Table of Contents
Leaders of India: Photos with Names
National leaders of India have fought for independence and/or worked to make India better
Leaders of India: List
| S No. | National Leaders Names |
| 1 | Mahatma Gandhi |
| 2 | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| 3 | Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar |
| 4 | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel |
| 5 | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
| 6 | Subhash Chandra Bose |
| 7 | Lala Lajpat Rai |
| 8 | Bhagat Singh |
| 9 | Chandra Shekhar Azad |
| 10 | Bal Gangadhar Tilak |
| 11 | Bipin Chandra Pal |
| 12 | Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi |
| 13 | Maulana Azad |
| 14 | Annie Besant |
| 15 | Morarji Desai |
| 16 | Ashfaqulla Khan |
| 17 | Dadabhai Naoraji |
| 18 | Rani Lakshmi Bai |
| 19 | APJ Abdul Kalam |
| 20 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
National Leader: Mahatma Gandhi
| Full Name | Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi |
| Date of Birth | 02 Oct 1869 (Died: 30 Jan 1948 – Aged 78) |
| Place of Birth | Porbandar, Gujarat, India |
| Spouse | Kasturba Gandhi |
| Parents | Karamchand Gandhi and Putlibai Gandhi |
| Children | Harilal, Manilal, Ramdas, & Devdas |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Mahatma Gandhi was the National Leader and has been called ‘Father of the Nation’.
Mahatma Gandhi, at the age 24, moved to South Africa, in 1893, to practice law. He ended up living in South Africa for 21 years. He moved back to India, in 1915, at the age of 45.
Mahatma Gandhi’s father married four times. Both of his first two wives died young and gave birth to one daughter each. His father and his third wife did not have any kids. With fourth wife, his father had four kids. Mahatma Gandhi was the youngest of the four.
National Leader: Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
| Full Name | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Date of Birth | 14 Nov 1889 (Died: 27 May 1964 – Aged 74) |
| Place of Birth | Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Spouse | Kamala Kaul |
| Parents | Motilal Nehru and Swarup Rani Nehru |
| Children | Indira Gandhi |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Jawarharlal Nehru was the (1st) first Prime Minister of India. His tenure lasted for 16 years. He was the promoter of Democracy, Secularism, and Science and Technology.
Jawarharlal Nehru wrote these books in prison and before independence.
- Letters from a Father to his Daughter (1929)
- Toward Freedom, An autobiography (1936)
- The discovery of India (1946)
Jawarharlal Nehru received his education from Harrow School and Trinity College, England.
In 1955, Jawarharlal Nehru was awarded ‘Bharat Ratna’, India’s highest civilian honour.
National Leader: Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar
| Full Name | Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar |
| Date of Birth | 14 April 1891 (Died: 6 Dec 1956 – Aged 65) |
| Place of Birth | Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, India |
| Spouse(s) | 1st – Ramabai Ambedkar. 2nd – Savita Ambedkar |
| Parents | Ramji Maloji Sakpal & Bhimabai Ramji Sakpal |
| Children | Yashwant Bhimrao Ambedkar |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
B R Ambedkar was the head of the committee which drafted the Constitution of India.
B R Ambedkar was born into Dalit family. Dalits were used to be treated as untouchables and used to face discrimination in different walks of life in different capacity and intensity.
B R Ambedkar used to carry his own burlap sack to school to sit on it outside of the class and he used to rely on peon to pour water for drinking. If for some reason peon is unavailable then he had to survive the day in the school without water. He summed up the situation in the school by saying ‘no peon, no water’.
B R Ambedkar was, posthumously, awarded India’s highest civilian honour ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 1990, after 34 years of his death.
National Leader: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
| Full Name | Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel |
| Date of Birth | 31 Oct 1875 (Died: 15 Dec 1950 – Aged 75) |
| Place of Birth | Nadiad, Mumbai, India |
| Spouse | Jhaverben Patel |
| Parents | Jhaverbhai Patel & Ladba |
| Children | Maniben (Daughter), & Dahyabhai (Son) |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel earned the nickname ‘Iron man of India’ for his efforts in integrating around 565 self governed princely states together under one nation India.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was, posthumously, awarded India’s highest civilian honour ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 1991, after 41 years of his death.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s wife died due to cancer when his youngest kid was only 4 years old. He read the note of his wife’s death, kept it in the pocket, and continued the cross-examination. He won the case. He informed others once court proceedings were completed.He decided not to marry again.
