp in 1989.

Pandurang Mahadev Bapat (1880-1967)

• He led the famous Mulshi Satyagraha against the Tata Hydroelectric Project which submerged 54 villages. His inspiring leadership in this revolutionary movement earned him the title ‘Senapati’
• Post-independence, Bapat played a vital role in the struggle for Samyukta Maharashtra and took part in the Goa liberation movement.
• He acquired the title ‘Senapati Bapat ‘.
• He was also imprisioned for Alipore bombing.

Pherozeshah Mehta (1845-1915)

• Pherozeshah Mehta was one of the founding members of the Indian National Congress as well as the Bombay Presidency Association. He presided over the INC Calcutta session held in 1890.
• He started an English newspaper, the Bombay Chronicle in 1910 for expressing Indian public opinion towards the nationalist movement.
• PherozeShah was knighted by the British Government in India for his service to the law. He was popularly called as the ‘Uncrowned King of Bombay’ for his social work.

Partap Singh Kairon (1901-1965)

• Sardar Partap Singh Kairon was the Chief Minister of undivided Punjab (Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh) . He is credited for rehabilitating more than three million refugees of Partition in less than 10 years of India’s partition.
• He was jailed for participating in civil disobedience movement (1932) and Quit-lndia movement (1942).
• Kairon played a key role in Punjab’s Green Revolution through various steps including implementation of land reforms and establishment of Punjab Agricultural University.

Pritilata Waddedar (1911-1932)

• Pritilata Waddedar was a Bengali revolutionary nationalist. Her dogged determination to eliminate British supremacy forced Surya Sen to accept Pritilata as a Woman comrade in his revolutionary group.
• An active participant in many anti- British campaigns, she helped the group in strategizing attacks on the telegraph office, railway lines and reserve police lines. She also supplied explosives to the revolutionaries in the Jalalabad battle.
• Preetilata successfully led the group that attacked the Pahartali European Club which posted a sign that read “Dogs and Indians not allowed.” After successfully raiding the club, she swallowed cyanide and committed suicide at a young age of 21 to avoid.

Purushottam Das Tandon (1882-1962)

• A freedom fighter, Purushottam Das Tandon was a member of Lok Sevak Sangh and the Congress committee constituted for studying the Jallianwala Bagh incident.He was arrested by the colonial Government for his participation in the non-cooperation movement and Satyagraha in 1921 and 1930 respectively.
• He worked extensively with the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan and the Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti to bring the Hindi language at the forefront.
• Being a staunch believer of ahimsa or non-violence, he avoided use of leather and preferred rubber chappals.
• For his exceptional contribution in public affairs, he was honoured with India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 1961.
• He was fondly called ‘Rajarshi’ for his giving and unselfish nature.
• He is remembered for his efforts for making Hindi official language.

Radhakanta Deb (1784-1867)

• Radhakanta opposed any interference by the Government in the socio-religious life of the people. He came forward to defend even the inhuman custom of Sati when the Government contemplated its abolition.
• Radhakanta was a great advocate of female education in India. He also had a great interest in promoting education, especially English among Hindus.
• He published Shabda Kalpadruma, a dictionary of Sanskrit language, in eight volumes which earned him global recognition.
• He was the founder President of British India Association.

Raja Mahendra Pratap (1886-1979)

• One of the few princes who sincerely tried to liberate India from British Raj.
• In 1915, he established the first Provisional Government of free India at Kabul in Afghanistan, during the First World War.
• At the age of 28, Raja Mahendra Pratap went abroad to liberate India from the clutches of the colonial rule with outside support. While in United States, he worked in cooperation with the Hindustan Ghadar Party from where he was sent as their emissary to Tibet to organize a rebellion against the British.
• He was nominated for Noble Peace Prize 1932.
• Post-independence, he defeated Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the second Lok Sabha elections held in 1957.

Rajendra Nath Lahiri (1901-1927)

• A Bengali freedom fighter, Rajendra Nath Lahiri participated in various revolutionary activities of the Hindustan Republican Association aimed at ousting the British rule from India.
• Dakshineswar bombing incident was one of his earliest episodes of his revolutionary acts. Later, Lahiri participated in the Kakori train robbery in 1925.
• He was arrested and imprisoned for 10 years in Dakshineswar Case. Later, he was found guilty in Kakori Conspiracy case for which he was hanged to death.

Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar (1837-1925)

• He was elected as a non-official member to the Viceroy’s legislative council in 1903. He was also awarded with the title of the companion of the order of the Indian empire (CIE) by the colonial Government.
• Being part of a public meeting that concluded religious reforms is the basis of social reforms, he helped in the foundation of Prarthana Samaj in 1867.
• In 1853, he joined Paramhansa Sabha, a secret society founded to oppose evils of caste system.

Ramakrishna Paramhansa (1836-1886)

• Having practiced various religions including Islam and Christianity, RamaKrishna Paramhansa preached that all religions follow different paths that lead to a single goal i.e. God.
• His influence reached to all strata of the society as he never differentiated between devotees based on caste.
• He preached adavita Vedanta and was a priest at the Dakshineswar Temple.
• Ramakrishna spent considerable time training his disciples, among whom Swami Vivekananda stood foremost. Vivekananda established the Ramakrishna Mission in 1897 to carry out the visions of his guru and dedicated the establishment in service of the society.

Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950)

• Born in Tamil Nadu, he moved to Arunachala hill (in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu) to attain knowledge, later toured all over country to preach.
• He was a Nayanar sage who believed in Advaita Vedanata philosophy and was regarded as ‘avtara’ and ‘jivanmukta (one is believed to have gained self knowledge and become liberated)’.

Rama Tirtha (1873-1907)

• Born in Gujranwala District of Punjab, Ram Tirtha was preacher of philosophy of Vedanta, focusing on the concept of ‘practical Vedanta.
• He lectured about Hinduism in United States in 1902, preceded by Swami Vivekananda in 1893 and followed by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1920.

Rajendra Prasad (1884-1963)

• He was first President of India, who remained in office from 1952 to 1962.
• Prasad was a lawyer by training and was active in Freedom struggle from his native state Bihar since his college days.
• He was an important volunteer of Mahatma Gandhi during Champaran Satyagrah.
• During Non-Cooperation Movement of 1930, he left the lucrative career as a lawyer on the appeal of Gandhi.
• He was imprisoned during Salt Satyagrah in 1931 and Quit India movement of 1942.
• Prasad served as President of the Indian National Congress from 1934 to 1935.
• After the 1946 elections, Prasad was given charge of ministry of food and agriculture in the central government.
• After independence in 1947, Prasad was elected president of the Constituent Assembly of India, which served two fold: to prepare the Constitution of India and also to serve as its provisional parliament till first formal elections.
• He was conferred upon Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian award in 1962.

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur (1889-1964)

• She was an eminent freedom fighter and Gandhian, a member of constituent assembly and became first health minister of independent India- first woman to hold Cabinet rank.
• She participated in Dandi March (1930) and Quit India Movement (1942) and served sentences for it.
• She co-founded All India Women’s Conference in 1927, became its President in 1933.

Ram Manohar Lohia (1910-1967)

• He was freedom fighter and a nationalist political leader and an eminent Gandhian.
• After completing his BA from Calcutta University, He decided to attend Berlin University, Germany over all prestigious educational institutes in Britain to convey his dim view of British philosophy.
• While in Europe, Lohiya protested against Maharaja of Bikaner, a well-known British puppet in League of Nations assembly in Geneva. He wrote letters to editors of newspaper to clarify the reasons for his protest and became a recognized figure in India overnight.
• To preserve and expand Indian nationalism outside of India, Lohiya helped organize the Association of European Indians and became secretary of the club.
• Lohiya wrote his Phd thesis paper on the topic of ‘Salt Satyagraha’, focusing on Gandhi’s socio-economic theory.
• Lohiya was attracted to socialism and helped lay the foundation of Congress Socialist Party in 1934.
• Lohiya printed and distributed many posters, pamphlets and bulletins on the theme of ‘Do or Die’, during Quit India movement of 1942 on his secret printing-press.
• He along with freedom fighter Usha Mehta, broadcasted messages in Bombay for three whole months before detection from a secret radio station called ‘Congress Radio’ as a measure to give the disarrayed Indian population a sense of hope and spirit in absence of their leaders.
• He was arrested for anti-British remarks in 1939 and again in 1940; and again in 1944-46.
• Lohiya and other CSP members left the Congress in 1948. He became a member of the Praja Socialist Party upon its formation in 1952 and served as general secretary for a brief period, but internecine conflicts led to his resignation in 1955.
• Later that year Lohia established a new Socialist Party, for which he became chairman as well as the editor of its journal, Mankind.

