#IndiaAt70 – India’s 70 most influential people or leaders!
Today is going to bring an end to my one year long stories of Top 70 Indians since Indian Independence. It was on Aug 15th I started this journey where I wrote about revealing my list of 70 most influential Indians. It was filled with discovery of different personalities, their hardships, sacrifices, inspirations and finally glory for the Nation. All these 70 people have built India to the level what it is Today. 69 personalities already revealed and now is the time, right before we celebrate 72nd Independence day to reveal the Top Indian leader as per me.
India’s Number one leader:
Born to a family which had politics in the blood and lot of intellectual abilities. It was on 19th November 1917 in Allahabad, India’s best political leader was born to Jawahar Lal Nehru and Kamala Nehru. She is none other than Smt. Indira Gandhi ji. Nehru as we know is a great politician and Independence fighter and as well a lawyer. He had given Indira Gandhi complete freedom with respect to education and she studied in places like Pune University, Shantiniketan and also moved to Oxford University for few months. She was in helpless position as mother Kamala Nehru was suffering from tuberculosis which actually killed her while her father Nehru was in Jail. This is her first biggest painful moment that she had suffered.Her marriage was also a controversial event where she went against Nehru to marry Feroze Gandhi. Things turned on its head when Feroze Gandhi, person who had nothing suddenly got into politics and won Rae Bareili seat to enter Parliament. Father words came true when Feroze Gandhi forced Indira Gandhi to stay with him in the house given by Govt Which was ignored by Indira Gandhi. She had to make a bold move of shifting to her father’s residence with her children, only to give them a better life and comforts.
Her biggest challenges though came when she went to become the Prime Minister and also the first Women Prime Minister for India. Before which she was only advisor to Father Nehru. Things were bad and her lack of oratory skills gave her the name ‘Ghoongi Gudiya’. Which made her to think about her political life strongly and that was the day she decided to change herself. She held the office of PM from 1966 to 1977 and 1980 to 1984. It’s almost 15 years that she had the power of ruling India. In her reign of power she was the one who had taken huge decisions like Nationalisation of Banks, Emergency, Green Revolution, hosting Asian games and as well first step of Liberalisation.
Her extraordinary political strategies were the reason why people went with her in the elections. Like this she kept on gaining momentum and things were going well for India. Then came an unimaginable problem in the name of a separate country called ‘Khalistan’ for Punjabis. These turned into total havoc and lot of riots have happened. The leader behind this movement Bhindran Wala was hiding in the holy Golden Temple in Amritsar. Indira Gandhi then took the decision and started a mission called ‘Operation Blue Star’. A Step that nobody would have actually thought of, she sent the army inside the Golden Temple and killed all the militants including the Bhindranwala. Though this was a victory for her and India, she got portrayed as villain for all the Sikhs for her decision of letting Army enter Golden Temple.
This act of her became the reason for her Death. Her two body guards who were also Sikhs were deeply affected. It was on 31st October 1984 morning at 9:20 am while she was taking a walk towards her office, she was killed by gun shots by the two body guards Beant Singh & Satwant Singh which pierced through her body and killed her. India lost a greatest leader ever after Independence.
Iron Lady Indira Gandhi was once equated to Goddesses Durga by Atal Bihari Vajpayee when she announced that Pakistan Army General had surrender to Indian Army during the fight for liberation of Bangladesh. That’s the power of this dynamic leader called Indira Gandhi. As people also call her the ‘Child of Destiny’.
If asked she would be the first person that I would ask God to bring back, her charisma, political strategy and the economic policy framework was so well welcomed by the World. It’s actually sad to see that after her India has not seen dynamic leaders like her. She has surely left with tremendous amount of inspiration for the people and political legacy is respected with heads high. #IndiaAt70 #IndiraGandhi #JaiHind
55. Jyoti Basu – Jyotindra Basu is a politician who belongs to the Communist Party of India from West Bengal. Basu is the only chief minister in the history of India to serve for longest period starting from 1977 to 2000. Though in India we see many parties retaining the power we never see same leader holding power this long. He has grown along with the Party and also the state. His 23 years stint can explain how popular figure is Jyoti Basu. In his term, he slowly helped CPI(M) gain maximum strength and also pushed it to neighboring states. I am putting him at 55th position because of the aura that he created which lasted 23 years in 53 years of Indian Independence.
