Who is the greatest Indian after Gandhi?

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Kishore Kumar

Though Kishore Kumar is best known as one of Hindi cinema’s most popular singers, the legendary artiste wore many hats including those of an actor, lyricist, scriptwriter and filmmaker.

A young Kishore followed his elder brother and actor Ashok Kumar to Mumbai in the early 1940s, and began to receive offers for playback singing even though he had no formal training in singing. Kishore Kumar also started acting in a few films featuring his brother, but was not interested in being an actor since his passion lay in singing. It was SD Burman who believe in Kishore’s talent as a singer and promoted him, using him as the voice for Dev Anand.

He also acted in a few popular films during the 50s and 60s including ‘Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi’, ‘Half Ticket’ and ‘Padosan’.Kishore Kumar’s popularity as a singer reached new heights with the release of ‘Aradhana’, in which he sang for Rajesh Khanna and won his first Filmfare award for Best Playback Singer (Male). During the Emergency in 1975, Kishore Kumar reportedly refused to sing for a Congress party rally in Mumbai and as a result there was an unofficial ban on playing any Kishore Kumar song on All India Radio till the end of Emergency.

In his personal life, Kishore Kumar married four times and stories and anecdotes about the singer’s eccentric behaviour only added to the aura of unpredictability around him. Even decades after his untimely death at the age of 58 in 1987, the versatile Kishore Kumar continues to be arguably India’s most popular playback singer ever.

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Dr. B R Ambedkar

The Chief Architect of India's Constitution. He challenged the untouchability in a democratic manner and was the most powerful and credible voice against its practice.

As Independent India's first Law and Justice Minister he made progressive, modern laws. He was a great scholar, an electrifying orator, a barrister of international repute and firmly believed that only a true social justice and equal opportunities can hold this vast nation together.

He is as relevant today as he was 60 years ago. He is THE man who made all the differences to the lives of hundreds of millions of Dalits and other exploited communities. His immortal words, ‘They alone rise who strive.
Some of you nurse the wrong notion that you will not rise in this world. But remember that the age of helplessness has ended. A new epoch has set in’ still inspires millions of oppressed.

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Kanshi Ram

From a little known Dalit organisation, he created a pan India political party that rose to rule the most populous state of India- Uttar Pradesh, a state that still determines the power equations at the Centre.

He turned Dalit anger into votes and directed all his energies to launch a monotone assault on political power through political mobilisation among the Dalits and others under the broader sweep of what he called, after Jotiba Phule, the “Bahujan Samaj. Kanshi Ram created, for the first time in history, a resurgence of the Dalit community in UP where little or no social reform movements have taken place.

His BSP has taken Ambedkar from seminar halls and universities to all over the country and especially where it matters the most - the voting machine. He stands in poor contrast to other great Dalit social reformers including Ambedkar.

His legacy is flawed in many ways and it consists of a one - woman Mayawati dominated BSP. But, one can’t overlook the importance of being Kanshi Ram. Because he created a massive Dalit vote bank by the Dalits, of the Dalits and for the Dalits. The process of political assertion of Dalits which he pioneered looks irreversible.

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Dhyan Chand

Hockey once had such a following not only in India but all over the world when spectators thronged to see India play. The man responsible for taking hockey to such dizzying heights was Major Dhyan Chand. Such was his control, when he moved with the ball; it looked as it was attached to his stick. His dribbling was poetry in motion that captured the imagination of thousands of fans throughout the world. Don Bradman the cricket maestro who once watched Dhyan Chand in a match in Adelaide in 1935 said afterwards, ‘He scores goals like runs in cricket’.

How could somebody who had no formal training make such gigantic strides in hockey? True, he came from a family of hockey players – his father Sameeshwar dutt Singh as well as his brother Roop Singh who represented India with Dhyan Chand.

Dhyan Chand was born on 29 August 1905. Frequent transfers of his father in Army affected his studies and he studied no further than 6th Grade.

But with a hockey stick, there was a metamorphosis. He could weave through an army of defense and create an opportunity for his colleagues to score. Since he had joined the Army at age of 16, due to paucity of time he practiced only at nights. This only sharpened his instincts further.
His fame spread far and wide and soon he became a regular in Indian team as Center Forward.

In three of the Olympics, 1928 Amsterdam, 1932 at Los Angeles and Berlin 1936 India’s hold on the game was so overpowering they won with huge margins with Dhyan Chand scoring most of the goals. Spectators, officials thought he had some powers of magic; such was his control of ball and wizardry.

When India defeated Germany in finals of Berlin Olympics, 6-1, Adolf Hitler is reported to have offered Dhyan Chand post of a Colonel in German Army to stay back in Germany which Dhyan Chand promptly declined.

Government of India rightly named his Birthday, August 29, as National Sports Day when they give Awards for sportspersons for their contribution in various fields. The National Hockey Stadium is rightly named after him.

Major Dhyan Chand deserves a Bharath Rathna, for he is a true Gem of Indian Sports.

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Ela Bhatt

Fondly known as 'Gujarat's Big Ben', she is the only Indian who is a member of The Elders, the most influential independent group of global leaders who work together for peace and human rights. She counts World leaders Nelson Mandela, Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu and Kofi Annan among her close friends and associates.