Ram Prasad Bismil (1897-1927)

• Bismil was a revolutionary of Hindustan Republican Association, well known for his role in Mainpuri conspiracy of 1918, and the Kakori conspiracy of 1925.
• He was also a well-known poet, writer and orator, best known for his revolutionary poem ‘Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna’.
• Bismil was sentenced to death for Kakori conspiracy along with Ashfaqulla Khan, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Nath Lahiri.

Rao Bahadur Sabapathy Mudaliar (1886-1953)

• He was the moral force behind Sarmarga Samaj movement which aimed at social equality for all and spiritual and intellectual upliftment of the needy.
• He set up schools and hospitals for the poor.

Ram Chandra Bharadwaj (1886-1918)

• President of the Ghadar Party between 1914 and 1917, founding editors of the ‘Hindustan Ghadar’ and a key leader of the party in its role in the ‘Indo-German Conspiracy’ during first world war.
• He was key in rallying the support of the South Asian community in the Pacific Coast in the wake of the Komagata Maru incident for the planned February mutiny of Ghadar Party.

Rani Gaidinliu (1915-1993)

• A freedom fighter from the state of Manipur, who joined the Heraka religious movement at the age of 13. Heraka movement later turned into a political movement seeking to drive out the British from Manipur and the surrounding Naga areas. (Heraka reformist religion recognises supremacy of one God who is behind creation of nature be it air, water or earth).
• She urged the people not to pay taxes and not to work for the British which were the practices of the freedom struggle at that time. She even went underground and led many attacks on the British administration. In 1932, Rani Gaidinliu was arrested along with her followers and sentenced to life imprisonment.
• Jawaharlal Nehru met her at Shillong Jail in 1937, described Gaidinliu as a daughter of the hills and he gave her the title ‘Rani’ or Queen of her people.
• After the Interim Government of India was set up in 1946, Rani Gaidinliu was released on Prime Minister Nehru’s orders from Tura jail, having spent 14 years in various prisons in 1947. Even after release she continued to work for the upliftment of Zeliangrong people after her release.

Rash Behari Bose (1886-1945)

• A revolutionary leader who is known for being key organizer of Ghadar movement and Indian Independence League, which later became Indian National Army.
• He was associated with Anushilan Samiti.
• Japanese Government honoured him with the Order of the Rising Sun (2nd grade).
• Was involved in Delhi conspiracy (1912) to attack Lord Hardinge.

Rehana Tyabji (1901-1975)

• She was an eminent Gandhian and freedom fighter.
• She played an important role in non cooperation and boycott movements, and served one year jail during Quit India Movement and was actively involved in social movements against communalism, untouchability etc.

Romesh Chandra Dutt (1848-1909)

• Earlier a civil servant, Dutt became a major economic historian of India of the nineteenth century.
• Dutt conducted pioneering research in the field of economy, particularly on issues such as poverty of cultivators, famines, indigenous industries and impact of high taxes. In his thesis on deindustrialization of India, he presented an economic critique of drain of wealth by British government.
• His famous works include The economic History of British India, India in the Victorian age, history of civilisation in ancient India, Peasantry of Bengal and famines in India.
• Romesh Chandra Dutt was among the first Indians to clear the I. C. S examination (in 1869) and worked for the Indianisation of the Civil Services.
• After retiring from service, he joined Indian National Congress.
• He served as president of the Indian National Congress in 1899.

Sachchidananda Sinha (1871-1950)

• Sinha was an important leader from state of Bihar who was instrumental in its formation as a separate state from Bengal.
• He became first elected chairman of Constituent Assembly (temporarily). He was later replaced by Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

Sachindra Nath Sanyal (1893-1942)

• One of the earliest revolutionaries who co-founded Hindustan Republican Association, Sanyal was also associated with Anushilan Samiti and Kakori Conspiracy Case.
• He wrote the famous books Bandi Jeevan.

