About The Author
Ashwitha Jayakumar has loved stories all her life, especially ones set in different times and worlds. Born in Chennai, she studied English literature and medieval studies at the universities of Edinburgh and Leeds in the United Kingdom and has worked for over a decade in the Indian publishing industry. Her work has been published by Pratham Storyweaver, Scholastic India, Puffin Books and Hachette India. She particularly enjoys writing about history, a subject she has always been especially fond of.
Foreword
People and their deeds make a nation, not a land mass. Incredible people and their incredible deeds make an incredible nation. We take pride in calling our nation incredible. We must learn about the people who through the sheer dint of their efforts, dreams, courage, indomitable spirit, perseverance, integrity and their never-give-up spirit laid the solid foundation of our nation. These people helped build the incredible institutions that have stood the rest of time and continue to be institutions of excellence which in turn make the nation incredible. Incredible Indians 75 People Who Shaped Modern India is a homage to some of the people who fought against all odds, surmounted various obstacles and triumphed through their achievements and sacrifices. Behind these seventy-five, there are hundreds, thousands and millions who silently helped these titans achieve their goals and realize their dreams. Nation-building could be compared to a war, even though the victory garland is for the triumphant general, every soldier who fights the battle contributes to the win. Nation-building, too, needs hundreds of thousands of unsung workers who deserve our appreciation. Today, when there is a dearth of living icons who inspire, the lives of these seventy-five iconic Indians need to be highlighted and celebrated. Our present and future generations must read these incredible stories, learn from them and be inspired by them. What one must understand is that behind each of these profiles is the desermination and courage of these people to overcome adversity APJ Abdul Kalam studied under strees lanterne and wear on to become tinha Missile Man While in pail for fighting for India's freedom. Abul Kalam Azad did not succumb to adversity and used the opportunity to educate and enlighten himself to become India's fire minister of education In the early part of his life, Mohandas Gandhi failed at almost everything he cried, be it his education, profession or his family life. But when push came to chove he did not give up and fought back courageously, learnt from his failures and turned them into his strengths. The rest as they say is history, Although, eventually, we won freedom because of the non-violent freedom movement, the revolutionaries made a handsome contribution to the nationalist movement and its ultimate success. The Azad Hind Fauj was defeared in Imphal, but the war they waged was a major influence on our eventual freedom Sunderlal Bahuguna, with his Chipko Movement, spearheaded the environment protection and conservation movement at a time when not many were concerned about the plunder of natural resources and its adverse effects. Arunachalam Muruganantham, the Padman of India, in his zeal to provide his wife with hygienic and affordable sanitary pads, brought about a revolution for rural women by devising the technology to make affordable sanitary pads. SEWA has created a thriving bank for rural entrepreneurs, Sonam Wangchuk has brought about a knowledge and lifestyle revolution for the people of Ladakh and beyond through his scientific breakthroughs and inventions. Educator Anand Kumar, through his Super-30 coaching programme, has enabled severely underprivileged children to achieve their potential and make their dreams come true Incredible individuals who won glory for the nation, along with ordinary citizens who do their duty cach day, need to be celebrated. Incredibles like the "Flying Sikh Milkha Singh, PT Usha, hockey legend Dhyan Chand, tennis great Ramanathan Krishnan, spin maestro Bishan Singh Bedi, king of the shuttlecock Prakash Padukone and chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand have made the nation proud. This book commemorates the lives of seventy-five such Indians who can be considered the builders of modern India. Being a living entity, a nation's future generations must step up and learn from the lives of their incredible ancestors. The extraordinary deeds of these ordinary Indians made an incredible nation. As we celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of our Independence, let us acknowledge these Indians and dedicate ourselves to emulate their deeds and do our bit to make India even more incredible! Vande Mataram!
Hindu (935)
Agriculture (118)
Ancient (1086)
Archaeology (753)
Architecture (563)
Art & Culture (910)
Biography (702)
Buddhist (544)
Cookery (167)
Emperor & Queen (565)
Islam (242)
Jainism (307)
Literary (896)
Mahatma Gandhi (372)
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