To become Barrister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel completed a 36 months course in just 30 months, finishing first in the class even without prior college background.
National Leader: Lal Bahadur Shastri
| Full Name | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
| Date of Birth | 02 Oct 1904 (Died: 11 Jan 1966 – Aged 61) |
| Place of Birth | Mughalsarai, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Spouse | Lalita Shastri |
| Parents | Sharad Prasad Srivastava & Ramdulari Devi |
| Children | Anil, Sunil, Hari, Kusum, Suman, & Ashok |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Lal Bahadur Shastri served as (2nd) second Prime Minister of India from 1964 until his death in1966. He died in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 11 Jan 1966, one day after signing a peace treaty to end the Indo-Pak War.
Interestingly, Lal Bahadur Shastri shares the birthday (i.e. 02 Oct) with Mahatma Gandhi. He was born 35 years later.
Lal Bahadur Shastri was, posthumously, awarded India’s highest civilian honour ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 1966, in the same year he died.
To uplift the morale of Soldiers and Farmers when India was attacked by Pakistan and faced food grains scarcity, He coined the slogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ (Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer). It is still a very popular slogan.
National Leader: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
| Full Name | Subhash Chandra Bose |
| Date of Birth | 23 Jan 1897 (Died: 11 Aug 1945 – Aged 48) |
| Place of Birth | Cuttack, Odisha, India |
| Spouse | Emilie Schenkl (Unacknowledged) |
| Parents | Janakinath Bose and Prabhabati Bose |
| Children | Anita Bose Pfaff |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Subhash Chandra Bose was born into a wealthy family.
He became President of the Congress Party in 1938. However, he had to resign and was later ousted, following the resignation of the majority of members of the working committee in protest over his ways of working and his plans for more power for himself.
Subhash Chandra Bose coined the famous slogan ‘Tum mujhe khoon do, Main Tumhe Azadi Doonga’ (Give me blood and I will give you freedom). Other quotes/slogans by him: ‘Delhi Chalo’ (‘On to Delhi’) and ‘Ittehad, Etemad, Qurbani’ (Unity, Agreement, Sacrifice).
Subhash Chandra Bose’s mother Prabhabati Bose was a social activist and politician. She was elected President of Mahila Rashtriya Sangha in 1928. Subhash Chandra Bose seemed to have got the inclination towards leadership and politics from his mother Prabhabati Bose.
On 29 December 1943, Prabhabati Bose died at the age of 74, around 2 years before the death of his son Subhash Chandra Bose. She gave birth to 14 children: 8 Sons, and 6 Daughters.
National Leader: Lala Lajpat Rai
| Full Name | Lala Lajpat Rai |
| Date of Birth | 28 Jan 1865 (Died: 17 Nov 1928 – Aged 63) |
| Place of Birth | Dhudike, Punjab, India |
| Spouse | Radha Devi Aggarwal |
| Parents | Radha Krishna and Gulab Devi Aggarwal |
| Children | Parvati, Payare Lal, Payare Krishna, and Amrit Rai |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Lala Lajpat Rai is popularly called as ‘Punjab Kesari’.
Lala Lajpat Rai’s father was a Urdu teacher.
To dedicate himself to the Indian Independence movement, Lala Lajpat Rai quit law practice in 1914.
Even after getting severely hurt in the lathi charge during the non-violent protest against Simon Commission, Lala Lajpat Rai said, while addressing the supporters, that “I declare that the blows struck at me today will be the last nails in the coffin of British rule in India”. The famous slogan “Simon Go Back” was coined during the protest by him.
National Leader: Bhagat Singh
| Full Name | Bhagat Singh |
| Date of Birth | 28 Sept 1907 (Died: 23 Mar 1931 – Aged 23) |
| Place of Birth | Banga, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Spouse | Unmarried |
| Parents | Kishen Singh Sandhu and Vidyavati |
| Children | No |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Bhagat Singh is also referred to as Shaheed-e-Azam.
Bhagat Singh was just 23 years old when he was hanged for the murder of John Saunders and Channan Singh.
Bhagat Singh intended to kill James A Scott, The superintendent of police, who personally assaulted Lala Lajpat Rai, who later died due to the heart attack. However they mistakenly killed John Saunders who was still on probation.