Sakharam Ganesh Deuskar (1869-1912)

• He was a writer, journalist and patriot, who was born in a Marathi family but wrote in Bengali language.
• His important work is Deshor Katha, which presents picture of exploitation of Indian masses.

S. Kasturi Ranga Iyengar (1859-1923)

• He was a lawyer, Indian independence activist, politician and journalist.
• He is well known for being the managing director of eminent newspaper ‘The Hindu’, during freedom struggle.

Sufi Amba Prasad (1885-1917)

• He was an Indian nationalist and panIslamist leader, who associated with revolutionaries like Har Dayal, Lala Lajpat Rai and Mahendra Pratap.
• He participated in the agrarian unrest against Bari Doab Canal act and the Colonization act in Punjab.
• He was editor of the Peshwa, and founding member of the Bharat Mata Society.

Sundara Sastri Satyamurti (1887-1943)

• He was one of the leading politicians of the Indian National Congress from the Madras Presidency, who later became Swarajists.
• He participated in protests against the Partition of Bengal, Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and the Simon Commission.
• He strongly opposed to the Caste System in Hinduism.

Subramania Bharati (1882-1921)

• He was Indian independence activist and social reformer from Tamil Nadu. Popularly known as ‘Mahakavi Bharati’.
• He was a pioneer of modern Tamil poetry.
• Sister Nivedita inspired Bharati to Subramania Bharati recognize the privileges of women and the emancipation of women.
• He edited and published the weekly journal India, Vijaya, and Bala Bharatham.

S. Srinivasa Iyengar (1874-1941)

• Iyengar protested Jallianwala Bagh massacre and participated in NonCooperation Movement, later he aligned with the Swarajya Party.
• He established the Independence of India league and organized protests against the Simon Commission.
• He wrote book on ‘Mayne’s Hindu laws’. Iyengar ‘s followers called him Lion of the South.

Surendranath Banerjee (1848-1925)

• He founded the Indian National Association. Banerjee later became a senior leader of the Indian National Congress.
• Surendra Nath also founded Indian National Liberation Federation. He was also called Rashtraguru.
• He was editor of ‘The Bengali’ newspaper.
• He cleared the Indian Civil Service examinations in 1869 and was also known as the Indian Burke.
• Surendra Nath protested the partition of the Bengal province in 1905.
• Banerjee was also one of the senior-most leaders of the moderate Congress.
• Banerjee supported the Morley-Minto reforms 1909. He was a critic of the proposed method of civil disobedience advocated by Mahatma Gandhi.

Surya Sen (1894-1934)

• Sen was a school teacher by profession and was popularly called as Master Da.
• In 1918, he was selected as President of INC Chittagong Branch and in the 1930, he laid Chittagong armory raid in Chittagong of Bengal.
• However, the group could loot the arms but they failed to get the ammunition. They hoisted the Indian National Flag on the premises of the armory, and then escaped.

Swami Sahajanand Saraswati (1889-1950)

• He was an ascetic, a nationalist and a peasant leader.
• He founded All India Kisan Sabha at the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress in April 1936.
• He founded Bihar Provincial Kisan Sabha and in Kisan Manifesto, he demanded abolition of the zamindari system and cancellation of rural debts.

Swami Shraddhanand (1856-1926)

• He was an Arya Samaj missionary who propagated the teachings of Dayananda Saraswati and established Gurukul Kangri University.
• He played a key role on the Sangathan (consolidation) and the Shuddhi (re-conversion), a Hindu reform movement in the 1920s.
• He adopted atheism and strongly influenced by Dayanand’s courage, skill, and strong personality.

Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898)

• He was a politician and Indian educator who pioneered modern education for the Muslim community in India.
• He earned a reputation as a distinguished scholar while working as a jurist for the British East India Company.
• Sir Syed founded the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875 with the aim of promoting social and economic development of Indian Muslims.
• Sir Syed was nominated to the Viceroy’s Legislative Council. He opposed the Indian National Congress on the grounds that it was a Hindu-majority organization
• In 1888, he established the United Patriotic Association at Aligarh to promote political co-operation with the British and Muslim participation in the government.

