Great

Leaders of
India
MAHATMA GANDHI
Birth: 2 October 1869 Death: 30
January 1948
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the pre-
eminent political and spiritual leader of India
during the Indian independence movement.
He pioneered Satyagraha—resistance to
tyranny through mass civil disobedience, a
philosophy firmly founded upon ahimsa, or
total nonviolence, which helped India to gain
independence, and inspired movements for
civil rights and freedom across the world.
Gandhi is often referred to as Mahatma
Gandhi, an honorific first applied to him by
Rabindranath Tagore and in India also as
Bapu. He is officially honoured in India as
the Father of the Nation; his birthday, 2
October, is commemorated there as Gandhi
Jayanti, a national holiday, and worldwide as
the International Day of Non-Violence.
 JAWAHARLAL NEHRU

Birth: 14th November, 1889 Death: 27th

May, 1964.
Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime
Minister of independent India. He was a
member the Congress Party that led the
freedom movement against British Empire.
Nehru was one of the architects who had the
opportunity to steer the newly freed-nation.
He was also the chief framer of domestic
and international policies between 1947 and
1964. It was under Nehru's supervision that
India launched its first Five-Year Plan in
1951. Nehru's predominant roles in
substantiating India's role in the foundation
of institutions like NAM had surprised the
then stalwarts of international politics. He
advocated the policy of Non-Alignment
during the cold war and India, subsequently,
kept itself aloof from being in the process of
"global bifurcation".
 SAROJINI NAIDU

Birth: 13th February, 1879 Death: 2nd

March, 1949
Sarojini Naidu was truly one of the gems of
the 20th century India. She was known by
the sobriquet "The Nightingale of India".
Her contribution was not confined to the
fields of politics only but she was also a
renowned poet. The play "Maher Muneer",
written by Naidu at an early age, fetched a
scholarship to study abroad. She briefed the
struggles of freedom for independence to
the political stalwarts of European nations,
she had visited. She married Dr. Muthyala
Govindarajulu Naidu, a South India. The
marriage took place at a time when inter-
caste marriage was not acceptable in the
society. Her acts helped in raising many
eyebrows. In 1905, a collection of poems, she
had composed, was published under the title
of "Golden Threshold".
NETAJI SUBASH CHANDRA BOSE
Birth: 23rd January, 1897 Death: Not
Known

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was a

freedom fighter of India. He was the
founder of the Indian National Army.
During pre-independence period Netaji
had visited London to discuss the
future of India, with the members of
the Labor party. His sudden
disappearance from Taiwan, led to
surfacing of various theories,
concerning the possibilities of his
survival.
DR.B.R.AMBEDKAR
Birth: 14th April, 1893 Death: 6th
December, 1956

Dr. Ambedkar was the main architect of the

Indian Constitution. He was born in a very poor
low caste family of Madhya Pradesh. In U.S.A.,
he did his M.A. in 1915 and Ph.D. in 1916. From
1918 to 1920, he worked as a Professor of Law.
Dr. Ambedkar set up his legal practice at the
Mumbai High Court. Ambedkar was the main
inspiration behind the inclusion of special
provision in the Constitution of India for the
development of Schedule Caste people. Dr.
Ambedkar was the Law Minister of India from
1947 to 1951. He took part in the Satyagraha
of untouchables at Nasik in 1930 for opening
the Hindu temples to them. Dr. Ambedkar was
emancipator of the 'untouchables' and
crusader for social justice. This liberator of
the down trodden was affectionately called
"Babasaheb". He was posthumously awarded
'Bharat Ratna' in the year 1990.