Vikram Sarabhai:
He founded ISRO and is called the father of India’s space programme.

MS Swaminathan:
Better known as the “Father of India’s green revolution”, Dr Swaminathan was one of three Indians on Time magazine’s 1999 list of the “20 most influential Asian people of the 20th century”.

Amartya Sen:
Sen is one of the greatest intellectuals and economists of modern India. He was awarded the Noble prize in 1998 for his model of welfare economics.

Romila Thapar:
This Indian historian’s most read works include Asoka and the Decline of the Maurya, A History of India Volume One, and Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300.

Bhiku Parekh:
Born in the small village of Amalsad, he is today one of the world’s most renowned political scientists. He was elected British Asian of the Year in 1992.

Jagdish Bhagwati:
Regarded as one of the foremost international trade economists, he has worked with Kofi Annan’s high-level advisory group and as external advisor to the Director General of WTO.

Order, order
E Sreedharan:
Architect of the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro, this mild mannered 71-year-old civil engineer was named among the most outstanding Asians by Time magazine and awarded the Knight of the Legion of Honour by the French government in 2005.

Verghese Kurien:
He was the brain behind the world’s largest dairy development programme, Operation Flood. Think of him when you see Amul.

James Michael Lyngdoh:
The former chief election commissioner captured the country’s imagination when he called politicians “a cancer”. He went to win the Ramon Magsaysay Award.

PN Bhagwati:
As Chief Justice, he initiated the Public Interest Litigation and legal aid programmes.

Leaders all
Jawaharlal Nehru:
He is easily independent India’s most charismatic and successful politician. Nehru remains the role model for young aspirants to high public offices.

Jyoti Basu:
Ended career as the longest serving chief minister in India and perhaps the longest serving head of a democratically elected communist government anywhere in the world.

Mayawati:
The first dalit woman to become the chief minister of any Indian state, has since been successfully elected as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh four times now.

MGR:
In his journey from an actor to the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, he acquired a cult following and a temple was devoted to him in Chennai.

Cinema, cinema
Guru Dutt:
This doyen of Indian cinema started out as a telephone operator and is remembered for his genre bending films such as Pyaasa and Kagaz ke phool.

Raj Kapoor:
The Showman of Hindi Cinema established his own studio, R.K. Films, at 24 and became the youngest film director of his time.

Amitabh Bachchan:
Bollywood hasn’t seen a superstar like the Angry Young Man. And it will never find a Busy Old Man like him.

Rajnikanth:
Born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, he started off as a bus conductor. Made more than 160 Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and Bengali movies.

Shabana Azmi:
This natural actress is known for her trend-setting performances in experimental cinema.

Satyajit Ray:
Called the Giant of Indian cinema; he was felicitated with the Lifetime Achievement Oscar for his contribution to cinema in 1992.

Mira Nair:
Pioneering the genre of films expressing NRI angst, her first movie Salaam Bombay won 25 international awards.

Shah Rukh Khan:
King Khan as he is popuarly known is the reigning superstar of the Indian film industry.