Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India. He was quite popular among children and they called him Chacha Nehru. He was born on 14th November 1889 in Allahabad. He was the son of Swarup Ran (mother), and Motilal Nehru (father). Both his parents were attached and involved with freedom movements. He studied theosophy in his childhood and got into the Theosophical Society at age thirteen. Nehru’s theosophical interests led him to the study of the Buddhist and Hindu scriptures which later culminated in his book “ The Discovery of India”. 1912, Nehru enrolled himself as an advocate of the Allahabad High Court and tried to settle down as a barrister but he was not interested in law.
In 1912, Nehru attended an annual session of the Indian National Congress in Patna and joined Indian politics. He took an active part in movements like Home Rule Movement, Non-Cooperation Movement, and many more. In 1919, while he was traveling, he heard General Dyer talking about the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. Dyer mentioned how satisfied he was after that incident. That’s when Nehru decided to get freedom from the Britishers.
He was sent to jail almost 9 times and there he wrote many books like his autobiography, “Towards Freedom”, “Letters from a father to his daughter”, “ Discovery of India”, “Glimpses of World History” and more. He was the right hand of Mahatma Gandhi in Indian Independence. They were an active part of the Civil Disobedience Movement, Salt Satyagraha, Quit India Movement. Nehru became the first Prime Minister of Independent India. Later he worked with Sardar Patel to unify India. In 1950 India became Republic. In 1955, he received the Bharat Ratna for his efforts on Indian industrialization. His attire- the jacket with a rose in the pocket and a Nehru cap is his style statement.

Rabindranath Tagore is India’s first noble laureate who has bestowed all the fellow Indians and the people in the world, the art of literature. “Jana Gana Mana” the song written by Tagore is the national song of our country. He was a poet, writer, composer, philosopher, and painter. He was born on 7th May 1861 in Calcutta. His father was Debendranath Tagore and his mother Sharada Debi. Tagore was quite keen on music and literature from an early age. He never attended any physical school as his father believed in the theory of “Free flow of education”.

At the age of 11, Tagore started living in Shantiniketan with his father where he started his journey of writing. In 1873, he wrote six poems on Sikhism and completed several written works by 1877. In 1878 he was sent to England to study law but he preferred reading Shakespearean plays and dramas. He was quite intrigued by art and literature. From 1880, he started writing dramas, short stories, novels, poetry, and songs. Gurudev was also an acclaimed musician since his childhood. He composed so many beautiful songs that he has his separate genre, “Rabindrasangeet”. In 1910, he wrote “Gitanjali” for which he received the Noble Prize in literature in 1913. Tagore was the first Indian to receive a noble prize.

Despite the fact that Tagore was a patriot, he actually enjoyed and was inspired by the style of education that the Britishers provided. Therefore with the noble prize money, he built up the famous “Visva Bharati University” in Shantiniketan where he focused more on practical and artistic education. In 1915, Mahatma Gandhi met him in Shantiniketan. Gandhiji gave Tagore the title of “Gurudev”. During the Independence movement, Tagore used his tool, his pen, and wrote several patriotic poems for his fellow Indians. Not only did he write the national anthem of India but also of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore devoted all his life to the upliftment of education.

Swami Vivekananda was born on 12th January 1863 in Calcutta. His father, Vishwanath Datta was a barrister and a novelist and his mother were Bhubaneswari Devi. Swami Ji’s birth name was Narendranath Datta. He was a very sharp student since his childhood. He was the only student to receive a first-division in the entrance examination of Presidency College. Apart from his subjects, he loved reading a wide range of subjects like philosophy, religion, history, social science, ancient scriptures like the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Puranas. Narendra also studied Western philosophies which he then translated into the Bengali language. Swami Vivekananda was known for his sharp memory and ability at speed reading.
In 1880, he came in contact with the Brahmo Samaj and that was the start and breakthrough of his spiritual journey. He met Ramkrishna, his Guru, in 1881 in Dakhineswar. Swamiji was highly influenced by the thoughts of his Guru. In 1886 Swamiji took monistic vows and that is when he became Swami Vivekananda from Narendranath Dutta. In 1888, he left to travel the whole country with only two books in his hand: the Bhagavad Gita and The Imitation of Christ. He decided to preach and uplift his country and the fellow countrymen. In 1893, after visiting Japan & China, he went to America where he participated in the Parliament of religions. In the Parliament of religion, he opened his speech with,” Sisters and Brothers of America” after which he received heavy applause and a standing ovation. The western media named him, “The Cyclonic monk from India”. His teachings focused on human development and he believed in compassion, morality, and spirituality.

