Writers
16 profiles
Science
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Aerospace scientist and 11th President of India
1931 – 2015
Politics & Leadership
Mahatma Gandhi
Leader of India’s independence movement and pioneer of non-violent resistance
1869 – 1948
Politics & Leadership
M. Karunanidhi
Five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and screenwriter
1924 – 2018
Food & Cooking
Vikas Khanna
Chef, restaurateur, author, filmmaker and MasterChef India judge
Born 1971
Tarla Dalal
Cookbook author who taught India vegetarian home cooking
1936 – 2013
Food & Cooking
Sanjeev Kapoor
Celebrity chef, television host and cookbook author
Born 1964
Literature
Ruskin Bond
Author of stories for children and adults set in the Himalayan foothills
Born 1934
Music
Rabindranath Tagore
Poet, writer and composer; first non-European Nobel laureate in Literature
1861 – 1941
Literature
R. K. Narayan
Novelist and creator of the fictional town of Malgudi
1906 – 2001
Literature
Premchand
Hindi and Urdu novelist and short-story writer
1880 – 1936
Film & TV
Prajakta Koli
YouTuber, actress and author
Born 1993
Politics & Leadership
Shashi Tharoor
Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, author and former UN Under-Secretary-General
Born 1956
Politics & Leadership
S. Jaishankar
Minister of External Affairs of India since 2019
Born 1955
Politics & Leadership
Pranab Mukherjee
Thirteenth President of India (2012–2017)
1935 – 2020
Politics & Leadership
Jawaharlal Nehru
First Prime Minister of India (1947–1964)
1889 – 1964
Politics & Leadership
B. R. Ambedkar
Principal architect of the Constitution of India and India’s first Law Minister
1891 – 1956