Amit Shah – Amit Shah is like the Hanuman for Narendra Modi. He is the biggest powerful person after Modi in BJP. This relationship of two is not just 5 years thing but it started all the way from their home state Gujrat. Both Amit Shah and Narendra Modi right from their RSS days were most influential leaders in bringing BJP to power term after term in Gujrat. When Modi decided to win big, Amit shah moved with him taking the Presidential ship of BJP. He is the Man behind big state victories like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. He will be very crucial person if BJP has to regain the power. I choose him to place at 54th position solely because of his contribution towards BJP victories over the years till the recent 2014 triumph.
Brijmohan Lal Munjal – The Hero of Hero! Mr. Munjal is by far the best Businessmen till now in the list of 70. His vision of making transport flexible and easier brought a big change in India. It all started with the Hero cycles which we once owned or travelled or seen people travelling. You can even see many postman’s and rural people using hero cycles for travelling. Hero’s tie up with Honda a Japanese company has seen much bigger growth to the company. Sales of bicycles touched 8 million and production of next big thing Motor cycles was also on full flow. Now in India there is no lane without a Hero motorcycle. Hero Honda now Hero MotoCorp is the dream of Brijmohan Lal Munjal whose vision was to see Indians flexible in travelling and affordable. By far again Hero is the best in customer satisfaction and product reliability as per recent studies. Thanks to you sir India is ‘Hero’ now and no wonder why I placed him 53rd in the list.
Adi Godrej – Godrej is the word that enumerates in every households for two reasons one is refrigerators and the other is Locks. Adi Burjorji Godrej is India’s another biggest game changer and businessman who has given India reason to smile and enjoy their livelihood. Godrej then came up with a big break when they launched a soap called Cinthol which has the turned the face for foreign players. His leadership took the company new heights and overhauling success and targets. He has won several awards for his excellence in Business. Adi Godrej is my 52nd for bringing in the consumer revolution in India!
AR Rahman – The legend of Indian Music. Allah Rakha Rahman is the full name of AR Rahman. He is given nickname ‘the Mozart of Madras’ which he earned because of his extensive work for Music. He is well known for his integration of Indian Classical music with Electronic Music instruments. From a small singer in the year 1990’s to a world-famous artist in 2017. A journey worth telling and inspiring. Who can forget his outstanding music hits like Lagaan, Rang de Basanti, Gentleman and many more. Not to forget his Oscar award winning album Slumdog Millionaire. First Indian Singer to win an Oscar too. Amazing personality who is the inspiration for crores of Indians. So much to talk about this gentleman but cannot end it without remembering my all-time favorite song of his “Maa tujhe saalam!”
M Balamuralikrishna – At 60 I have one of the most famous and finest names that one should talk about when it comes to Classical Carnatic Music, Dr. M Balamuralikrishna. This Legendary musician started his career as early as 6 years old. He was known for his brilliant voice which gained him instant fame and recognition. He is known for popularizing the compositions of Sri Ramadasu and Sri Annamacharya. His brilliancy as musician was that he perfected almost all the songs. Balamuralikrishna perfected Violin, Viola, Khanjira, Veena and Mrudangam. He is the only musician who has won National Awards for classical music, music direction as well as film playback singing. He also won Padma Vibhushan for his excellency in Music. Even today many households in South India listen to this legendary singer’s ragas whether its devotional or others.
JP Narayan – Jayaprakash Narayan is a Freedom Fighter turned politician. JP Narayan is known famously as ‘Lok Nayak’ for leading the opposition against the ruling party and Indira Gandhi. He called this fight against government as a Second Freedom Struggle and Total Revolution. He was the reason behind the agitation and fight against corruption in the country. A fight which was going good until Indira Gandhi called for Emergency and brought things under control. JP Narayan was a brave politician who started lone battle and derived millions of supporters. He got support from Employees, Politicians and Students. Then students included today’s leaders Sharad Yadav, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav. Even today, North India sees JP as the second Gandhi who inspired and lifted their lives and given them an ideology to fight for.