National Leader: Chandra Shekhar Azad
| Full Name | Chandra Shekhar Sitaram Tiwari |
| Date of Birth | 23 July 1906 (Died: 27 Feb 1931 – Aged 24) |
| Place of Birth | Bhabhra, Madhya Pradesh, India |
| Spouse | Unmarried |
| Parents | Sitaram Tiwari and Jagrani Devi |
| Children | No |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Chandra Shekhar Azad referred to himself as ‘Azad’ (Free), his father as ‘Swatantrata’ (Independence), and his residence as ‘Jail’ when presented to the magistrate, as a result he got 15 lashes as punishment.
Chandra Shekhar Azad, along with Bhagat Singh, reorganized ‘Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) as ‘Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) to achieve Independence for India.
Chandra Shekhar Azad shot himself using the last bullet, keeping his wish of being free always.
National Leader: Bal Gangadhar Tilak
| Full Name | Bal Gangadhar Tilak |
| Date of Birth | 23 July 1856 (Died: 1 Aug 1920 – Aged 64) |
| Place of Birth | Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, India |
| Spouse | Satyabhamabai Tilak |
| Parents | Shri Gangadhar Tilak and Parvati Bai Gangadhar |
| Children | Sridhar, Vishwanath, and Rambhau |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Bal Gangadhar Tilak was also called as Lokmanya, meaning accepted by people as their leader. Mahatma Gandhi used to call him “The Maker of Modern India”. Also, he was also called “The Father of Indian unrest” by the British.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak gave the famous quote in Marathu “स्वराज हा माझा जन्मसिद्ध हक्क आहे आणि मी तो मिळवणारच!” (“Swarag is my birthright and I shall have it”).
Bal Gangadhar Tilak was sent to prison many times in his life for the agitations to get Indian autonomy from British colonial rule.
National Leader: Bipin Chandra Pal
| Full Name | Bipin Chandra Pal |
| Date of Birth | 7 Nov 1858 (Died: 20 May 1932 – Aged 73) |
| Place of Birth | Habiganj, Sylhet District, Bangladesh |
| Spouse | Birajmohini Devi (1st) Nrityakali Devi (2nd) |
| Parents | Ramchandra Pal and Narayani Devi |
| Children | Niranjan Pal |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Bipin Chandra Pal is known as the ‘Father of Revolutionary Thoughts in India’.
Bipin Chandra Pal worked for Bengal Public Opinion, The Tribune, and New India as a journalist that gave him the chance to promote nationalism in his own style.
Bipin Chandra Pal was against caste system and was in favor of widow remarriage.
Bipin Chandra Pal criticized Mahatma Gandhi style of politics as rooted in “Magic” instead of “Logic”.
National Leader: Indira Gandhi
| Full Name | Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi |
| Date of Birth | 19 Nov 1917 (Died: 31 Oct 1984 – Aged 66) |
| Place of Birth | Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Spouse | Feroze Gandhi |
| Parents | Jawaharlal Nehru and Kamala Nehru |
| Children | Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Indira Gandhi was the (3rd) Third Prime Minister of India. She served from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 to 1984 until her assassination.
Indira Gandhi was the first and the only female Prime Minister of India. She was the daughter of First Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru.
Indira Gandhi’s cumulative tenure of 15 years and 350 days as Prime Minister of India was the second longest tenure after his father Jawaharlal Nehru who served the longest for 16 years, 9 months, 13 days.
Indira Gandhi is also referred to as ‘Iron Lady’.
Indira Gandhi’s tenure saw a lot of action.
National Leader: Maulana Azad
Image Credit - National Repository of Open Educational Resources| Full Name | Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Hussaini Azad |
| Date of Birth | 11 November 1888 (Died: 22 February 1958 – Aged 69) |
| Place of Birth | Mecca, Saudi Arabia |
| Spouse | Zulaikha Begum |
| Parents | Maulana Azad and Alia |
| Children | No |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Maulana Azad was the first Minister of Education in the government of India.
Maulana Azad’s birthday is celebrated as National Education Day in India for his contribution in building the foundation for education in India.
At the age of just 35 years, he became the president of the Indian National Congress political party serving from 1940 to 1945. His tenure saw the Quit India movement.