The ‘gentle revolutionary’ is a pioneer in women’s empowerment and grassroots development, founder of the more than 1 million-strong Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in India. Ela Bhatt has tirelessly worked for decades to empower the poor women. SEWA today is not just about service. It is a testimony to what will-power and womanly compassion can achieve. She has singlehandedly changed the lives of the women she has interacted with, giving them the financial muscle to build a future of their own. She has done it with grace, equanimity and undying affection. She is determined, focused and compassionate. She has sacrificed her career as a lawyer only to make sure more and more women come out of oppression everyday. She is truly a living legend and remarkable personality.

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Rajinikanth

Tamil cinema icon Rajinikanth or fondly known as just Rajini by his crores of fans is a true symbol of India's unity in diversity. His ancestors are from Maharashtra, who settled down in Karnataka. Rajinikanth, whose real name is Shivaji Rao Gaekwad started his career as a city bus conductor in Bangalore in the early 1970s. His father was a head constable with Karnataka police.

The renowned Tamil film director K Balachander spotted this young talent and took him to Madras (Chennai) to give him a chance. Rest is history. Rajini is the highest paid actor in India. For the outsiders, the popularity he enjoys is difficult to fathom. Superstar Rajini is THE ACTOR with Midas touch. Nobody in Indian cinema can claim the following Rajini has.

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J R D Tata

J R D Tata was known as a perfectionist among his peers. The only industrialist to get India’s highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna, JRD was a pioneer aviator who started civil aviation in India. In 1938, at the age of 34, J R D was elected Chairman of Tata & Sons making him the head of the largest industrial group in India.

For decades, he directed the huge Tata Group of companies, with major interests in Steel, Engineering, Power, Chemicals and Hospitality. He was famous for succeeding in business while maintaining high ethical standards. Under his chairmanship, the assets of the Tata Group grew from US$100 million to over US$5 billion.

He started with 14 enterprises under his leadership and half a century later in 1988, when he retired, Tata & Sons was a conglomerate of 95 enterprises which they either started or in which they had controlling interest. J R D’s also promoted fine arts and one of the most admired philanthropists of his time.

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Dev Anand

Dev Anand the original Peter Pan of Indian films is undoubtedly an evergreen legend. For more than six decades Dev Anand, fondly called Dev Saab, entertained audiences across the globe with his unique acting style & his charismatic persona.

He was the first suave, cool & chic romantic hero of Bollywood. His exuberant and youthful performances set him apart. With more than a 100 films to his credit as an actor, most of them as the leading man, Dev had a special way with his leading ladies, be it Suraiya, Geeta Bali, Madhubala, Waheeda Rehman, Hema Malini, or later the much younger Zeenat Aman.

Some of his best works included C.I.D, Guide, Jewel Thief, Hum Dono, Kala Paani, Kala Baazar, Paying Guest- the list is endless. In 1949, he launched his own banner of Navketan Films that produced the iconic Guide. He directed 19 films & produced 35 films under this banner. In 1972, Dev Anand directed Hare Rama Hare Krishna, which assumed a cult status. His movies had some of the most romantic songs to date.

Dev Anand’s inimitable style made him a fashion icon. A darling of the fans for all times to come, Dev Anand had the conviction to perform roles with shades of gray. In an interview in 2007 he said “I dabble with ideas. I have grown beyond acting, I am a motion picture maker. That is why I am alive.” This perhaps best sums up Dev Sahab, who passed away in December 2011 at the age of 88 while still working on the script of his next film.

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A R Rahman

The title Mozart of Madras sums up the personality of A R Rahman. As 'Time' magazine rightly describes ' Like Gershwin or Lennon-McCartney, the name A R Rahman stands for melody, quality, energy, instant hummability; a sound both personal and universal, devouring many older forms and transforming them into something gorgeously new ' the music man of modern India has no parallel in the world of cinema.

One of the most prolific and successful film composers in India he has won both Oscars and Golden Globe. His hunger for innovations, gift for golden melody and a cosmopolitan touch that reflects the new, globally conscious India, have given Mr. Rahman a kind of national-hero status. He is also one of the top selling artists in the World, who has sold over 100 million copies of his work so far. A true man of music.

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Bismillah Khan

Bismillah Khan was India’s most celebrated shehnai player, and one of only four musicians to be awarded the country’s highest civilian honour of Bharat Ratna. Born into a family of Dalit Muslims, his family moved from a town in Bihar to Varanasi, the holiest of cities for Hindus, when he was six.

He began learning the Shehnai from his uncle. Till he took it up, the shehnai was just a ritual instrument played at weddings and other ceremonies. Thanks to his genius, it acquired a ‘classical’ status, and came to be placed on the same pedestal as the sitar and the sarod. The tenderness of his playing enhanced the beauty and emotional appeal of the instrument, and expanded its horizons.

The soundtracks of several films, such as Sanadi Appanna (Kannada), Goonj Uthe Shehnai and Swades (both Hindi), were enriched by his virtuosity. For many, Bismillah Khan was more than a musician, his devotion to Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning and the arts, and his daily temple performances on the banks of the Ganga, made him a symbol of the noblest Indian ideals of secularism and syncreticism.