Bhagat Singh was born in September 1907 in Banga (earlier was in Punjab, now in Pakistan). His father was Kisan Singh and his mother Vidyavati Kaur. He belonged to a family of radical freedom fighters, all the men in his family believed that they have to follow extreme measures to snatch the freedom of the country, thus making him a hugely patriotic person. Bhagat Singh was highly influenced by his family since childhood and thus grew into a patriotic individual.
In 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre left an everlasting impression on Bhagat Singh who witnessed the destruction and loss of lives after General Dayar opened fire on the people who had gathered there. Bhagat Singh then decided to dedicate his entire life to fight for the freedom of India. With every attack by the British, Bhagat Singh’s dedication grew stronger. In 1923 he joined the National College of Lahore. When Bhagat Singh was in college he came to know about Young Italy Movement in Italy and created a group named, “Naujawan Bharat Sabha” in 1926. Later he also joined Hindustan Republican Association and fought side by side with several other famous freedom fighters to spread the fire of freedom throughout India. In a very small time, he became a household name.
In 1928, Lala Rajput Rai was leading a protest but sadly, he passed away in the massacre of lathi charge ordered by the Britishers. To avenge Lala Lajpat Rai’s passing away in a lathi charge, he, along with Sukhdev, Rajguru, and Chandrasekhar, carried out an attack leading to the killing of a British officer. After new runs and misses, they were arrested and execution was ordered for them. He went in disguise and changed his complete look to hide from the British officials. In 1929 he along with his partner, organized a bomb blast in the Assembly chamber after Ram Prasad Bismil died while fighting for the nation. Bhagat Singh screamed “Inquilab Zindabad” after the blast. He along with Sukhdev and Rajguru very proudly embraced the end of their life for the sake of the motherland and left a legacy to every Indian to take the cause of freedom forward and attain it at all cost.

Sarojini Naidu is the daughter of a scientist, Aghorenath Chattopadhyay, and Barada Sundari Devi, a poetess. Sarojini Naidu is the most prominent woman face of Indian independence. She was a poet, social reformer, and political leader. She was born on 13th February 1897, in Hyderabad. She wrote a Persian play in her childhood, “Maher Muneer” and received a scholarship to study abroad. She wrote several poems and books like “The Golden Threshold” in 1905, “The Bird of Time” in 1912, “The Broken Wing” in 1917, and many more. She was named “ Bhaarat Kokela” or “ The Nightingale of India”.
In 1905 she met Mahatma Gandhi, Gopal Krishna Gokhle, and Rabindranath Tagore and became a part of the Indian National Movement. She preached about women empowerment and social reformation. In 1917 she established the Women’s India Association and became the 1st Indian women President of the Indian National Congress in 1925. She took part in Satyagraha, Quit India Movement, Non-Cooperation Movement, and others. In 1947 she became the first women Governor of the United Province. Sarojini Naidu is a well known and respected role model throughout the world. In 1990 an asteroid was dedicated after her name, asteroid 5647 Sarojini Naidu.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose a true patriotic personality who fought for his motherland during the time of Independence. He was born on 23rd January 1897, in Odisha. His father was Jankinath Bose and his mother was Prabhabati. He belonged to an affluent family and his parents were quite inspired by English education.
During school times, Bose was very inspired by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Ramkrishna. His feeling of true patriotism came into action after an incident in his college where a British professor misbehaved with an Indian student and stated anti-India comments. When Bose stood up and raised his voice against this situation, he was expelled from the college. He disliked the way the Britishers treated Indians. That is when he decided to fight for the Independence of India. He went to London to study for Indian Civil Services. In 1920 he realized that even after ICS, he would be working beneath British officials so he resigned and came back to India. 1n 1921, he joined the Swaraj party and started several protests. He even went to jail several times but never backed off. He became the General Secretary of the Indian National Congress in 1927. In 1928, he presented himself as a “General Officer Commanding Congress Volunteer Corps” in the annual meeting of the Indian National Congress.
He supported Mahatma Gandhi and was inspired by him but did not support the philosophy of “Non-Violence”. He believed that freedom is not given and people need to fight for it. He even organized a mass civil disobedience protest. In 1941 he ghosted from India in the disguise of a Pathan. He went to Germany and trained more than 3000 Indian prisoners for war after which people started calling him “Netaji” out of respect. He flew to Japan after that and formed Azad Hind Fauj. He even formed an all-women regiment in the Indian National Army, which was called as “Rani Jhansi Regiment”. Netaji’s famous slogan was “Tum Mujhe Khoon Do, main Tumhe Aazadi Dunga”. Slowly with the support of several other countries, Azad Hind Fauj started to fight the British army making them weak. It is said that after these fights and attacks the Britishers started to plan the freedom of India. Netaji is just not a name but an institution.
“Give Me Blood And I Will Give You Freedom”
– Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the father of the Indian Constitution. Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar was born on 14th April 1891 in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. The place is now known as Ambedkar Nagar. He was the son of Ramji Maloji Sakpal, who held the rank of a Subedar in the British Army. Back in those days, people were judged and treated based on their caste. Since Dr. Ambedkar came from a backward caste, he had to face a lot of discrimination in his life. He was even stopped from studying but one of the teachers in his school encouraged him to continue his studies and even gave him his surname.