National Leader: Annie Besant
| Full Name | Annie Besant (Born: Annie Wood) |
| Date of Birth | 1 October 1847 (Died: 20 September 1933 – aged 85) |
| Place of Birth | Clapham, London, UK |
| Spouse | Frank Besant |
| Parents | William Wood and Emily Morris |
| Children | Mabel and Arthur |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Annie Besant was the first female to become the president of the Indian National Congress in 1917.
Annie Besant also had adopted a son Jiddu Krishnamurti who she believed to be the new messiah and incarnation of Buddha. Jiddu denied the claims in 1929.
Even before Mahatma Gandhi, There was Annie Besant who fought for India Independence in spite of not being born in India but the United Kingdom.
National Leader: Morarji Desai
| Full Name | Morarji Ranchhodji Desai |
| Date of Birth | 29 February 1896 (Died: 10 April 1995 – Aged 99) |
| Place of Birth | Valsad, Gujarat, India |
| Spouse | Gujraben Desai |
| Parents | Ranchhodji Nagarji Desai and Vajiaben Desai |
| Children | 5 (Virumati, Indu, and Kantilal) – 2 could not survive infancy |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Morarji Desai was a freedom fighter and served as the 4th Prime Minister of India between 1977 and 1979.
Morarji Desai was not only conferred with the highest civilian honour of India, Bharat Ratna, but also conferred with the highest civilian honour of Pakistan, Nishan-e-Pakistan, probably due to his efforts to restore peace with neighbors, China and Pakistan.
Morarji Desai was the oldest prime minister to hold office at the age of 81.
National Leader: Ashfaqulla Khan
| Full Name | Ashfaqulla Khan |
| Date of Birth | 22 October 1900 (Died: 19 December 1927 – Aged 27) |
| Place of Birth | Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Spouse | NA |
| Parents | Shafiq Ullah Khan and Mazhar-un-Nisa |
| Children | NA |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Ashfaqulla Khan was the freedom fighter who co-founded Hindustan Republican Association.
Ashfaqulla Khan wrote Urdu poetry with the pen name Hasrat.
Ashfaqulla Khan, along with Ram Prasad Bismil, Chandrashekar Azad, and others, robbed a train in Kakori to raise funds for arms and ammunition. Bismil, Khan, Lahiri, and Roshan got death sentences while others involved got life sentences.
Ashfaqulla Khan was hanged on 19 Dec 1927 at the Faizabad Jail.
National Leader: Dadabhai Naoroji
| Full Name | Dadabhai Naoroji |
| Date of Birth | 4 September 1825 (Died: 30 June 1917 – Aged 91) |
| Place of Birth | Navsari, Gujarat, India |
| Spouse | Gulbai |
| Parents | Naoroji Palanji Dordi and Manekbai Naoroji Dordi |
| Children | Ardeshir, Shirin, and Maki |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Dadabhai Naoroji is also known as ‘Grand Old Man of India’ and ‘Unofficial Ambassador of India’.
Dadabhai Naoroji has served, 3 times, as 2nd (1886 – 87), 9th (1893 – 94) and 22nd (1906 – 07) President of Indian National Congress.
Dadabhai Naoroji has written a number of books in his career.
- The manners and customs of the Parsees (1864)
- Poverty of India (1876)
- Condition of India (1882)
- Poverty and Un-British Rule of India (1902).
His book ‘Poverty and Un-British Rule of India’ talked about the Drain of Wealth from India to Britain. Book estimated a 200-300 million pounds drain of India’s revenue to Britain that was not recirculated back to India.
National Leader: Rani Lakshmi Bai
| Full Name | Lakshmibai Newalkar |
| Date of Birth | 19 November 1828 (Died: 18 June 1858 – Aged 29) |
| Place of Birth | Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Spouse | Gangadhar Rao Newalkar |
| Parents | Moropant Tambe and Bhagirathi Sapte |
| Children | Damodhar Rao and Anand Rao (Adopted) |
Quick, Interesting, and Important facts:
Rani Lakshmi Bai’s real name was Manikarnika Tambe. She was married to the King of Jhansi, Gangadhar Rao Newalkar in May 1842.
Rani Lakshmi Bai’s son named Damodhar Rao died as Infant at the age of only 4 months due to chronic illness. She adopted Anand Rao, son of his husband’s cousin, who was renamed to Damodhar Rao.
When Rani Lakshimi Bai was informed to surrender Jhansi, she cried out ‘Main Apni Jhansi Nahi Doongi’ (I will not give away my Jhansi).