Ashok Kumar – Also called as Dadamoni, Ashok kumar is one of the iconic actors in Indian Cinema. His entry into cinemas was a sudden accident where he was taken to play a substitute actor and that turned his life completely. That lucky break was fantastically utilized by him and he has given so many hits in his Acting days. He is considered as one of India’s finest actors ever, playing leading, negative and character roles with equal motivation. His best movies include Khubsoorat, Mahal, Aashirwad and many more. Fact is he is elder brother of Kishore Kumar another legendary singer that Indian Cinema has produced. He is one of those few actors who has received highest movie award that is DadaSaheb Phalke award and many other life time achievement awards! He is at 58 in my list for inspiring a generation of moviegoers and laying the foundations of Indian cinema in its nascent stage!
MG Ramachandran – Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran popularly known as M.G.R is Tamil Nadu’s biggest Actor, Politician and Filmmaker. He received National awards, Filmfare awards and also Docrates for his acting. He entered politics riding on fan following. He was in DMK with Karunanidhi but as the power struggle started increasing he split and started new party AIADMK. He soon won the elections and was made the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. His ministerial period is the best time that Tamil Nadu has seen where he has done lot of reforms for the poor and also encouraged Industrialization. Only lead after him to be so successful is Jayalalithaa who was part of AIADMK. He is still worshipped as God and many people in South Tamil Nadu still believe that MGR is alive. He is at 57th place for the sheer difference he made to the landscape of Tamilnadu.
Kishore Biyani – The Business Giver! 
Yash Pal – At 65th position is the scientist, communicator and institution builder Dr. Yash Pal. He is known for his study on cosmic rays and was the reason for bringing in so much aura in the field of both science and education. His greatest contribution to India is the setting up of UGC and as the chairman of the UGC he was instrumental in bringing in research and development to the institutions and strengthening the education system. He also proposed an idea where he wanted all colleges and universities to be shut for one year so that both students and teachers would explore country and derive knowledge. He is the person who is responsible and fought for elimination of private universities and succeed in it. Dr. Yash Pal aged 90 passed away last month on 24th July.
Uday Kotak – A Self-made Business Man that India has seen in 21st century. Kotak was born to an upper middle-class family and was very good in math in his education days. Uday Kotak turned business man right after his post-graduation when the thought process of interest rates stuck his mind. He understood that banks give 6% to depositors and charge 16% for loans. This played on his mind and that gave rise to a small finance company formed by him funded by family and friends. Slowly he built his empire in Financial sector with help from Anand Mahindra and now Kotak from a small finance company is into Stock Broking, Investments, Banking, Insurance and Mutual Funds. Kotak is the first private bank that got a license from RBI which belong to the business family. Today Kotak bank is at the forefront of Indian banking system showing the way for many more to tread the path. A true leader and a reformer of 21st century modern India occupying the 64th position.
n – ‘Shehnai Maestro’ Shehnai a musical instrument which was more permitted to wedding and other family events was for the first time invited by Jawaharlal Nehru to perform at Red Fort on the eve of Indian Independence Day. That gave the rise to Shehnai Culture in India where many started doing concerts using Shehnai. He lived an exemplary life where he did not differentiate on any religion and was living a simple lifestyle. His music that is Shehnai will make you all feel the right music. He quotes ‘Music can never die because It doesn’t have any caste’. Even today people of 60s and 70s fondly remember how Ustaad played shehnai every year after the flag hoisting at Red fort. He is deeply connected to the soil and is the integral part of the idea of India.
Vinobha Bhave – Vinobha Bhave is one of that few Indians who has seen India who made a difference before and after freedom movement. Born in the year 1895 Vinobha Bhave is considered as the National Teacher of India and successor of Mahatma Gandhi. He was the first person to be selected as Satyagraha Follower started by Mahatma Gandhi. Talking about him one can never forget the famous movement that he carried on for years called as Bhudaan Movement. This movement brought cheers in lakhs of villagers who were getting crushed by Zamindari System. In his late 60’s in 1951 he started travelling all over India on a Bullock Cart embarking upon his “Bhudaan” movement. Bhudaan is a program where Vinobha Bhave travelled from village to village and persuaded zamindars to give up a portion of their land and got the Lands transferred to the villagers. He travelled the length and breadth of the country and he truly gave independence to millions of agricultural labourers by gifting them lands. We also see a university named on him Vinobha Bhave university in Jharkhand. He is 62nd in my list of 70 great Indians.