He completed his higher education in 2-4 years and studied for 21 hours a day. He is the only person from India who received the title of Dr. of All Science from London University. Not only did he continue studying law once he came back to India but he also got associated with many social causes like women empowerment and caste upliftment. People used to call him “Baba Sahib” out of sheer respect. In 1936 he created his political party and started preparing for elections.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was the first Indian to complete his Ph.D. in Economics from abroad. He knew 64 subjects and 9 languages. He was the first Indian law minister and was also responsible for forming the Constitution of free India. He received a Bharat Ratan Award in 1990 for all his hard work and achievements. Not only this, there are a lot of universities and colleges named after him. The Statue of Equality is a monument under-construction in Mumbai dedicated to Dr. Ambedkar, the father of the Indian Constitution.

Throughout history, we have read about great warriors who fought with weapons and ammunition to save the glory of their country. But among all, there is one great leader who choose to fight without any weapon and to follow the path of non-violence. He followed the path of Ahimsa for Indian Independence. He was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also well-known by Mahatma Gandhi. He was born on 2nd of October in Gujarat, Porbandar. His father’s name was Karamchand Gandhi and mother’s name was Putli Bai.

Our Father of Nation was adored by his mother as a child and his nickname was Monya. Once he watched a drama “Raja Harishchandra” which happened to be the turning point of his life. He learnt the value of truth and honesty from the drama and followed that throughout his life. But did you know once Gandhi ji stole gold from his own house? He was under debt when he decided to steal gold. But amidst that he felt so guilty that he wrote a confession letter and gave it to his father. After reading the letter, Gandhiji’s father neither shouted nor beat him up but just tore the letter apart.

Gandhiji got married to Kasturba Bai and went to England for further studies. He started living in South Africa once he became a Barrister. In South Africa when he was travelling in a first-class coach which was filled with British officials, he was forced to get down of the train because of his nationality and skin color. That’s when he decided to fight for all the Indians who lived in South-Africa and launched the Satyagraha movement. He lived there for 21 years. Infact the station where he was forced to get down, now have his statue.

When he came back to India, he built an ashram near Sabarmati river, named Satyagraha Ashram. Not only did he fight for Indian independence but as a true Indian, he also spoke against many other social evils like untouchability, poverty, illiteracy, etc. Some of Gandhi’s famous movements are: Civil Disobedience Movement, Hind Swaraj, Dandi March, Swadeshi Movement, Satyagraha, etc. He always showed the path of truth and goodwill to his countrymen.

And how can we forget the three famous monkeys of Gandhiji? These there monkeys depicts life lessons to us. The first says ” See no evil!”, the second says, “Say no evil!”, and the third says, “Listen no evil!” These ideologies were always followed by Baapu. He was admired because of his strong principles and anyone following his path of non-violence and honesty will be admired too.

Undoubtedly, Mahatma Gandhi is the greatest and famous Indian personality and for his contributions in Indian independence struggle, he earned the title of “Father of the nation”.