Tata, Jamshedji: The Indian industrialist founded the Tata Iron & Steel Co. in Bihar and
thus started the industrial progress of India.
Tenzing Norgay : Nicknamed the “Tiger of Snows”, theace mountaineer, who with Edmund Hillary was the first to climb Mount Everest (8,848 metre-high) was awarded Padma Bushan.
Thomas Alva Edison : A great American inventor. He began life as a newsboy and then served as a telegraph operator. He has more than 1,000 inventions to his credit including motion pictures, gramophone, electric bulb, etc.
Thyagaraja : He was saint of South India and a great composer of South Indian Music and devotional
songs.
Tipu Sultan : He was an able ruler of Mysore. He was not only a valiant soldier but also a General. He got the title “Tiger of Mysore”. He waged three wars against the rulers of East India Company.
Todar Mal : He was Akbar’s Revenue Minister and one of the nine gems of Akbar’s courts. He was famous for his land revenue reforms.
Tulsidas : He was a great Hindu religious preacher and wrote famous Ramacharitamanas in which he has described life story of Lord Rama
Uday Shankar : He was the famous artist and exponent of Indian dance. He was the elder
brother of the famed sitarist Ravi Shankar.
Usha P.T. : The Sprint Queen and Golden Girl, who is also known as Payyoli Express of Indian athletics with a long span of 23 years as a sports career, was named as female sports person of the Century by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on December 28, 1999. She was conferred Arjuna Award in 1983 and Padma Shri in 1985.
Valmiki : A celebrated Sanskrit poet of Ancient India. He wrote the Famous “Ramayana”.
Varahmihira : A distinguished astronomer, mathematician and philosopher of early India. He was
one of the nine gems who adorned the Court of King Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II).
Veerasalingam Pantulu : Kandekeeri Veerasalingam Pantulu was a great social reformer of Andhra Pradesh. He started a monthy journal in Telugu, Vivekavardhani and expressed his enlightened views on widow remarriage. The Widow’s Home in Rajamundry was founded by him.
Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Pandit : She was born on August 18, 1900. She was younger to Jawaharlal Nehru. Mrs. Pandit had several firsts to her credit. She was the first Indian woman to become a Cabinet Minister, when appointed as the Minister of Local Government & Health in the Congress Ministry of U.P. from 1937-1939. She was the first woman Ambassador, the first woman to lead a delegation to the U.N. General Assembly (1946-51) as well as first President (1953-54). Also led the first Indian delegation to China after the Communist regime was established. Also the first woman to head a London diplomatic mission in 1954 when she became the High Commissioner for India in London.She served as the Governor of Maharashtra for two years from 1962. The first woman to be accorded the unique honour in international diplomacy, she treated her election as President of the U.N. General Assembly more as an honour to India.Her autobiography “The Scope of Happiness” and “Selection of Speeches” are two of her well-known books. [She was awarded the “Padma Vibushan” by the Government of India and the “One world award” and medal for services to humanity
in the U.S.]Her death on December 1, 1990 symbolises the fading of an era, a powerful voice that had led India’s prestige soaring in international diplomacy.
Visvesvarayya, M. : A great engineer of Mysore who distinguished himself by building the dam across Cauvery in Mysore. He was also a recipient of the Bharat Ratna Award.
Viswanathan Anand : The Grandmaster became the First Indian as also Asian Chess Player to clinch theworld chess title winning the FIDE World Chess Championship in Teheran on December 24, 2000 by defeating Alexei Shirov of Spain (3.5-0.5). He was formally crowned 15th World Chess Champion.
Vladimir Lenin : Founder of modern Communist Russia who was responsible for the successful Soviet revolution of October- November 1917. He wrote “Not a single problem of a class struggle has ever been solved in history except by violence”. Lenin’s mausoleum is in Red Square, Moscow.
Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee : (W. C. Bonnerjee) He was the first President of the Indian National Congress, and a notable part in the setting up of the League of Nations.
Yukta Mookhey : The 20 year old Miss India was crowned Miss. World at the last Miss World Beauty Pageant of the Millinneum (1999) held in London. She is the third Indian beauty to bag the title in a decade, after Aishwarya Raj (1994) and Diana Hayden (1997).
Zakir Hussain.Dr: Dr. Zakir Hussain was India’s second Vice President. He was elected as President after a hot contest with former Chief Justice K. Subba Rao. Dr. Zakir Hussain was a great educationist. He was the founder of Jamia Millia, an institution which has done a lot in the
promotion of education in India. As President, Dr. Zakir Hussain pledged to serve the people
wholeheartedly and impartially. He said “The whole of Bharat is my home and its people my family”. He died in office on 3-5-1969. He was awarded “Bharat Ratna” for the year 1963.