Saifuddin Kitchlew (1888-1963)

• A freedom fighter, barrister and an Indian Muslim nationalist leader.
• Remembered for the protests in Punjab after the implementation of Rowlatt Act, when he along with Dr. Satya Pal, was arrested while protesting.
• People protested their arrest in Jallianwalla Bagh which later saw the Jallianwalla Massacre.
• He gave up legal practice and participated in Noncooperation Movement (1920).

S. Subramania Iyer (1842-1924)

• He was an Indian lawyer, jurist and freedom fighter.
• He, along with Annie Besant, founded the Home Rule Movement.
• He is popularly known as the ‘Grand Old Man of South India’.
• He renounced his knighthood in support of the Home Rule Movement and to protest against the arbitrary arrest of Besant.

Sarojini Naidu (1879-1949)

• A child Prodigy, Poet, freedom Fighter and a Politician.
• Known as ‘Nightingale of India’ (‘Bharat Kokila’).
• 1905, joined national movement in the wake of partition of Bengal.
• 1925, at Kanpur session of INC, elected as First Indian woman President.
• Participated in ‘Gandhi’s Salt March’ & ‘Dharsana Satyagraha’.
• First women to become the Governor of Indian state.
• 1931, accompanied Gandhi in Second Round Table Conference.
• Arrested during Civil Disobedience Movement and Quit India Movement.
• Famous books by Sarojini Naidu- The Golden Threshold (1905), The Broken Wing: Songs of Love, Death and Destiny (1912).

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888-1975)

• His birthday, 5th September is celebrated as Teacher’s Day.
• He served as the first Vice President of India (1952-62) and the second President of India (1962-67).
• A ‘Philosopher President’, did not have background in Congress party.
• He placed Indian philosophy on the world map.
• He was India’s most renowned academics on ‘Comparative Religion and Philosophy’.
• 1931-1936, he served as the Vice Chancellor (VC) of Andhra University and 1939-1948, as the VC of BHU.
• After Independence he represented the country at UNESCO, Ambassador of India to the Soviet Union (1949-1952).
• He was also an elected member of the Constituent Assembly.
• His many works include- ‘Indian Philosophy (1923)’, An Idealist View of Life (1929)’, etc.

Awards

1. 1931, appointed as a Knight Bachelor;
2. 1938, he was elected Fellow of the British Academy;
3. 1954, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna;
4. 1954: German “Order pour le Merite for Arts and Science
5. 1961, the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade;
6. 1975, he won the Templeton Prize.

Note: He was nominated 16 times for Noble prize in Literature and 11 times for noble peace prize.

Dr. Satyapal (1884-1954)

• Joined the anti-Rowlatt Act agitation.
• Along with Kitchlew symbolized Hindu-Muslim unity.
• Organized a band of Hindu-Muslim workers in Amritsar, and actively participated in the Liberation struggle under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.
• Served the British in World War II as a doctor.
• A prominent Congress leader in the Punjab , took an active part in the political life of the State until his death.

Satyendra Nath Bosu (1882-1908)

• Initially he worked as government school teacher (later got dismissed) and took active part in nationalist movement.
• He was a founding member of revolutionary secret society ‘Anandamath’ (Midnapore).
• 1908, he was arrested in connection with ‘Muzaffarpur Bomb case’ and ‘Alipore Bomb case’.
• 1908, he was hanged at Alipore Central Jail for killing turned approver Narendra Gossain.

Savitribai Phule (1831-1897)

• A Social Reformer, she was the pioneer of women’s education in India.
• Along with her husband Jyotiba Phule founded Satya Shodhak Samaj (Maharashtra) and worked against untouchability and for upliftment of lower caste women.
• In 1948, she along with her husband opened first school for girls.
• In 1852, she opened a school for Untouchable Girls (Pune).
• She also started a night school for shudra agriculturalists and labourers.
• Died while serving plague patients.

Shivaram Hari Rajguru (1908-1931)

• Born as middle class Hindu Brahmin (Maharastra), he went to Varanasi and studied Sanskrit.
• He joined the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA).
• He was involved in the murder of a British police officer, J. P. Saunders, to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai.
• He was hanged (at the age of 23 years, along with Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev) on March 23, 1931.

Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (1901-1953)

• Born in a famous family in Bengal, he was a Politician, Barrister and Academician, who served as a Minister for Industry and Supply in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet.
• In 1934, at the age of 33, he became the youngest Vice-Chancellor of the Calcutta University.
• He was active in ‘Asiatic Society of Calcutta’, member of the Court and the Council of the ‘Indian Institute of Science’, Bangalore and Chairman of the ‘Inter University of Board’.
• In 1940, he became President of ‘Hindu Mahasabha’.
• In 1950, he resigned from cabinet on issue of Delhi pact with Liaquat Ali Khan.
• He was the founder and first President of ‘Bharatiya Jana Sangh’ in 1951.
• He opposed Article 370 as ‘Balkanization of India’ and three nation theory of Shaikh Abdullah and participated in massive Satyagraha to get it removed.
• In 1953, he got arrested in J&K , and later died as a detenu.

Sisir Kumar Ghosh (1840-1911)

• He was one of the important’ muffasal’ correspondents of The Patriot’ and reported extensively during Indigo Rebellion (1860).
• He was also a founding member of the ‘India League (1875).
• He represents first Political awakening of people, initiated the talk of Indian Nationalism.
• He started ‘Amrita Bazar Patrika’ (1868), which initially was published in Bengali but later also in English.

Sohan Lai Pathak (1883-1916)

• A primary school teacher, but later got powered by Nationalism.
• Resigned the post when was asked to disconnect his relation with Lala Lajpat Rai.
• He joined ‘Ghadar Party’.
• He was a member of ‘Shore Committee’ (‘Komagata Maru’ Incident).
• He became joint Editor of the Urdu journal ‘Bande Matram’ working under Lajpat Rai.
• 1916, he got arrested and was hanged for organizing an uprising.

Sohan Singh Bhakna (1870-1968)

• An Indian revolutionary, founding president of the Ghadar Party, migrated from Punjab to US.
• In 1913, he founded The pacific coast Hindustan Association in U.S.A.
• In 1914, he was associated with Komagata Maru incident. S.P.Mukherjee In 1915, he was involved in Ghadar Conspiracy.
• He was arrested for his role in the Ghadar Party activities.
• He was tried in the Lahore conpiracy trials, and spent 16 years in prison for his part in the conspiracy. After release in 1930, he became a major peasant and communist leader.

Shripad Amrit Dange (1899-1991)

• He was a founding member of the Communist Party of India (CPI).
• Stalwart of Indian trade union movement, he led two major strikes during which got arrested.
• He was founder of ‘Socialist’, the first socialist weekly in India.
• He established ‘Girni Kamgar Union’(1928).
• He was a key accused in ‘Kanpur Bolshevik Conspiracy (1924)’ and ‘Meerut Conspiracy’ (1929) cases.
• In 1930, he supported Gandhi’s ‘Dandi March’, against own party lines.
• In 1943-44, he was appointed the chairman of the AITUC.

Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu (1872-1957)

• He was chief minister of the Madras Presidency, and became the first chief minister of the new Andhra state.
• He was also known as Andhra Kesari and signed the Satyagraha pledge.
• He also edited Law Times, a legal magazine.
• Prakasam was the first prominent leader from South India to offer individual satyagraha.

Tej Bahadur Sapru (1875-1949)

• He was a jurist and a statesman, who played an important role in the progress of British India toward self government.
• He a law member of the Viceroy’s Council, and a delegate to the three Round Table Conference sessions in London.
• His mediation helped to bring about the Gandhi-lrwin Pact (1931).
• He defended soldiers of the rebel Indian National Army.
• He was also a part of the Nehru Committee.

T. K. Madhavan (1885-1930)

• He was an Indian social reformer who took part in Shri Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP).
• He was involved in the Temple Entry Movement, fought for the entry of oppressed and low-caste communities.
• He led the struggle against untouchability in Vaikom Satyagraha.
• He met Gandhi at Tirunelveli, and persuaded him to visit Vaikom.

Udham Singh (1899-1940)

• Udham Singh (also refered as Shaheed-i-Azam) is known for assassinating Sir Michael O’ Dywer, who was responsible for Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
• He was involved in revolutionary politics and became a member of Ghadar party in 1924.