CV Raman – Everyone of us would have heard of this great man Sir CV Raman. He is a household name in the World of Physics across the World and had bagged Nobel Prize in Physics for what is called as “Raman Effect”. Raman effect clearly demonstrated the light and how blue as a color of maximum reflection fills the light and colorless objects. He explained to the World the illusionary effects of blue sky and blue oceans. Sky is white, which is the combination of VIBGYOR colors. Since Blue reflects widely that is one color which appears giving an illusionary effect that sky is blue. Same is the case of Oceans, which have water which is colorless because of reflection appears blue. Raman is 61st in my list of Top 70!
Basu Chatterjee – Right at the bottom at the 70th position I will keep Basu Chatterjee because of “Shaukeens”. This movie cuts across generations and the humor it presents became a copy book for many subsequent filmmakers. Basu Chatterjee was the master of the middle of the road cinema who provided entertainment to lakhs of 70s and 80s middle class who liked serious cinema. My favorites are Choti si baat and Chameli ki shaadi. Both the films if you watch it with heart, will tell you why I put him in the list of 70 people who changed India. At 87 Basu Chatterjee leads a quiet retired life.
Shyam Benegal – If Basu Chatterjee is known for his humor Shyam Benegal is known for his seriousness and sincerity in presenting the realities. How can one forget Artha Satya or a Manthan or Zubeidaa! 3 films which are women centric and talk about freedom of women and her self-expression. Manthan is based loosely on the White revolution in Gujarat that led to birth of the iconic brand AMUL. Benegal is also known in the world of TV for his iconic presentation of “Bharat ek khoj” which is based on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s Discovery of India. I place him at 69 for the seriousness and sincerity that he displayed in tackling the social issues especially in 70s and 80s.
Hrishikesh Mukherjee – Another film maker from 70s. No, am not going a review only on film makers but it’s just a coincidence. Plus, it’s impossible to separate these 3 as they belonged to the same era and are equally popular and regarded for their work. I am placing Hrishi da above Benegal and Basu da only for the popularity. Everyone today associated Hrishikesh Mukherjee to “Anand” and his babumoshai dialogue. He is a parallel cinema film maker who is known for casting stars in his films, something which the other two were unable to do. He was instrumental in launching the famous Jaya Bachchan through Guddi and most of his movies starred icons of cinema like Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, Anil Kapoor etc. How can one forget the evergreen “Golmaal” or Bawarchi” or “Abhimaan” or “Chupke chupke” Hrishikesh Mukherjee will remain popular for his sensitivity and humor nicely interwoven in his real life, down to earth character!
Medha Patkar – Moving away from filmmakers, we enter the world of social activists. Known for her Narmada Bachao Aandolan, Medha Patkar became a household name and a person to look up to. She graduated from Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai she worked tirelessly for the upliftment of weaker sections of the society. Medha patkar was considered as the voice of millions of underprivileged. She is a well-known name in the world of Environment and she was involved in every movement associated with protection of environment. They include the protests in Singur against the setting up of Nano plant by Tata Motors or the Lavasa project in Western Ghats that poses a big threat to the fragile eco system there. Inspired by the work of Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal she joined Aam Aadmi party in 2013 and contested from Mumbai and lost. She quit AAP in 2015 and went back to her social work. Her work keeps her at 67th place. A truly inspiring Indian.
Rajiv Gandhi – When he became the Youngest Prime minister of India in 1985 at the age of 41, he was a youth icon. He gave a hope that young India badly needed at that time. With keen interest in technology and urge to change the country and politics, everything he did was widely discussed and debated. He was the PM for just 5 years but these 5 years have laid a solid foundation for India. He was the one who brought Telecom and Pharma revolution in India and saw them as sunrise sectors. Rajiv Gandhi is also credited with introducing IT education in India by allowing companies like NIIT and Aptech to set up franchises. Today the strides that India made in IT sector of biotech sector, the credit goes to Rajiv Gandhi. He was able to suppress the Khalistan movement completely and brought peace to Punjab. Rajiv Gandhi did a lot to reduce the insurgency in North eastern states, especially in Assam. He sent a peacekeeping force to Sri Lanka to fight LTTE. 5 eventful years also marred with controversies like Bofors, which became a huge scandal and led to his defeat in 1989 elections. His decision to oppose LTTE proved fatal with his assassination in 1991 by suicide bomber from LTTE. He was just 47 when he was assassinated, that is one-year younger than his son Rahul Gandhi!