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Vikas Khanna

Chef, restaurateur, author, filmmaker and MasterChef India judge

Born 1971

Tarla Dalal

Cookbook author who taught India vegetarian home cooking

1936 – 2013

Swami Vivekananda

Hindu monk and philosopher who introduced Vedanta and Yoga to the West

1863 – 1902

Sunil Chhetri

India’s record goalscorer and most-capped footballer

Born 1984

Vijay Amritraj

Tennis player, commentator and actor; Hall of Fame inductee

Born 1953

CarryMinati

YouTuber, streamer and rapper known for roast videos

Born 1999

S. H. Raza

Painter known for the bindu and a founder of the Progressive Artists’ Group

1922 – 2016

Subhas Chandra Bose

Freedom fighter and leader of the Indian National Army

1897 – 1945

MS Dhoni

Former India captain and wicketkeeper-batsman; winner of three ICC trophies

Born 1981

Sri Aurobindo

Philosopher, yogi, poet and early nationalist leader

1872 – 1950

Vikram Sarabhai

Physicist and father of India’s space programme

1919 – 1971

Premchand

Hindi and Urdu novelist and short-story writer

1880 – 1936

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Founder of Biocon and pioneer of Indian biotechnology

Born 1953

Shah Rukh Khan

Actor and film producer, one of the most successful stars in world cinema

Born 1965

Freida Pinto

Actress who rose to fame in Slumdog Millionaire

Born 1984

Virat Kohli

Cricketer and former India captain; record holder for most ODI centuries

Born 1988

Sam Pitroda

Telecom engineer and inventor credited with India’s telecom revolution

Born 1942

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Aerospace scientist and 11th President of India

1931 – 2015

C. V. Raman

Physicist; Nobel laureate who discovered the Raman effect

1888 – 1970

Vallabhbhai Patel

First Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of India

1875 – 1950

Nitish Kumar

Longest-serving Chief Minister of Bihar and president of the Janata Dal (United)

Born 1951

Ratan Tata

Chairman of Tata Sons (1991–2012) who made the Tata Group global

1937 – 2024

Garima Arora

Chef; first Indian woman to earn a Michelin star

Vishesh Bhriguvanshi

Captain of the India men’s basketball team

Born 1991

Sandesh Jhingan

Centre-back for FC Goa and the India national team

Born 1993

Akhilesh Yadav

President of the Samajwadi Party and MP for Kannauj; former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh

Born 1973

Kalpana Chawla

NASA astronaut; first woman of Indian origin in space

1962 – 2003

Omar Abdullah

Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir since 2024

Born 1970

Nandan Nilekani

Infosys co-founder and architect of Aadhaar

Born 1955

Sushmita Sen

Actress and first Indian to win Miss Universe

Born 1975

Indira Gandhi

Third Prime Minister of India and the only woman to hold the office

1917 – 1984

Mukesh Ambani

Chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries

Born 1957

Ravi Shankar

Sitar virtuoso who brought Indian classical music to the world

1920 – 2012

Arijit Singh

Playback singer and composer

Born 1987

Siddaramaiah

Two-time Chief Minister of Karnataka (2013–2018, 2023–2026)

Born 1947

Hima Das

Sprinter; first Indian to win a track gold at a world-level championship

Born 2000

Ranveer Brar

Chef, television host and MasterChef India judge

Born 1978

Manmohan Singh

Thirteenth Prime Minister of India (2004–2014) and architect of the 1991 reforms

1932 – 2024

Satnam Singh Bhamara

First Indian drafted into the NBA; now a professional wrestler

Born 1995

R. K. Narayan

Novelist and creator of the fictional town of Malgudi

1906 – 2001

S. Jaishankar

Minister of External Affairs of India since 2019

Born 1955

Leander Paes

Tennis player; 18-time Grand Slam doubles champion and Olympic medallist

Born 1973

Sania Mirza

Former doubles world No. 1 and six-time Grand Slam champion

Born 1986

M. Karunanidhi

Five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and screenwriter

1924 – 2018

Princepal Singh

Basketball player; first Indian to sign with the NBA G League Ignite

Born 2001

Amit Shah

Union Home Minister of India since 2019

Born 1964

Lal Bahadur Shastri

Second Prime Minister of India (1964–1966)

1904 – 1966

Aamir Khan

Actor, director and producer known for socially minded blockbusters

Born 1965