Upendranath Brahmachari (1873-1946)

• Upendranath Brahmachari was a leading medical practitioner of India of his time. He discovered Urea Stibamine, which played a crucial role in the treatment of Kala-Azar.
• He was awarded the title of Rai Bahadur for his multifarious, humanitarian and other works. He was knighted in 1934.

Vallathol Narayana Menon (1878-1958)

• He was a nationalist poet in Malayalam language and wrote a series of poems on various aspects of the Indian freedom movement.
• He also wrote against caste restrictions, tyrannies and orthodoxies.
• He founded the Kerala Kalamandalam and revitalised the Keralite dance form of Kathakali.

Verrier Elwin (1902-1964)

• Verrier Elwin was a British anthropologist, ethnologist, tribal activist, who came to India as a Christian missionary.
• He participated in the Indian independence_movement.
• He served as the Deputy Director of the Anthropological Survey of India upon its formation in 1945. After independence he took up Indian citizenship and was appointed as an adviser on tribal affairs for north-eastern India.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (1883-1966)

• He coined the term ‘Hindutva’ and penned the book “First War of Independence” about 1857 mutiny.
• In 1902, he joined the Ferguson College and got scholarship in 1906 to study law in Britain.
• He set up Abhinav Bharat which preached revolutionary struggle against British.
• In 1937, he was elected as President of Hindu Mahasabha and under his leadership Hindu Mahasabha did not support Quit India Movement.
• He was linked with Gandhi’s assassination and arrested for that, but was released later.
• He was a critic of Indian National Congress and criticized the Congress for partition of India.
• He remained a controversial figure for being a champion of Hindu nationalism.

Vinayak Narahari Bhave ‘Vinoba Bhave’ (1895-1982)

• He was a follower of Gandhi and is best known for Bhoodan and Gramdan movements.
• In 1950, he launched the programme of kanchan-mukti (freedom from money) and Rishi-Kheti (cultivation without the use of bullocks as was practiced by Rishis).
• He was associated with sarvodaya movement.
• In 1951 he started the land donation movement at Nalgonda District of Telangana. He donated the land to poor and landless.
• He was the first Individual Satyagrahi selected by Gandhi in October 1940 and he established ‘Brahma Vidya Mandir’ for women in 1959.

Vishnu Krishna Chiplunkar (1850-1882)

• He was a Marathi writer.
• In 1880, he co-founded the newspaper Kesari in Marathi and Mahratta in English.
• He was also co-founder of the “The new English School” in Pune to provide education on patriotic lines in response to British run schools.

Vithalbhai Patel (1873-1933)

• He was an elder brother of SardarPatel, Indian legislator and co-founder of Swaraj Party.
• In 1923, he was elected to Central Legislative assembly and became its speaker in 1925.
• He also established the convention of neutrality of the President in debates, as a speaker.

V.O. Chidambaram Pillai (1872-1936)

• He joined Indian National Congress in 1905.
• In 1906, he helped establish the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company.
• He also formed the organisation called ‘Swadeshi Sangam’.
• He led the Coral Mills strike in Tuticorin in 1908 for decrease in working hours and pay hike.

William Jones (1746-1794)

• He was a junior judge at Supreme Court, plus a linguist.
• He co-founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784 and started the journal Asiatic Researchers.
• He suggested that Sanskrit, Latin and Greek languages have common roots.
• He also translated texts like Shakuntala, Hitopdesh etc in English.

Walchand Hirachand (1882-1953)

• He was a renowned industrialist of pre-independence India.
• He founded Hindustan Aircraft limited, Scindia Steam Navigation Company and a shipyard in Vishakhapatnam.
• He was the pioneer of indigenous shipping industry when shipping industry was monopolized by foreigners.

Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee (1844-1906)

• He was the president of first session on Indian National Congress in 1885 and in1892 session at Allahabad.

Dr. Zakir Hussain (1897-1969)

• He was one of the most prominent educational thinkers and practitioners of modern India.
• He was the second Vice-President of India from 1962-67 and third President of India from 1967-69.
• He was the co-founder of Jamia Millia Islamia University.
• First Indian President to die in office.